The maxi catamaran ‘Victoria’ crossed the finish line on the Canary Island of La Gomera at 16 hours, 00 minutes and 4 seconds on Monday, November 11, after setting sail from Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, on Saturday, November 9. November at 22 hours, 25 minutes and 26 seconds. This represents a new record for this first stage of the Discovery Route. Álex Pella’s boat has used 1 day, 18 hours, 34 minutes and 38 seconds to make the first trip on this route, while the ‘Mapfre’ – which held the record until now – did it in 1 day, 19 hours, 20 minutes and 30 seconds.
«In this first stage of the Discovery Route record, we have done very well and we have had strong winds. We left Huelva with little wind and it immediately came in, we have reached more or less between 18 and 30 knots of wind and it has allowed us to test the boat in the conditions of the Atlantic. And understand the boat well for the second stage, which is the key to this great challenge. Between us we have worked very well with a line of guards, which has allowed us to go at a good pace,” he noted. Alex Pella.
The departure from Huelva.
After passing through La Gomera, the crew of the ‘Victoria’ made up of Álex Pella, Lalou Roucayrol, Alejandro Cantero, Alberto Muñoz, Pablo Santurde, Pilar Casares and Manuel Maqueda, will head to the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and They will moor until the next weather window that allows them to begin the second section of this route, the one that connects La Gomera and San Salvador.in the Bahamas. To break the record they must complete both routes in less than 11 days, 7 hours and 40 seconds.
The ‘Victoria’ news can be followed on its website, which has a real time tracking system during the entire journey and that offers at all times comparative information on distance traveled and time spent with the current record holder, the ‘Mapfre’.
This route was the first of the four trips he made Christopher Columbus. The expedition left Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, on August 3, 1492, composed of three ships: Santa María, Pinta and la Niña and sighted the mainland, on the island of San Salvador, on October 12, 1492. Thus began one of the greatest milestones in the world: the discovery of a new continent.
