The 6 Metre and J/70 classes join the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca

Xacobeo 6mR World Championship, 2022 © Mari´a Muin~a Photography

The 52 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca for racer-cruisers and One Design will be held from the 30th of March to the 2nd of April, 6 Metre and J/70 fleets joining the regatta for the first time.

As has become traditional, the 52 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca will combine the showcase season opening regatta for Olympic classes with racing for one designs and ORC cruisers, which will compete from the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP).

Xacobeo 6mR World Championship, 2022 - photo © Mari´a Muin~a Photography

Manu Fraga, sports director of the RCNP, says: "The Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca is well renowned as an international benchmark for Olympic classes but the Organising Committee's commitment is for the regatta to grow both in quantity and quality for one designs, cruisers and some classes that we will invite in the future. The ambition is to fill the bay of Palma with sails and that sees us look to different formulas to grow the national and international fleets."

Four OD classes

New this time then is the incorporation of the J/70 and 6 Metre classes into the one design regatta, joining the usual Dragon and J/80 classes. "At the moment we have already received confirmation of the participation of at least nine boats in the precious 6 Metre class, we are expecting between 12 and 15 J70s, around a dozen J80s and a dozen Dragons. Although we open registration this week, we can already guess that the Sofia will bring together around fifty one-designs," explains Fraga.

The competition programme for the one-design classes will consist of three days of racing on 31 March, 1 and 2 April. The 52 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca will count towards the J/70 Spring Mediterranean Cup.

ORC Fleet

The ORC category will once again bring together the biggest boats in the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca, which this year will be a qualifying regatta for the Spanish ORC championship and will count towards the RCNP Regatta League. The competition programme will consist of two days of regattas, on the 1st and 2nd of April, and up to three races. The intention of the Race Committee is to hold at least one coastal race and two windward-leeward races. "To venture a figure with almost two months to go is risky, but to talk about a fleet of between 30 and 40 ORC boats is quite realistic. If the forecasts come true, the monotype and ORC classes will add around 80 boats to the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca," concludes Fraga.

The 2023 Sailing World Cup 52 Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía Mallorca will be held from the 29th of March to the 8th of April under the joint organisation of the Club Nàutic S'Arenal, the Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa, the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the Real Federación Española de Vela and the Federación Balear de Vela, with the backing of World Sailing and the main Balearic public institutions.

More information, at www.trofeoprincesasofia.org.