The preliminary regattas of the 37th America’s Cup, which begin tomorrow, are accompanied by an extensive cultural, traditional festive and food and wine program in Vilanova i la Geltrú.
The proposals have been framed in the El batec del mar (The heartbeat of the sea) initiative, which aims to project the city and recover the maritime legacy and heritage. The City Council states that “the celebration of this event in the waters of Vilanova is a magnificent opportunity to highlight the connection of Vilanova i la Geltrú with the sea, highlight the maritime heritage and extend recreational nautical activity.”
No new infrastructure has been created to host the regattas, but it is intended that the America’s Cup will provide future benefits. The aim is to highlight fishing, innovation linked to the world of the sea and enhance the local cultural and sports-nautical facets.
Tomorrow afternoon you can visit the archaeological site of Darró, and all the city’s museums offer special hours until Sunday. Friday’s day begins with the live broadcast, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, of the program El món a RAC 1, with Jordi Basté, from the Race Village in the port of the capital of Garraf. The first to arrive will be able to take a seat.
The parallel program of events includes an exhibition by Barcelona Capital Nàutica which, among other aspects, shows what is experienced inside a racing boat, and a castle exhibition by the Bordegassos de Vilanova, the Falcons de Vilanova or the Festive city fire bestiary.
There will also be a stage with a giant screen in the Race Village, where local municipal groups (La petita Havana, La Banda Mestre Montserrat and Inxa Brass Band) will perform and the team presentations or the opening and closing ceremonies with the presentation of awards.
The award that the winning boat will receive is from local artist Xavier Cuenca, who has created a work with plastic waste from the sea that symbolizes a fish. The sculpture, with a marble base and almost a meter in length, invites reflection on “the sustainability of the sea, the generation of plastics and the need to take care of the natural environment.” On the trophy plaque you can read, in Catalan: “Jonah, a simple plastic fish. Work made with waste material, to denounce the mistreatment we are doing on the planet, in the sea, in life.”
The batec del mar includes interviews with people linked to the sea or, tomorrow Saturday, an exhibition of the Vilanova Carnival Comparsas. Viu Comerç invites you to go to the city center to discover local commerce. You can also see the Santa Eulàlia pailebote, a century-old sailboat that is part of the fleet of the Barcelona Maritime Museum, and the Astral sailboat of the NGO Open Arms. At the same time, a Catalan skate exhibition will be offered on Saturday and Sunday in Vilanova waters, with 210 boats, which could be a Guinness record. These single-crew dinghy sailing monotypes will be based in the neighboring town of Cubelles. All the “practical and current information” can be found in the app of the city of Vilanova i la Geltrú (App Vilanova). Here you can consult current activities or information, as well as questions about mobility and the occupancy status of the free peripheral car parks.
The wine and food space for the preliminary regattas, located in the Plaza del Port (the Race village), has proposals with local products from up to five local restaurants (Els Bessons, Kurama, El Cafè del Mar, Sa Barra and Malaxica) and six wineries from the Garraf massif (La Vinya del Sastre, Puig Batet, Viladellops, 7 Pams, Foresta and Torre del Veguer).
Some winemakers have expressed their displeasure at the fact that the wines will be served, due to lack of water to wash the crystal glasses, in unbreakable polycarbonate glasses.
The service of the three beach bars located on Ribes Roges beach is also reinforced.
The president of the Vilanova Hospitality Gremi, Jordi Gasol, recognizes that the closure of the city’s maritime façade represents “a setback” for the establishments and their clients, although he points out that “the closure is understood.” In fact, he has received no complaints from associates.
For their part, the trawl and small gear fishermen from the port of the capital of Garraf have reached a compensatory agreement with the organization of the regattas and with the Generalitat to not go out to fish during the competition. “Security reasons” have been put forward to keep the fishing fleet moored. Only boats that catch blue fish at night can go to sea.
The senior patron of the Vilanova Fishermen’s Confederation, Jaume Carnicer, states that he cannot give details of the agreement because there is “a confidentiality clause.” He points out, however, that they are satisfied after reaching a last-minute agreement, although he regrets that “we couldn’t do much more, it was a yes or a yes if we weren’t able to go fishing.”
