The thirty seventh annual America’s Cup is about to kick off in Barcelona. Right here’s all the pieces it’s good to find out about it.
By Kevin Koenig
The America’s Cup is arguably probably the most prestigious athletic contest on the planet. Its storied historical past stretches again to the primary race on the Isle of Wight in 1851, making it the longest regularly held sports activities competitors on Earth. Although the championship was within the arms of the Individuals for an astonishing 132 years, different international locations have additionally flexed their muscular tissues in crusing’s most glamorous occasion over the previous 4 many years. Most lately, Emirates Group New Zealand received prime honors, and as was their proper, they acquired to pick the venue for the subsequent race.
They selected correctly. The 2024 America’s Cup is being held in Barcelona, Spain, one of many world’s nice metropolises, with an elite yachting pedigree besides. Carlo Borlenghi, the official photographer for Luna Rossa, sees it as the proper selection.
“I discover it very attention-grabbing that the America’s Cup takes place in Barcelona, for numerous causes,” he says. “To start with the truth that the regattas are held in entrance of the town, seen to everybody, and photographically you possibly can actually get a way of the scale of those ‘flying boats’ with the town behind them. Past that, the town usually has good climate circumstances, and is understood for its wealthy maritime heritage and vibrant cultural scene. Is it additionally simply accessible from throughout Europe. It’s an distinctive place to carry this very particular occasion.”
Floor zero in Barcelona this yr will probably be Port Vell, a world-class marina with a 400-meter dock that makes it a favourite for superyachts.
“We are able to deal with any dimension yacht simply,” says Ignacio Erroz, the marina’s common supervisor. “We now have had Dilbar, Azzam—the biggest and longest yachts in existence. And some of these vessels come right here as a result of they know our services are among the greatest within the Mediterranean and the world.”
Erroz additionally sings Barcelona’s praises with equal vigor. “Barcelona is a really tourist-friendly metropolis. It’s walkable, the climate is great, it has numerous historical past and delightful seashores, and the eating places are unbelievable,” he says. “We now have near 30 Michelin Star eating places right here. We imagine that we’ve got the perfect meals on the planet, simply don’t inform that to the Italians.” Lasarte is probably the town’s most ballyhooed restaurant. With three Michelin stars it’s a Mecca created by Chef Martin Berasategui, who seems suave and inventive dishes with basque and native Catalan influences.
The Moments restaurant on the Mandarin Lodge Barcelona is one other spot that’s not to be missed. The 2-star institution serves conventional and trendy Catalan dishes underneath the watchful eye of Carme Ruscalleda and her son Raül Balam.
Nevertheless Erroz recommends someplace totally completely different to seize a chunk whereas on the town, and never surprisingly, it’s at his marina. “Port Vell could have its personal restaurant and cocktail bar for the America’s Cup,” he says. “We now have an settlement with Moet & Chandon, plus an oyster bar. After which we’ve got one other settlement with the Spanish brewery Estrella Damm, and with them we’ll do each day beer lunches, which ought to show to be extremely popular.” The marina can even characteristic pop-up outlets from luxurious stalwarts like Louis Vuitton and Prada, so attendees can get some buying in after the lunchtime reveries conclude.
This yr Erroz says Marina Port Vell will host about 100 superyachts for the crusing races, making the America’s Cup a real point of interest for the yachting group. Although he was not at liberty to say the identify of the most important yacht that will probably be there, he did point out that it’s 106-meters lengthy.
On the smaller finish, Wajer Yachts will probably be in attendance, offering tender providers across the port. The Dutch builder is a daily on the superyacht tender scene, so this pairing makes good sense for this occasion.
If there may be overflow in your yacht this yr, or if you’re attending the Cup sans your boat, a keep at Lodge Arts is sort of obligatory. The lodge has spacious rooms ranging as much as 400-square-meter penthouses, in addition to a roofdeck with nonpareil panoramic views of the town. Notably, it’s a beachfront lodge, which is a relative rarity in Barcelona (one thing the town’s guests have discovered curious for years, as Barcelona is so well-known for its seashores).
Irrespective of the place you keep nonetheless, the actual pleasure will probably be on the water. With six groups from world wide crusing in cutthroat competitors simply offshore at speeds as soon as unimaginable, there may be merely nothing else on the planet fairly just like the America’s Cup. And with an elite venue like Port Vell internet hosting, the festivities grow to be that rather more particular. Plus, should you’re attending on a Heesen, nicely, then you’re within the rarest of airs certainly.
“I discover it very attention-grabbing that the America’s Cup takes place in Barcelona, for numerous causes,” says Borlenghi. “To start with the truth that the regattas are held in entrance of the town, seen to everybody, and photographically you possibly can actually get a way of the scale of those “flying boats” with the town behind them. Past that, the town usually has good climate circumstances, and is understood for its wealthy maritime heritage and vibrant cultural scene. Is it additionally simply accessible from throughout Europe. It’s an distinctive place to carry this particular occasion.”
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