2008 AUDI MedCup

Stage 5: CARTAGENA

Home of the Spanish Navy and one of the oldest cities in the world, Carthagena will be reached by the Audi MedCup fleet at the height of the tourist season in August.    
    
Cartagena is enjoying a major growth as a destination due in no small way to substantial investment in rebuilding and subsequently promoting one of Spain’s most historic but erstwhile overlooked historical cities. Of strategic value as a natural seaport at the rocky gateway to the Mediterranean as well as commercially rich in local mining, Cartagena’s history is long, disturbed and distiguished.

Home of the Spanish Navy, Carthagena was founded around 243 BC by the Carthaginian Hasdrubal and was first known in Latin as Carthagena Nova. It became an important source of wealth to the Carthaginians and the Romans because of its silver and gold mines, and over the years its strategic and commercial importance made  it the cause of many battles, through the War of Indepndence and War of  Succession, passing through Roman, Moorish, English and French hands.  The architectural and cultural legacies make this historic city a historic gem that is too often overlooked by visitors to Spain.

The nearby mines produced lead, iron, copper, zinc and sulphur  dispatched from here and nearby ports.
In modern times the area’s Costa Calida is thriving as a holiday destination popular with golfers, stretching from the largest lagoon in Europ, Mar Menor along the La Manga strip to Aguilas in the south.

As well as building the extensive marina facility, Cartagena has been investing heavily in restoring her historical buildings and the waterfront area has been re-built and restored. The sea wall marks one boundary of the historic quarter on another is the Military Arsenal.

The National Museum for Maritime Archaeology is worth visiting, and musing over the prototype of the submarine which was invented by Cartagena’s Isaac Peral. The town is dominated by the City Hall, the Palacio Consistorial, while the Old Cathedral is one of the most important in Spain and has a structure which dates back to 1BC.

The adjacent coastline is spectacular, the beaches excellent and the Calblanque beach is part of a nature reserve. Tourists can ride the trams, walk along the remodelled, restored harbourside promenade, the Paseo Alfonso XII and the tree lined boulevards or take the barco touristica to explore the natural harbour’s waterways.

The 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit consists of 6 events in 4 countries and could see as many as 60 races sailed by the end of the season. In a no-discard race circuit, meaning that for the first time every race counts, extra emphasis is being placed by teams on their ability to finish consistently well and the reliability of their boats. Equipment failure and retirement will prove costly on points – as will tactical risk taking on the race course. Never before has a 60-race series been organised for a fleet of this calibre featuring the very best sailors in the world, be they Olympic medallists, America’s Cup winners, owner-drivers or One Design champions.

16 teams from 12 nations are now in the countdown to the 5th event of the 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit to be run in Cartagena, Spain (August 25 - 30). In Cartagena, as at all MedCup events, teams will race a 5-day regatta featuring as many as nine inshore races and one coastal race.