The Battle for La Larga begins as the fleet heads towards Ibiza

ORC Fleet start La Larga © María Muiña

Winners of La Larga ©María Muiña

La Larga - Xummer`, ORC 1 ©Laura G. Guerra

With very light winds and after a postponement of more than four hours, La Larga finally got under way today at 16h20 in the Bay of Palma. Close to 40 boats crossed the starting line to tackle a course of 235 nautical miles for the larger yachts —IRC, ORC 0, and ORC 1— and 185 miles for the ORC 2 to 5 and A2 classes.

The 21st edition of the Sandberg PalmaVela is officially under way. A total of 35 boats set sail today from the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) to take the start of La Larga. The offshore race opens the season's first major regatta, which has already established itself as one of the Mediterranean's most attractive offshore events. The wind, however, did not make it easy, and the Race Committee had to wait several hours before giving the starting signal.

ORC fleet start La Larga - photo © Laura G. Guerra

With a forecast of northerly winds expected to reach up to 15 knots later in the evening, the Race Committee finally set two different courses. The first, for the IRC, ORC 0, and ORC 1 classes, covers approximately 235 nautical miles. It departed from the bay of Palma and will round the islands of Ibiza, Formentera, and their adjacent islets to port before heading back towards Mallorca, where they must round a mark off Porto Colom before making for the finish line.

The rest of the fleet will face a 185-mile course, rounding the islet of Tagomago, then the mark at Porto Colom and the Cabrera archipelago, before heading towards the finish.

IRC fleet start La Larga - photo © María Muiña

Although the start was initially scheduled for 12:00, the complete absence of wind delayed the beginning until 16:20, when the fleet finally heard the starting signal off Punta del Toro, still in very light conditions. The fleet, divided into seven categories —IRC, ORC 0, ORC 1, ORC 2-3, ORC 4-5, A2 0-2, and A2 3-5— set sail towards Ibiza, with the VO70 Trifork, skippered by Joern Larsen, leading the first group.

Jens Dolmer, project manager of Trifork, said before departing from the RCNP:

"This is the second time we're taking part in La Larga and we're really looking forward to it. We raced in the first edition three or four years ago, and we believe it's a great event. This regatta has it all: you see a lot of regattas here in Palma, but there aren't many offshore races, so it offers something different—and in one of the best sailing locations."

`Trifork` during La Larga - photo © María Muiña

As of 19:00, when this update was written, the larger boats (IRC) were sailing at about 15-17 knots of boat speed, already halfway between Mallorca and Ibiza, where they are expected to arrive around midnight.

Follow La Larga live through the tracking link available on the official website, www.palmavela.com/tracking.php