Pachi Rivero takes the helm of the "Calima" to lead it to the top at the Illes Balears Clàssics

This year, the "Calima" is playing at home. This legendary vessel from the Spanish racing fleet is currently competing in the Illes Balears Clàssics under the burgee of Club de Mar – Mallorca, with one of the international sailing icons, the Cantabrian Pachi Rivero, at the helm.

Rivero took over the boat this year. The "Calima" had been sailed for decades by a group of owners led by Javier Pujol, who managed to win several editions of the King's Cup of Classics in Mahón, and also achieved great international successes in the Giraglia and the Fastnet with this great boat launched in 1971. “For two or three years it was the best boat in the Spanish fleet by far,” Pujol recalled last year in Menorca.

Pachi Rivero debuted this year in Palma with the "Calima" with a great victory at the PalmaVela. Now he faces the challenge of 'playing at home' in the Illes Balears Clàssics before continuing the Balearic classic sailing circuit at the Cormorán Trophy in Pollença and the King's Cup of Classics in Mahón.

Rivero describes the "Calima": “It is built of wood at the Catalan shipyard Carabela. It is a 43-foot Sparkman & Stephens. Its previous owner, Javier Pujol, always kept it very well maintained and at its peak. It is a wonder. It is a Spirit of Tradition boat from 1971 that is now starting a new life with me. We want it to continue in the positions it has always been in, winning races.”

The story of the Carabela Shipyards is the story of a visionary: Nick Kenyeres. It's not easy to match the trajectory of this Hungarian who served as a pilot in World War II, achieving 19 victories until he was shot down. He ended up a prisoner in a Soviet concentration camp from which he managed to escape and, after passing through the United Kingdom, Canada, and France, he evolved to become a reference in shipbuilding in Europe thanks to his shipyard, located in Sant Adrià de Besós, Catalonia.

From day one, Carabela was known for building boats always in wood, very light but extraordinarily strong. Kenyeres introduced innovations such as the WEST system, cold-laminating with epoxy resin, which gives the hull extreme lightness and strength, or the inverted construction, starting from the inside and then moving to the outside of the boat. He was the visionary, the architect, and Pepe Medina, who joined the shipyard in 1962, a year after Carabela was founded, was the artisan carpenter from Málaga who materialized every detail of each project. Carabela managed to become one of the four or five shipyards approved by Sparkman & Stephens to build their boats throughout Europe, a true guarantee. The dream lasted until 1984, two decades full of adventures and vicissitudes, during which the shipyard built a total of 113 vessels.

Now, the responsibility to bring out the best in this great boat lies with Pachi Rivero. Rivero has completed the incredible adventure of circumnavigating the globe non-stop in two-handed boats twice and has participated in two editions of the America's Cup, as well as being a technician in the one held in Valencia. Now this sailor has settled in Club de Mar Mallorca and will compete in the Illes Balears Clàssics with the "Calima," one of the most decorated boats in Spanish sailing.