New venues for 2021 52 SUPER SERIES calendar

Galicia in northern Spain and the French resort of Saint Tropez, will now feature on the 52 SUPER SERIES circuit, to kick-start the 2021 season.

“There is no getting away from the fact that 2020 has been very limited and so we feel we have pulled out all the stops to offer our owners, crews and the global fanbase a great opportunity to join us at venues that are new to us, places which are very much in keeping with our fundamental principles of visiting different places together as well as sharing our love for the well-established favourites,” says Agustin Zulueta, CEO of the 52 SUPER SERIES.

The five event 2021 circuit will open from May 3-8 in Saint Tropez. The 52 SUPER SERIES is responding to the desire of owners and crews for a standalone circuit regatta on this part of the French Riviera where many mixed fleet regattas are held. In early May the waters off Saint Tropez can offer everything from light gradient or sea breezes to the strong northerly Mistral, and it’s a popular move, not least among the circuit’s French crews.

Then from 5-10 June the circuit heads north to Baiona, a small but renowned coastal resort in Galicia’s Pontevedra region, to the SW of Vigo. A warm welcome is expected from the local hosts who have been campaigning for a number of years to bring the circuit to waters where many top Spanish offshore and ocean racers started out. Platoon’s double world championship winning Victor Mariño, a native of Vigo, is thrilled that the circuit will visit his home waters. “There are so many sailors and fans of the 52 SUPER SERIES and the TP52s who follow the circuit and watch all the broadcasts, it is a dream come true to have the circuit. It is super beautiful there, sailing in a huge bay round islands. The conditions will be nice at that time of year. And I am sure the sailing community there will put on a huge party to welcome us.”

Diego Torrado, the Galician boat captain of South-African-flagged Phoenix 11, is also enthusiastic about the new Spanish venue. He says: “Baiona is one of the most maritime places in Spain and has a history linked to the sea for many centuries. Life there is focused on the sea and the city deserves a competition like this. And I think it will be such a new challenge for all the sailors, many of them the best in the world, to race on the Galician coast, very different to the Mediterranean. The Vigo estuary area, being protected, gives wonderful sailing conditions, but we must not forget that we are in the Atlantic.”

In July, the third event of the year sees a welcome return to Cascais where the Rolex TP52 World Championship will take place from 12-17th July. It will be the second time that the Rolex TP52 World Championship has been hosted there and memories remain fresh of the fantastic, breezy, wavy conditions over the corresponding, same week in 2017 when Quantum Racing won by three points ahead of Azzurra.

The Bay of Palma continues to host the fourth regatta which returns to Puerto Portals from August 23-28 .

The venue for the fifth regatta of the season has yet to be confirmed and is under discussion with 52 SUPER SERIES management at the present time. “We are pleased with the venues, which offer a mix of new and very well-known places, and hopefully we will have an incredible season in 2021,” says Guillermo Parada, skipper-helm of reigning circuit champions Azzurra.

Rob Weiland, TP52 class manager, comments: “Measuring to any standard at all you cannot fault a circuit that offers Saint Tropez – Baiona – Cascais – Puerto Portals – in terms of the sailing and the social mix when we try to restrict ourselves to the Western Med and Iberian Atlantic coast. I do hope we will be able in 2021 to have another go at the TP52 Class 20th Anniversary Invitational. Many were looking forward to this regatta and the opportunity to see 20 TP52s racing together, and we will do all we can to make it happen.”

2021 52 SUPER SERIES Calendar

                1.            May 3-8 | 52 SUPER SERIES Saint Tropez Sailing Week | Saint Tropez, France

                2.            June 5-10 | 52 SUPER SERIES Baiona Sailing Week | Galicia, Spain

                3.            July 12-17 | Rolex TP52 World Championship Cascais 2021 | Cascais, Portugal

                4.            August 23-28 | 52 SUPER SERIES Puerto Portals Sailing Week | Mallorca, Spain

                5.            September 27 – October 2 | TBC