- The team, which took third place in 2014 in the X-35 class, will look to be on the podium again and improve their result
- The Company, which celebrates its thirtieth anniversary in 2015, is again sponsoring the ‘Enlace’ (Link) Trophy, which will be awarded to the top finishers in each class at the midpoint of the competition
Red Eléctrica de España will take part, for the sixth consecutive year, in this year’s edition of the ‘Copa del Rey' sailing competition (King’s Cup), which will be held from 1 to 8 August in the waters of the Bay of Palma. Through the sponsorship of the X-35 single hull sailing yacht that bears its name and of the sailing team, the Company consolidates its support for this sporting event, the most important sailing race among those which are held in the Mediterranean, as well as its social commitment to the Balearic Islands.
The Red Eléctrica de España will have a crew which is virtually identical to the previous edition, skippered by Javier Sanz and with extensive experience in sailing competitions closely linked to the islands. Notably, the crew of the Red Eléctrica de España has obtained good results in previous editions, standing on the podium twice, the last one, in 2014 for achieving third place in its class.
127 boats from 23 countries will compete In the 34th edition of the 'Copa del Rey', exceeding the number of sailing yachts registered in 2014 representing one of the highest levels of participation in recent years.
Thirtieth anniversary of Red Eléctrica de España and the ‘Enlace’ Trophy
The 34th edition of the 'Copa del Rey' coincides with the celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of Red Eléctrica de España and the International Year of Light, driven by the United Nations. The ‘Red Eléctrica de España’ will promote both commemorations throughout the competition.
Similarly, as it did in the 2014 edition, Red Eléctrica will sponsor the ‘Enlace’ Trophy, in reference to the submarine electricity interconnection projects between the islands undertaken by the Company in the Balearic Islands, and that the Organising Committee of the 'Copa del Rey' and representatives of the Company will be awarding on Wednesday 5 August to the crews of each class who, at the midpoint of the competition, are leading the competition standings.
The yacht
The ‘Red Eléctrica de España’ is a one-design X-35 racing yacht designed by German engineer Niels Jeppesen and whose most notable features are its manoeuvrability, competitiveness and speed, especially leeward. 10.61 metres long, 3.27m wide and 2.15m keel length, it has a displacement of 4,300 kilogrammes and four sails with an area of 211.6 m2. The sails are: Mainsail (40.1), Genoa 108% (33.9), Furling Genoa 105% (31.9), and Spinnaker-All purpose (105.7).
The X-35 class
The X-35 class will, in this edition of the King’s Cup, compete with 11 teams of five nationalities: one-design sailing yachts from Spain, Sweden, Italy, Russia and the Netherlands. In the competition, are the top three finishers in the 2014 edition of the Copa del Rey (the Italian Legalain and the Spanish Puerto Deportivo Benalmádena and Red Eléctrica de España), a circumstance that adds appeal to a class that in itself is particularly competitive as the race is settled between boats with identical characteristics and in real-time.
The crew
The skipper of the ‘Red Eléctrica de España’ will once again be Javier Sanz, President of the Royal Sailing Club (RCN) of Palma and President of the Organising Committee of the Copa del Rey. Mr. Sanz has been sailing for over 30 years in all types of classes, J-80, Platu 25 and X-35.
In addition to Javier Sanz (skipper and helmsman), the crew will consist of David Madrazo (tactician), Rodrigo Sanz (bowman) and Marcos Iglesias (trimmer), Alberto Viejo (pitman), Carlos Martinez (trimmer), Javier Sanz Junior (mainsail trimmer) and Eduardo Garcia (mastman).
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