Spain, Sailing, Yacht Racing

The city of Melilla hosts the 11th edition of Nautical Week, held in the bay and its surrounding waters.
This event has consolidated its position as an important date on the calendar of regattas at Spanish and international level. Nautical Week is a high-level encounter for cruiser-class vessels. It figures on the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation calendar and is a point-scoring event for the Spanish IMS Cruiser Class Championship, in IMS 500, IMS 600, IMS 670, C and D groups.

Autonomous City: Melilla
Tourist Office: Calle Pintor Fortuny, 21 - 52004 Melilla (Melilla)
Tel. +34 952675444

Attracted by its strategic position in the Mediterranean, the Phoenicians established themselves on Melilla's current site in the 7th century B. C. Rusadir, as the city was known, became a flourishing trading port. Centuries later, then a Roman colony, it came to be an important communications centre. Melilla reached its most splendid age with the Arabs, as a trading and defensive city. From 1497, it passed into Spanish hands and became an important military establishment.
Melilla la Vieja

The oldest part is the fortified city (16th C.), known as El Pueblo. Declared a Historic-Artistic Site, Melilla la Vieja was originally formed by four fortresses linked together by drawbridges. The narrow streets making up oldest districts for the city are hidden behind its thick walls and deep ditches.

The most recent defensive bastion is situated in the Citadel, made up of the Grande, Chica, Victoria and Rosario forts (18th C.

Above the Hornabeque ditch stands the second citadel, centred on the Parade Ground, where the remains of the old Roman settlement were found.

Over the Santiago ditch you reach the oldest walled enclosure (16th-18th C.). Within the walls, the Plaza de las Peñuelas is surrounded by important buildings, like the Gothic chapel of Santiago. Other important places in the early citadel are the Museum of the City, the church of la Concepción, the oldest in Melilla (17th C.), and the bastion of La Concepción, site of the Army Museum.

From the 19th century onwards, the city outgrew its limits and established three new forts on the perimeter: Camellos, with a circular floor plan and ditch; Cabrerizas, a rhomboid shape flanked by two hexagonal towers; and Rostrogordo, whose pentagonal shape hides a large parade ground.

The Modernist city

Around the port and the Avenida de Juan Carlos I, the Ensanche shows a model urban layout sprinkled with carefully worked façades and rows of Modernist balconies.

Around the Plaza de España stand notable buildings like the Palace of La Asamblea, of art deco inspiration, the Bank of Spain and the Military Casino.

A faithful reflection of the multicultural character of the autonomous city, Melilla, city of the four cultures - Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu - reflects its cosmopolitan character in various of its most outstanding buildings. The Central Mosque, with architectural references taken from the Córdoba mosque, is one of the most beautiful churches in the city. The church of the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, situated opposite the Plaza de las Cuatro Culturas, the Or Zaruah Synagogue, right in the historic centre, and the Hindu Oratory can also be visited.
Cuisine and surroundings
Melilla has magnificent wide beaches of fine sand on its coast, as well as the spectacular “Puerto XXI” marina, situated between the old Mineral Wharf and San Lorenzo beach. It is a recent construction that has hundreds of moorings for leisure boats as well as a shopping and leisure centre. Among the many opportunities, you can learn to sail in a Sailing School or practise other water sports like jet skiing, windsurfing or diving.
Among the many hotels in Melilla, the Parador de Turismo, situated in the Ataque Seco district, next to the Victoria Fort, is outstanding.
When it comes to eating, Melilla has a delicious and very varied cuisine which has similarities with Andalusian regional cuisine. The outstanding features are fried fish, mouth-watering seafood and rice dishes, along with a selection of exotic specialities brought by the rest of the Melilla community: "pinchos morunos" (spicy meat kebabs), "harira" (meat and vegetable soup) and "couscous" (based on wheat semolina). Among the desserts, fritters, sweet couscous, filled pies and stuffed dates are outstanding.

introduction
horse riding
cycling
walking
snow skiing
water skiing
general
windsurfing
fishing
surfing
rock climbing

Altea-Ibiza-Altea Yacht Race

21 -24 February

The Altea Yachting Club organizes the 22nd Edition of the 200 Mile Yacht RACE, starting February 22nd until the 24th. The race takes place in the waters of Altea, Eiviessa and Formentera. Winners will receive a prize in silver bars.

