Maltese Falcon competes in Superyacht Cup, Palma, Mallorca

Maltese Falcon confirmed this week that they will be taking part in the Superyacht Cup in Palma on June 23-26^th 2010. This fabulous iconic superyacht is 88m long, the largest yacht ever to have taken part in the Superyacht Cup.  The Maltese Falcon always draws much attention, not just because of her size, but also because of the radical rig configuration and the incredibly stylish design – quite unique.

The tallest of the Maltese Falcon’s three, freestanding and rotating, masts reaches incredibly more than 58m. She also carries 15 sails which gives her a sail area of 2,400 square metres.  The Maltese Falcon was designed by Gerard Dijkstra, with the interior and exterior styling by Ken Freivoch, and launched in 2006 by Perini Navi.

“We are very excited to be taking part in The Superyacht Cup again this year. For us, it is all about combining the excitement of the sailing and the fun of the social events. And Palma is such a great location; we are really looking forward to it,” commented Chris Gartner, Captain of Maltese Falcon.

That being said actually finding somewhere to berth an 88m yacht is not easy, but Astilleros de Mallorca, a long-term supporter and Silver Sponsor of The Superyacht Cup, have agreed to accommodate Maltese Falcon for the duration of the event. Their deep outer pontoon, facing the Superyacht Cup Village, is able to provide a central berth with easy access and, of course, is close enough to soak up the wonderful, exciting, atmosphere which takes over the regatta village each afternoon after racing.

Of course with only 18 – 20 spaces available on the dock it is really time for those who want to be in there to get their places booked.  No doubt there will be quite a few from last year returning.  We look forward to seeing who is ready to have another go this year and compete in this exciting Superyacht race. Can’t wait to see the Maltese Falcon in Palma, surely an incredible sight that those of us living on the island will be privileged enough to enjoy. In the meantime it is nice to know that due to the excellent feedback last year the sponsors are very keen to support the Superyacht Cup again this year.  All is looking good for this year’s Superyacht Cup in Palma de Mallorca.

PALMA’S TRAM IS COMING, BUT VERY SLOWLY!!!

At last the Central Government of Spain has agreed to put money towards the cost of building Palma’s city tram line. The Balearic authorities have signed an agreement whereby they receive 35 million euros each year towards the cost of building this city tram service – with a total government subsidy of 380 million euros awarded. The service will run from Palma out to the airport, on as far as El Arenal and then in a separate direction to Calvia. The annual payments will start this year.

Although satisfied with the first stage of the funding, Regional Transport Minister Gabriel Vicens, said that he was ‘disappointed’ that Central Government had not seen fit to sign over the total amount of their commitment to the project – 380 million euros – in one go. However, Vicens added, it does mean that the processing of all the paperwork and licenses necessary to get this building program off the ground, can be started by his department. Even then, the bureaucracy will take most of the upcoming year to complete.

It has been a worrying time for those concerned with this project because of the delays in getting the financial support from the Central Government which was paramount to its realisation. Vicens also added that some of the modifications proposed by Palma City Council had now been included in the blueprint.