Federació Catalana de Vela, the regional sailing federation in Catalonia, northeastern Spain, organizes biannually a sailing congress (Congrés de la Vela Catalana) where professionals from the sailing community gather to exchange the latest news.
EUROSAF President, Josep M Pla, made a presentation about the Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat event, the future new Olympic event, drawing on the experience EUROSAF has gained in setting up the 2019 EUROSAF Mixed Offshore European Championship sailed between Venice and Trieste (Italy) last October following the new event guidelines.
As he did at the World Sailing annual meeting in Bermuda last November, he outlined the difficulties encountered in organizing this first event and also looked to the opportunities lying ahead, with an emphasis on the 2020 EUROSAF Mixed Offshore European Championship that will be sailed from Genoa (Italy) next June.
The EUROSAF event and the opportunities presented resonated with participants, who came from the Catalan Federation, local clubs, and the racing offshore local community, as some double-handed offshore events have a longstanding tradition in Catalan waters and can provide a fertile ground for the discipline to expand, especially with mixed crews.
Get an overview with this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL89F8lXAnI