Anyone who likes tall-sail yachts should put Santa Cruz in their diary for the weekend of 20-23 November, because that's when the 2009 Transatlantic Maxi Yacht Cup is setting off from Tenerife.
The event is organized by the International Maxi Association in collaboration with the Real Club Nautico de Tenerife among others, and the yachts are expected to arrive at the St. Maarten Yacht Club in the Dutch Antilles at the beginning of December.
At present, six yachts are registered to set sail, and all are said to be spectacularly beautiful. They are the Aime Sea (35.05m/Cayman Islands), Alexia (30m, Argentina), Beau Geste (24.33m), Crisco (30.38m, Germany), Sojana (34.99m, Great Britain) and the Valkyrie (23.06m Canada).
The Transatlantic Maxi Yacht Cup was first competed for in 2007 under the name of the Translatlantic Maxi Rolex Yacht Cup. Last year's race was won by the Nariida II, which took 14 days to cross the nearly 2,700 nautical miles of the Atlantic.
Events start on Friday 20 November with the yachts' registrations, which will be moored in Santa Cruz marina because the RCNT harbour is not large enough to accommodate the vessels, which are all over 18m long. They will set sail around 1pm on Monday 23.
JAA
Transatlantic Maxi Cup tall yachts on show in Santa Cruz between 20-23 November 
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