The Gran Día de la Vela - Bufete Frau gathers over 500 sailors in the Bay of Palma

After a few days of rest, the Club Nàutic s’Arenal (CNA) is hosting from this Thursday the second round of the 60th edition of the Gran Día de la Vela - Bufete Frau, which celebrated its successful and exciting first block last weekend for the Optimist (sub11 and Optimist D), Techno 293 (u15 and u13), Open IQ Foil (u19 and Sr), and IQ Foil sub17 classes.

From this Thursday, August 29, to Sunday, September 1, races will take place for the Optimist, ILCA 4, ILCA 6, and 420 classes, culminating in a massive trophy presentation to conclude this Gran Día de la Vela – Bufete Frau, the most iconic and long-standing regatta of the CNA, which is celebrating its historic sixtieth anniversary this year.

Over 450 boats convened in the Bay of Palma this Thursday in the two racing areas established by the organization. Nearly 500 sailors were divided among the three groups (red, blue, and yellow) that make up the Optimist fleet, the 420s, and the two ILCA classes.

This day also featured the traditional Press Lunch at the CNA Restaurant, with journalists from major media outlets who have been covering the regatta in person since last week, sharing a black rice dish with Jose Carlos Frau and Toni Frau, representing the main sponsors of the event, Bufete Frau and Sa Calma Boats, as well as José Ramón Picó, president of the CNA, María Garau, vice president of the CNA, and Ferran Muniesa, manager of the club.

In terms of sports, the wind conditions were somewhat better than those forecasted by the meteorological reports. Thus, at 2 PM, races began with a southwest wind averaging 10 knots, which later decreased until it disappeared completely and shifted to come from the west.

The balance of this first day of the second round of the 60th Gran Día de la Vela - Bufete Frau was a race held for each group, except for the red group of Optimist, who will have to wait to start competing and define their score.

After this day, there is still a very important part of this sixtieth edition of the Gran Día de la Vela ahead. This Thursday, registrations opened for the pinnacle event of this 60th Gran Día de la Vela: the 60th Anniversary Commemorative Regatta, which will take place on Saturday, August 31, and will see all light sailing classes participating together, starting in a "rabbit" type and scored using a rating system that will consider, through a compensation scale, the characteristics of each class. This means that nearly half a thousand boats will coincide on the water at the same time, posing a significant logistical challenge for the club.

Additionally, to celebrate this milestone, the CNA Restaurant will host a 60th Anniversary Gala Dinner, which will be attended from 9 PM on August 31 by the club's former presidents, the current Board of Directors, and all the CNA's honorary athletes, i.e., those who have been national champions or have achieved a podium in international championships over their careers.

The event will also feature other parallel activities, among them the 21st Sa Milla CNA - Cala Blava Crossing, an iconic open water swimming race taking place on August 31 from 9 AM at Es Caló beach with nearly half a thousand participants, and whose proceeds will go to charitable causes.

Traditional sailing will also have its moment at the event, with regattas for Latin sailing on August 31 in Regatta, Llaüts, and Open classes. The more social aspect of sailing will also have its moment, with regattas on the same day in August for the Cruiser class, which will compete in ORC. In this way, sailing, in all its forms, is the star of this event.

The Gran Día de la Vela - Bufete Frau is the longest-running regatta of the CNA and this edition is historically significant 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) are competing these days at the CNA.