Sailing: Breitling-Illes Balears Regatta

18th July to 22nd July
Club de Regatas Puerto Portals
Torre "Capitania", 07181 Portals Nous (Majorca)
Tel. +34 971171100 /Fax +34 971171117

Activity: Competitions.
Theme: Sports. / Sailing.
The waters off Majorca are the setting for this regatta, which is now established as one of the major events on the international sailing calendar.
Portals marina, just 7 kilometres from the city of Palma de Mallorca, hosts the Breitling-Illes Balears Regatta. This event features Transpac 52 boats, specially designed for speed, from some ten countries. The style of the competition makes this a stunning regatta for spectators, given that the race is held in real time, with no time compensation - i.e., the first across the finishing line is the winner.

http://www.regatabreitling.es/

Alicante is the venue for the Great Sailing Boat Regatta
This is a really cool and interesting events to see in Spain in July; when Alicante turns into one of the four cities, together with Barcelona, Toulon and Génona, that will be the venues for the Great Sailing Boat Regatta 2007 - Mediterranean. To be exact, the start of this regatta, which during the whole of the month of July will be plying the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, will set off from Alicante, providing the great climax to the nautical season of 2007, in which the 32nd America's Cup has turned the eyes of the world in the direction of our coasts. The climate, the environment, the navigation conditions and the historic past of these cities and the sea that unites them will make this regatta unique.
Also coinciding with this event is the holding of a colonial market. The wharfs of the Alicante Harbour will be full of street merchants, casks in which in days gone by oils and wines were transported and all the gadgets of the era.
Alicante, the capital of the Costa Blanca, also known as the city of light, offers this event a modern port with more than eight centuries of history and with all types of services and infrastructures and that also includes a great leisure area with more than 20,000 square metres of bars, cafeterias, gift shops, fashion shops and pubs.

Organización:
Sr. Luis C. López Pastor
Muelle de Poniente, 11
03001 Alicante
Tel.: 965 13 00 95
www.tallships2007mediterranea.org
TOURIST INFO ALICANTE
Avenida Rambla de Méndez Núñez,23 03002 ALICANTE
Teléfono:965200000 / Fax:965200243
alicante@touristinfo.net

Sailing: Tall Ships Races - Mediterranea

Puerto de Alicante

4th to 7th July

Muelle de Poniente, 11 03001 Alicante (Alicante - Alacant)
Tel. +34 965130095 /Fax +34 965130034

In the first fortnight of July, STI (Sail Training International) is organising a race between Alicante and Barcelona, as part of the Tall Ships Races - Mediterranea.
Every year, a fleet of more than 70 sail training vessels, including sophisticated boats of more than 100 metres in length, take part in a series of regattas in European and international waters, known as the Tall Ships' Races. This event combines adventure and cultural exchange - young people from all over the world take part, living together through this sporting experience. Apart from the regatta itself, you can also admire these

spectacular, historic vessels

More information:-

http://www.sailtraininginternational.org/

Province: Alicante - Alacant / Autonomous Region: Valencia
Tourist Office: Avenida Rambla Mendez Nuñez, 23 - 03002 Alicante (Alicante - Alacant)
Tel. +34 965200000 Fax +34 965200243
Located in the middle of the Costa Blanca, Alicante is one most important tourist destinations in the Spanish east coast. The many golf courses, along with the tranquil waters of the Mediterranean Sea, are part of the appeal of this beautiful harbour city, which sits at the foot of the Castle of Santa Barbara, a silent witness to the numerous civilisations to have settled here.
The historic quarter, at the foot of this fortress, conceals an interesting religious and civil architectural legacy, including the emblematic Explanada de España (Spain boulevard), a traditional recreational area to the local residents.
Alicante is also a land of deeply-rooted traditions, such as the Moors and Christians festivities and the Night of San Juan. When it comes to Alicante's delicious cuisine, rice takes the central stage, cooked in a million different ways.
Don’t miss...
Museums
Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Alicante (MARQ) (Alicante)
Museo-Casa de la Asegurada (Alicante)
Monuments
Castillo de Santa Bárbara (Alicante)
Concatedral de San Nicolás de Bari (Alicante)
Iglesia de Santa María (Alicante)
Golf
Alicante Golf (Playa de San Juan-Condomina)
Cultural Events Calendar
Hogueras de San Juan
Local cuisine
The rice dishes from Alicante have a great personality and they are delicious and varied. The sea provides fish that is presented in a myriad of ways, while the countryside offers incomparable fruits and vegetables. The baked goods are also exceptional, particularly the "turrones". Quite unique liqueurs.