What, where and when?

The Princess Sofia Trophy regatta will take place in Palma, Mallorca, from April 1 to 6. The Mallorcan towns of Arenal and C’an Pastilla are joint hosts of the regatta.

Who?

More than 1,700 sailors, coaches and support staff from 70 nations will descend on Arenal and C’an Pastilla for the regatta. The British Sailing Team is fielding 51 athletes in 37 boats and boards across the 10 classes. The men’s iQFOiL class has the largest representation, with seven British athletes taking to the start line. All our Team GB-selected sailors will be competing bar Hannah Snellgrove, James Peters and Fynn Sterritt and Ellie Aldridge.

The lowdown

Trofeo Princesa Sofia – or the Princess Sofia Trophy for us Brits – is the traditional season opener for the Olympic classes circuit, and the first regatta where all 10 classes compete. It is also one of only two multi-class events before Paris 2024 this summer. In reality there have already been a number of class world and European championships this year, but with less than four months to go until racing begins in Marseille, Princess Sofia marks a crucial opportunity to benchmark performance against the world’s best. The British Sailing Team finished the 2023 regatta with a stellar six-medal haul, including golds for Micky Beckett (pictured above) in the ILCA 7, and Sam Sills and Emma Wilson (below) in the men’s and women’s iQFOiL classes.

Anything else?

Welsh sailor Beckett also won in 2022 – can he make it three on the bounce?

Micky Beckett (Solva, Pembrokeshire) – ILCA 7: “The first World Cup I ever did was this event exactly 10 years ago in 2014. So apart from Covid when the event was cancelled, I’ve done it every year since. It’s an event I’ve always held in very high regard and it’s an exciting place. It’s a massive event and it’s a tough regatta, with long days on the water a very long way from land. But I guess that’s suited me for the last couple of editions. Defending my title this year would show that I’m on track with my goals ahead of this summer.”

How do I follow the regatta?

The official website featuring results and the full entry list is here. There is live tracking available for those who want to analyse racing closely, plus live race status and daily highlights videos. Please note there is no livestream for this event. If you want to track the progress of the Brits the best place to do so is the British Sailing Team social media channels. Each day we will keep you posted on results, and feature the best photos the event has to offer.

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