La Ruta de la Sal 2023 Winners

After several editions with foreign superiority, in this edition the Spanish teams are once again in the spotlight and winning the trophies. Last Saturday, April 8, the trophy ceremony was held.

The winners in each category were the following.

Results Ruta de la Sal 2023

Denia Version 

First place for Pelotari Project, Vismara Mills 68 of Andrés Varela Entrecanales of the Real Club Náutico Port de Pollença. Followed by, El Brujo, Swan 45 of Alberto de Castro, from the Real Club Náutico de Valencia and his absolute victory in corrected time, and third place went to Clem, Swan 56 of Jaime Olazabal from the Club de Mar de Mallorca.

Barcelona version

The Hydra-HM Hospitales, DK 46 of Oscar Chavez of Club Náutico El Balís, took the victory in both real time and corrected time. Second place went to Caliope, J45, from Club Náutico Sant Feliu de Guixoles, skippered by Antonio Lorca, and third place to Libélula, Swan 65 based in Port Adriano and with Borja Pella at the helm.

GlobeSailor

In this category the victory went to the Pim Pam, First 40.7 skippered by Albert Cortadella, from CN El Balis.

Category A2

First place for the Diabolic, Sun Fast 35 of Glen de Brower from CM Torrdembarra.

Salina Barcelona version

This new category was intended for boats skippered by a woman and having half of the crew female. This victory went to Cheetah, Dufour 40, skippered by Kathyleen Rutten, from RYCB Belgium. 

Med Cat Bali

The multihull that won the trophy for first place went to Dakota, Alivi 51 skippered by Clairn Mustad of GYC.

Mini-Sal

In this category, the Xcuba trophy was won by Toni Garcés' IMX40, from the Real Club Náutico Valencia.

Tomorrow will start the Ruta de la Sal, the most important regatta in the Mediterranean, which will last from Thursday April 6th to Sunday April 8th, coinciding as always with Easter week. It is a very well known regatta for sailors and amateur crews.

In this 35th edition we have as main novelty the use of the ORC rating system. This system will provide the distribution of the fleet in more equanimous groups and fundamentally to promote the internationalization of the regatta.

Another novelty, as we commented at the time of the presentation, is the inclusion of another trophy of a different category: Med Cat Trophy and Bali Trophy. These trophies reward the winner of a new class that will bring together catamarans and trimarans. These trophies sponsor a multihull category and their own class for all BALI catamarans.

This edition will again record prepandemia numbers as it has about 150 boats registered, being the offshore regatta that concentrates the largest fleet in Spain. It is well known and important for many enthusiasts as La Ruta de la Sal is perfect to start offshore sailing, as evidenced by the rise of the GlobeSailor Category, which is dedicated to school and charter boats.

Another category is the Salina Category, which aims to promote women's sailing and for the first time will be formed in both the Barcelona Version and the Denia Version.

It is worth remembering why the salt route originated in 1984, and it is that, due to a shortage of salt in Barcelona, an important businessman had the original idea of summoning the most reputable sailors of the time and present them with a challenge that ended up becoming a renowned regatta. 

This objective of bringing together sailing enthusiasts in the same event can be seen reflected in one of the categories of the Ruta de la sal. We are talking about the Mini-Sal category, with a 55-mile course from Denia to Sant Antoni de Portmany. Prototype route for amateurs and sailors who want to undertake their first trips away from the coast. This added to the technological innovation and safety provided by the organization is a perfect combination to dare and experiment in a spectacular regatta.

Soon you will be able to enjoy in Nautical Channel the best moments lived in the salt route.