About thirty sailboats have sailed the Barcelona coast, in a sway of white spots on blue that is common in the Catalan capital. What is not so common is the crew that has led them through the Barcelona waters. More than 200 people with Alzheimer's from all over Catalonia and their families have been the protagonists of the regatta, the only nautical event worldwide in which the crew is made up of people with Alzheimer's and other dementias.
The more than 200 crew members participate in the memory reinforcement program of the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera, which serves 2,000 people in 21 centers throughout Catalonia. From the Olympic Port, participants have embarked on 31 sailboats, double that of the last edition, which was the first of the regatta. In addition, the initiative does not sail alone: more than a hundred people with reduced mobility have boarded Golondrinas to closely follow the regatta.
In this second edition, the event has grown in boats, participants and territorial scope, since in the first regatta all participants came from Barcelona, while in this one they have traveled from all over Catalonia. This growth has materialized "due to the success of last year's edition," as explained by the general director of the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera, Marta Lacambra, and the president of Veles per l'Alzheimer, Edgar Martínez.
With the intention of reproducing the Regatta against Alzheimer's in other parts of the world, entities from the United Kingdom, Italy and Brazil have attended this year's edition"Next year it will be done again, and we will accommodate everyone who wants to come,"have guaranteed after the success of this second edition, which has brought together people from Lleida, Mollerussa, Tarragona, Reus, Girona, Vilanova i Geltrú, Santa Coloma, Terrassa, Sabadell and Badalona, in addition to Barcelona. All of them have traveled to Port Olímpic, which aspires to "be a space for nautical dissemination and practice for all audiences," according to its director, Olga Cerezo. According to her, events like this regatta "align with this purpose and allow progress towards an accessible, inclusive, and sensitized nautical experience for all groups."
With this objective in mind, the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera and Veles per l'Alzheimer began a collaboration in 2022 through which they have promoted 65 therapeutic activities since then. With 2,500 participants, the proposals have included sailing activities and visits to facilities such as the Maritime Museum, the Palamós Fishing Museum and the Aquàrium, as well as the fish market.
Within the framework of this collaboration, preparatory activities for the participants of the Regatta against Alzheimer's have been carried out this year, such as knot workshops, sailing trips and meetings with the boat skippers. The regatta, sponsored by the multinational Sika and with the support of the Barcelona Nautical Capital Foundation and the Catalan Sailing Federation, has been co-organized by the Real Club Marítimo de Barcelona, and has had the collaboration of Port Olímpic and the students of the Barcelona Nautical Institute, who have participated as support staff.
The America's Cup showcase
All this in a year in which Barcelona will host the America's Cup, which will serve as a showcase to highlight the Catalan nautical sector as accessible and inclusive. In the context of the competition and with the intention of reproducing the Regatta against Alzheimer's in other parts of the world, not only Spanish entities, but also those from the United Kingdom, Italy and Brazil, have attended this year's edition.
The Reforç de la Memòria program of the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera, shared by more than 200 participants, offers tools and strategies for people in the initial stages of Alzheimer's and other dementias to maintain their abilities and improve their emotional state so that they have a good quality of life, an objective also aimed at their families and caregivers. The program is a pioneer in promoting that people with mild and moderate cognitive impairment carry out meaningful activities by themselves, and works to ensure that they maintain their abilities for as long as possible, prioritizing their autonomy and emotional well-being.