Aina Bauza continues to accumulate miles on her journey towards the Mini Transat 2023.
The sailor from the Club de Vela Puerto de Andratx and the future first Balearic woman to participate in the Mini Transat 2023, one of the most demanding offshore races in the world, Aina Bauza, has competed in the Mini Calvados Cup, a championship for mini-class boats that is divided into three races, the first two are done with a crew, and the third and final one is solo.
A total of 48 mini 6.5 boats set sail from Douarnenez, at the tip of Finisterre, towards Deauville, France, in the first stage of the competition. In this initial journey, the Mallorcan sailor Aina Bauza encountered various technical issues, “we broke a part of the boat, which prevented us from having the headsails set, so we were considerably slower.” “Additionally, we caught a fishing net, which we had to cut with a knife” adds Bauza, unforeseen events from which they learned and resolved to continue with the remaining races.
The second stage of the Calvados Cup was particularly special for Aina Bauza, as it involved crossing the English Channel for the first time with her boat ‘Redo,’ and doing so at night. “The boat is ultimately very small, the English Channel is unpredictable and has many currents, the tide rises 4 or 5 meters, and there are many areas of current turbulence,” explains the sailor. “It’s a very good experience, a bit complicated because there is a lot of traffic and many merchant ships, which keeps you constantly alert” Bauza adds. Despite these challenges, she managed to secure a position among the top in the standings, finishing the race in 16th place overall.
Once the first two races were completed, Aina Bauza faced the third journey, now solo and with the accumulated fatigue from the previous stages. “The nights were quite long; when sailing alone, you sleep much less,” comments Bauza, who, despite being the last of the stages, left the port of Deauville eagerly heading to Roscoff, placing herself in the first position during the first 50 miles of the race. Later, a misreading of the currents caused her to drop positions, ultimately finishing the journey in 18th place in the overall classification. “In the end, I completed the race, which was the important thing, it was the goal,” proudly confesses the sailor from Andratx.
“It’s like an exam where you have to show the mini-class that you will be able to sail in the Mini Transat 2023“
This competition has allowed the sailor from the Club de Vela Puerto de Andratx to accumulate a total of 770 miles in competition, miles needed to meet the requirements for participating in the Mini Transat 2023.
But Aina Bauza doesn’t rest; in fact, on the evening of Friday, July 8th, she departs from Roscoff, north of France, to embark on her solo and non-stop thousand-mile race, another necessary requirement for the Mallorcan sailor to qualify for the Mini Transat 2023. “You have to prove that you are capable of doing the Mini Transat. During the thousand miles, you have to demonstrate that you know how to use everything, listen to the radio, analyze the weather...,” explains Bauza. “It’s like an exam where you have to show the mini-class that you will be able to sail in the Mini Transat 2023,” adds the Balearic sailor.
This time, Aina Bauza will face a circular route that she will complete in approximately one week and with favorable weather forecasts. She will depart from Roscoff towards the southeast of Ireland, then head south to La Rochelle, in southern France, before heading back north along the coast to the port of Roscoff, in northern France.
Aina embarks on this solo and non-stop journey with good feelings about her boat, “the boat is starting to perform well, which I really like because I didn’t expect this boat to be competitive in a race,” says Bauza. Although there is still work to be done before participating in the Mini Transat, “it has some potential, but there is still a lot to improve,” says Bauza, who will test her mini 6.5 boat in this solo race.
Afterward, she still has about 180 miles in races to qualify for the Mini Transat 2023. For this reason, Aina already has her next challenge in mind, which is to participate in the Mare Nostrum race in August, held between Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, where she would add another 500 miles more.
