Alex Pella breaks the round Menorca sailing record

Alex Pella is now officially the fastest person to sail 70 nautical miles around Menorca. The experienced sailor, who in the winter of 2025 will try to set the record for the round-the-world race westwards against winds and currents with his Maxicat Victoria, stopped the stopwatch in 9:32:18, by taking advantage of a window of wind that opened up on Wednesday.

The 'Re70 Menorca', which is sponsored by the Fundación Fomento del Turismo de Menorca and the collaboration of the Mahón Town Hall, is the first of the 'Desafío Victoria' stops on its way to its goal of winning the Elcano Oceanic Trophy.

Pella and his crew arrived in Menorca on Tuesday at midday and on Wednesday they presented the challenge in an event attended by the president of the Consell Insular, Adolfo Vilafranca, the mayor of Mahón, Héctor Pons, as well as the president of the Club Marítimo de Mahón, Basilio Ferrer. Shortly afterwards, the sailors set sail in search of setting the time that, from now on, will be the benchmark to beat in the 'RE70 Menorca', the challenge launched by the Club Marítimo de Mahón to the sailing world.

The conditions that Pella had to do the lap were very changeable, with winds in the north that allowed him to reach up to 24 knots, while in the south he suffered some lulls in Ciutadella, Cala Galdana, Son Bou and Illa del Aire that made the final time to be extended. The team intends to go out again to lower the time this Friday.

"We are very happy to have been able to complete the round Menorca, as they say, we came up because the forecast was very bad, we wanted to go out to take the line and test ourselves, we saw that the conditions were good, that the boat started to run and we knew that after Punta Nati it was going to be more complicated. We practically completed half a lap of the island in 2 hours and then the conditions went down, calmly and sailing upwind, until we got hung up", explains Alex Pella. "We are happy with the time and with the start, it helped us to see the passing points and to coordinate better between us, and we are convinced that before Sunday we will try again to achieve an even better time. 

The aim of the 'Desafío Victoria' goes beyond the sporting aspect, as it is accompanied by an informative and educational intention of actions linked to the care and regeneration of the Earth, also based on sailing in the wind, without stopovers or assistance, as well as without emissions or waste. The boat has been equipped with a turbine and solar panels to provide energy. 

The day began with the laying of the first stone of the Sa Dragonera photovoltaic plant, followed by a very interesting conference by Manuel Maqueda, an expert in circular economy, and then the presentation in which Alex Pella also announced the experienced sailor Pablo Santurde as a new crew member to face the challenges of the "Desafío Victoria".

After the conference, Basilio Ferrer was responsible for welcoming Pella and his crew, thanking him for his decision to start his challenge taking advantage of the 'RE70 Menorca' that the Club Marítimo de Mahón has relaunched this year. "We are very grateful that Alex and his team have chosen Menorca for this first big challenge of the 'Desafío Victoria' and it is a pleasure to welcome them," said the Club's president.

"This challenge fits perfectly with what Menorca is, we have been standing out as a Biosphere Reserve for 20 years, seeking a balance between the human development of people with the conservation of the environment", explained Adolfo Vilafranca, who added that "Menorca has an undeniable seafaring tradition and the challenge of achieving the record by sailing around the world starts here, we must value it and it fits with our objective from the Fundación Fomento del Turismo de Menorca to focus on activities outside the high season".

For his part, Héctor Pons recalled that "the Port of Mahón is the second largest natural harbour in the world, it is the enclave that has marked the history of the island and at times of Spain and it is very special that the 'Desafío Victoria' starts here and can add to the challenge all the capabilities and possibilities offered by the port". The Mayor of Mahón also considers it an opportunity "for sailing and sailing enthusiasts, especially the younger ones, to be able to have a sailor with Alex's experience here".

For Alex Pello, the main protagonist of the challenge, being in Menorca "is a great emotion because of the links I have with the island, where I have been sailing since I was a child with my family, it allows me to remember many special moments and I am especially excited that it is the starting point of this 'Desafío Victoria' because we are also leaving a stage of the project that has been very technical with the preparation of the boat and we are moving on to the more sporting part". In addition, he adds, "the fact that Menorca is a Biosphere Reserve ties in even more with our project".

Another who wanted to share his impressions is the latest member of the team to join the maxicat Victoria crew, the Class40 World Champion and London 2012 Olympian, Pablo Santurde, "I'm looking forward to it, it's something different to what I'm used to and it's not every day that you get the chance to sail around the world, it's lucky to sail with Alex or Lalouy, or the rest of the crew". Likewise, the crew member believes that "the distance of the RE70 Menorca is very good for getting to know the boat and to see where we are and where the boat is at with a view to the round the world race to the West".