Crowded Gathering at the Peak Day of the 60th Gran Día de la Vela - Bufete Frau

The races of the 60th edition of the Gran Día de la Vela - Bufete Frau continue at the Club Nàutic s’Arenal (CNA). On the second day of the second assault of the sixtieth anniversary of the club's longest-standing regatta, this Friday saw ongoing races for the Optimist, ILCA 4, ILCA 6, and 420 classes. This special edition is marked by a lively atmosphere on land throughout the club, filled with a crowd of sea and sailing enthusiasts.

On the water, over 450 boats have gathered in the eastern area of Palma Bay at the two race courses set up by the organization. Nearly 500 sailors are divided among three groups (red, blue, and yellow) that make up the fleet of Optimists, the 420s, and the two groups of ILCA 4 and ILCA 6 classes.

In sports terms, the red group of Optimists has managed to make up for the race that could not be held yesterday, Thursday, matching the number of races held by the blue and yellow groups, all now at three races after today's two races per group.

As for the 420 class fleet, sailors from the 19 participating classes have completed three races today, accumulating a total of five between yesterday and today, which has allowed for a discard in the rankings, removing the worst result obtained in any of the 5 races contested. The ILCA 4 and ILCA 6 have held two races per group (yellow and blue) today, adding up to a total of 3 complete races thanks to yesterday's race.

In this second assault, the Latin sail is present, as the historic llaüt L’Alzina is setting sail every day with some parents of sailors on board to watch the races from the water. This classic boat made outings yesterday Thursday, today Friday, and will also do so on Sunday, thanks to the good disposition of its captains, Toni Llobera and Antoni Llull. So far, the parents who have managed to secure a spot to spend the day on board and enjoy sailing parallel to the races on the llaüt have been delighted with the experience.

After this exciting day, the club is preparing to celebrate the big day of this sixtieth edition of the Gran Día de la Vela - Bufete Frau tomorrow. The peak event will be the 60th Anniversary Commemorative Regatta, to be held in the afternoon if conditions allow, and in which all the light sailing classes will participate together, with a single rabbit start type, internationally known as "rabbit," and scoring will be done through a rating system that will take into account, via a compensation scale, the characteristics of each class. This way, nearly half a thousand boats will coincide on the water at the same time, if the race can be held, which represents a major logistical challenge for the club. Initially, this race was supposed to be held at noon, but the weather forecast, which predicts a scenario of instability, has forced a change in the planned schedule.

Of course, traditional sailing will also play a prominent role in the meeting, as this Saturday will also feature Latin sailing races, in Regatta, Llaüts, and Open categories. Also, the more social side of sailing will have its moment, with races on the same day in August for the Cruiser class, which will compete in ORC. Thus, sailing, in all its forms, is the protagonist of this event.

On Saturday, since L’Alzina will be racing alongside the rest of the Latin sailing fleet, it will be the Sa Calma Boats' swallow, a silver sponsor of the event, with a capacity for more than 70 people, responsible for taking out the parents of the athletes to enjoy the races on the water.

Additionally, in the afternoon, from four to six, a water party will be held by Life & Sea, which brings its famous banana boat for the enjoyment of the younger ones.

Moreover, to celebrate this milestone, the CNA Restaurant will host a 60th Anniversary Gala Dinner on the night of August 31, which will be attended by former presidents of the club, the current Board of Directors, and all the CNA's honorary athletes, i.e., those who throughout their careers have been national champions or have achieved a podium in international championships.

The meeting will include other parallel activities, among which stands out the 21st Sa Milla CNA - Cala Blava Swim, an emblematic open-water swimming event that will take place on August 31 starting at 9 a.m. on Es Caló beach with nearly half a thousand participants, and whose proceeds will go to charitable causes.

To ensure everything goes smoothly in this crowded event, and specifically on this activity-packed day, the CNA's sports management has a team of approximately 70 people, who will work on land and sea to organize all the logistics of the event.

The Gran Día de la Vela - Bufete Frau is the longest-standing regatta at CNA and in this edition, it has a historical dimension as it celebrates its 60th anniversary. The event brings together top-level athletes from the nautical scene, representing dozens of nautical clubs from all over Spain. In total, about 600 local and national sailors from nine autonomous communities (Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Murcia, Canary Islands, Andalusia, Cantabria, Valencian Community, Basque Country, and Galicia) will compete in these days at the CNA.