Salou and Santa Ponça will once again be twinned for another year through the Rei En Jaume 2023 Regatta, which will be held between the 8th and 10th of September. This will be the 37th edition of this event held in the waters of the Balearic Islands and Catalonia, specifically between Salou (Tarragona) and Santa Ponça (Calvià), with a course of approximately 110 miles.

The Rei En Jaume Regatta attempts to recreate the historical events of the route that led James I to the island of Pantaleu in 1229, to then reach the Mallorcan coast and begin the conquest. For this reason, it will start in front of the Club Náutico Salou and the finish line will be located at the Freu de Dragonera.

The competition has been presented at the Calvià Town Hall in a ceremony attended by the mayor of the municipality, Juan Antonio Amengual; the president of the Club Náutico de Santa Ponça, Luis Nigorra; the director of the Rei En Jaume Regatta, Manuel Nadal de Uhler, and the deputy mayor of Sports, Javier Tascón.

The Mayor of Calvià, Juan Antonio Amengual, stressed the importance of maintaining traditions and assured that “we believe that a regatta of this size, with the tradition it has, it is very important to maintain and strengthen it so that it can have a development beyond these participants that there are today and that they can multiply in the future”.

Up to 15 boats

The organisers are expecting a fleet of 12 to 15 boats, the majority of which will be Catalan crews. The director of the Rei En Jaume Regatta, Manuel Nadal de Uhler, explained that “this year’s participation has dropped a little because the dates coincide with some of the events on the America’s Cup calendar, which is held in Barcelona”.

In this 37th edition, the fleet will be made up of boats with ORC, Classics, A2 and Solitaire measurement certificates. The classifications will be established by classes and groups, and there will also be a ranking by clubs represented by teams made up of a boat of less than 50 feet and another of more than 50 feet.

The race is one of the five competitions that form part of the High Seas Circuit and its progress can be followed via the Club Náutico Santa Ponça website thanks to the sailing-tracking system that equips all the participating boats with GPS devices.

Rei En Jaume Regatta Programme

The regatta’s sporting programme will kick off on Friday, September 8th, with the skippers’ meeting and the welcome dinner for the participants at the CN de Salou. On Saturday, 9th September, the participating boats will gather in the bay of the Catalan town, from where the start of the regatta is scheduled. The trophy ceremony will take place on 10th September in Port Adriano.