The ‘Victoria’, the maxi catamaran with which the Spanish sailor Alex Pella will try to beat the record of the one known as Discovery Routeis already in the Marina del Odiel, in Huelva, ready to start this challenge.
As reported by the ‘Desafío Victoria’ project, the ship arrived last Saturday at Marina del Odiel and is waiting for the best possible conditions to begin the Discovery Route, from Huelva to San Salvador (Bahamas). The record for this journey is set at 11 days, 7 hours and 40 secondsand has held it since February 2013 on the ‘MAPFRE‘.
Alex Pella.
The first objective is the section between Huelva and La Gomera, for which Álex Pella expects a good meteorological window: «What is needed is for the Azores anticyclone to stabilize to have winds from the North on this descent towards La Gomera. “We know that with this situation we will be in a position to beat the record in this first section.”
After passing La Gomera, the ‘Victoria’, whose crew is completed by Lalou Roucayrol, Alejandro Cantero, Alberto Muñoz, Pablo Santurde, Pilar Casares and Manuel Maqueda, must begin the second leg of this journey, heading to San Salvador (Bahamas), in 9 days.
The managing director of Marina del Odiel, Manuel Jiménez, celebrated having “this magnificent vessel and its crew in his facilities, within this great project of breaking all records”, while the president of the Royal Maritime and Tennis Club of Punta Umbría , Luis Marquínez, assured his desire to “strengthen the union of all the ports of the province” and that this project gives them all “presence and visibility.”
Tracking and video game
The ‘Victoria’ is going to have a real time tracking system throughout the journey and at every moment, comparative information on distance traveled and time spent with ‘MAPFRE’ will be offered. To do this, the departures of the two boats will be synchronized so that the tracking will offer a ‘virtual’ mode simulating the joint navigation of both, offering visual comparative information to the record followers.
On the same map, information will be offered about the delay of Columbus’s first voyage, including its most important milestones, and viewers will not only be able to know the current position, speed and course of the ships, but will also be able to access audiovisual content that the crew will send throughout their journey and that will be geolocated.
Furthermore, for this new record, the ‘Desafío Victoria’ project has collaborated with Virtual Regatta, a leader in online regatta simulations, to develop a interactive video game which will allow players to virtually participate in both voyages, testing their navigation skills and facing the same challenges as the boat in real life, providing an immersive experience for all lovers of the sea and adventure.
Discovery Route
This route was the first of the four trips he made Christopher Columbus. The expedition left Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, on August 3, 1492, composed of three ships: Santa María, Pinta and la Niña and sighted the mainland, on the island of San Salvador, on October 12, 1492. Thus began one of the greatest milestones in the world: the discovery of a new continent.
The crew of the ‘Victoria’.
Atlantic round trip
Álex Pella’s record attempt is framed within a large «Atlantic Loop», between Europe and America, with a round trip, without stops, to the other side of the Atlantic. The objectives are, on the way out, to try to beat the record of the ‘MAPFRE’ Discovery Route and, on the return, to look for tougher sea and wind conditions and complete this loop of between 20 and 25 days of ocean navigation with full autonomy and self-sufficiency. “It is a difficult and important challenge for us, since it is one more step in our preparation for the World Tour record, in 2025,” says Pella.
Victory Challenge
The ‘Desafío Victoria’ project has recovered a legendary ship to revive and compete in the greatest ocean challenge of all time: go around the world to the west. The ‘Victoria’ is a legendary oceangoing multihull, built in France, with a length of 33.5 meters, a beam of 17.5 meters and a mast height of 42.6 meters.
During their preparation, Álex Pella and his crew have already achieved two recordsthat of ‘The return to Menorca’, beaten in April with a record of 5 hours, 4 minutes and 57 seconds, and that of ‘The return to Spain’, in July, in 4 days, 17 hours, 14 minutes and 46 seconds.
It will be a sporting, circular and global challenge. Circumnavigating the planet to the west is not only a human and sporting challenge, but also a race against time to change our mentality and the future of the planet. Hence the boat chosen to face the challenge is reused; the renewable energies that drive it; sustainable in-flight food; the purified water; and its commitment to minimizing as much as possible our carbon footprint and the waste generated throughout the entire project, non-negotiable. This adventure is undertaken to compete with the most ambitious challenge: leading a historic, unique and pioneering ocean regatta, which advocates the principles of decarbonization, circular economy and regenerative economy, educating and inspiring millions of people of any age and part of the world.
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