Cartagena will once again be the center of attention in the international sailing world. From November 11 to 15, its bay will host the final race of the 44Cup season, one of the premier circuits on the global sailing scene, featuring some of today’s most renowned sailors competing aboard RC44s.
This marks the city’s debut as a host of this circuit, another step toward its establishment as an international sailing destination. The choice is no accident. Cartagena’s bay meets the conditions sought by the circuit’s organizers: a technical race course and, in November, stable weather, with temperatures between 18 and 20 degrees and winds from the northwest that guarantee good sailing conditions.
The RC44s—44-foot (just over 13-meter) one-design boats built entirely of carbon fiber—will compete on these waters, designed so that the crew, not the boat, makes the difference. The class formula has its own unique character: each boat pairs an amateur owner (who is required to serve as helmsman) with a crew of professional sailors, including Olympic and world championship medalists, as well as familiar names from the America’s Cup and The Ocean Race.
During the competition, the RC44s will be moored at the North Pier, where anyone who wants to can come see them up close—one of the main attractions of this type of event for the general public. At the same time, onshore activities will be scheduled to introduce sailing—and the values typically associated with it, such as sportsmanship, innovation, and sustainability—to a broader audience than just the usual regatta enthusiasts.
Two Decades of History on Water
The 44Cup began in 2005 as the RC44 Championship Tour, spearheaded by New Zealander Russell Coutts, a legendary figure in the America’s Cup and currently CEO of the Rolex SailGP Championship. Its hallmark is technical equality: since all teams sail the same boat, the race is decided by strategy, tactics, and the crew’s skill, rather than by design differences. With Cartagena now on its calendar, the 44Cup adds a new stop to a circuit that traverses some of Europe’s most challenging waters, and the city adds another reason to its commitment to becoming a leading destination for international sailing.
This isn’t the first time Cartagena has hosted a competition of this caliber: between 2008 and 2011, it hosted the Audi MedCup, featuring TP52 and GP42 classes, and in 2025 it was part of the route for The Ocean Race Europe. With the 44Cup, the city builds on that history and reinforces its role as a regular venue for high-level competitive sailing.
In fact, the event benefits from a comprehensive network of institutional support from the Region of Murcia, the City of Cartagena, the Cartagena Port Authority, and the Murcia Region Sailing Federation, as well as collaboration from Veolia, Grupo Sedauto, and Cementos La Cruz.
The announcement came after a meeting between municipal and port representatives from Cartagena and the organizers of the 44Cup: on the local side, Mayor Noelia Arroyo, Port Authority President Pedro Pablo Hernández, and Director General of Sports Fran Sánchez; representing the circuit were its director, Bertrand Favre, and the director of the event in Cartagena, Patricio Rosas, along with the president of the Murcia Region Sailing Federation, Arturo García; Pilar Hernández, from the 44Cup; and Emilio Azofra, from Punto Sur.
