Alex Pella (born 2 November 1972) is a Spanish yachtsman. In 2014 he became the first and only Spanish to win a transoceanic single-handed race, the

Route du Rhum The Route du Rhum is a transatlantic single-handed yacht race, which takes place every four years in November. The course is between Saint Malo, Brittany, Metropolitan France and Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, overseas France Overseas Fran ...

. Alex Pella made history once again, on the 26th of January 2017, when he broke, with the rest of the team, the absolute round-the-world speed sailing record, known as the

Jules Verne Trophy The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew provided the vessel has registered with the organization and paid an entry fee. A vessel holding th ...

., aboard the sophisticated maxi-multihull

IDEC 3 ''Groupama 3'' is a high performance racing sailing trimaran designed for transoceanic record-setting ''IDEC SPORT'' ''Banque Populaire VII'', ''Lending Club 2'', ''IDEC 3''). She is one of the world's fastest ocean-going sailing vessels and t ...

. They circumnavigated the planet in 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds.

Early life

Alex was born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

on 2 November 1972, within a nautical environment and a sailing family. Second of four brothers, who have all made boats and sailing their profession, he began to sail as a very young boy aboard his family’s yacht. To date, Alex has sailed on all kinds of racing boats, from the light

Mini Transat 6.50 Mini Transat 6.50 also known by a number of alternatives Mini, Class Mini, Transat 650 is a development measurement controlled offshore sailing primarily used for racing in the Mini Transat Race hence the name. Background History The Classe Min ...

to the most sophisticated Maxi-Trimarans. Alex has been a professional sailor for over 15 years, in which he has completed more than 150.000 nautical miles. He discovered his passion for offshore single-handed sailing at the end of the 1990s while preparing two Spanish boats for the

Solitaire du Figaro The Solitaire du Figaro, previously called the Course de l'Aurore, is a solo multi-stage sailing race created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and . The unique character of the race, the presence of great solo sailors and its being open to amateu ...

. In his first internationally renowned race -the

- Alex Pella obtained the best classifications in history for a non-French skipper. He was third in 2003 and second in 2005, winning the long leg from the Canary Islands to Brazil. He thus became the first and only Spanish to win a leg in a transoceanic solo race.

Other accomplishments

On 19 November 2014, Alex Pella wins the

aboard the "Tales II" and becomes the first and only Spanish to win a transoceanic single-handed regatta. Alex Pella wrote himself into the history books of the

solo Transatlantic race and Spanish ocean racing when he crossed the finish line of the 3542 miles La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe race first in

Class40 Class40 is a class of monohull sailboat and a yacht primarily used for short handed offshore and coastal racing. The class is administered by International Class40 Association which is recognised by the World Sailing. Background In 2004 form ...

at 06:47:08 hrs TU/07:47:08hrs CET/02:47:08 Local Gaudeloupe. He sets a new course record of 16d17h47m8s, beating the 2010 mark for the 40 foot Class 17d 23h 10m by 1d 5h 23m 09s. After starting off Saint Malo on his 42nd birthday, Sunday 2 November, the Spanish sailor took 16d17h47m8s to complete the 3542 miles course, at a theoretical average speed of 8.82kts. In reality he sailed 4336 miles at an average speed of 10.79kts.

Sporting career

2021: *1st RORC Transatlantic Race, aboard the Multi50 "Rayon Vert" * Ultim 32/23 Circuit *Classic Yachts Circuit, aboard the S&S

Sparkman & Stephens Sparkman & Stephens is a naval architecture and yacht brokerage firm with offices in Newport, Rhode Island and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The firm performs design and engineering of new and existing vessels for pleasure, commercial, and milit ...

"Galvana" of The Pella Brothers 2020: *3rd RORC Caribbean 600 – Swan Challenges Series, aboard the Swan65 S&S

"Libelula" * Ultim 32/23 Circuit 2019: *3rd Brest Atlantiques, aboard the Ultim "Actual Leader" with Yves Le Blevec * Ultim 32/23 Circuit (Armen Race,

Fastnet Race The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France. The race is named after the Fast ...

...etc.) *3rd Défi Atlantique, aboard the Class 40 "Made in Midi" with Kito de Pavant *2nd Panerai Transat Classique, aboard the Yawl Olin Stephens "Stiren" 2018: *Record Hong Kong - London, Tea Route, in 36 days, 2 hours, 37 minutes and 12 seconds, aboard the MOD70 Maserati *3rd Swan Cup, aboard the Swan65 S&S

"Libelula" *Classic Yachts Circuit, aboard the S&S

"Galvana" of The Pella Brothers 2017: *1st

Transat Jacques Vabre The Transat Jacques Vabre is a yachting race that follows the historic coffee trading route between France and Brazil. It is named after (and sponsored by) a French brand of coffee. The course was drawn up back in 1993 to follow in the wake of ...

, Multi50 aboard the Arkema in 10 days, 19 hours, 14 minutes and 19 seconds *

, absolute round-the-world speed sailing record, aboard the

. Fastest circumnavigation of the world in 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds *2nd The Bridge, aboard the

*South Indian Ocean Record in 5 days, 21 hours, 7 minutes and 45 seconds, aboard the

*South Pacific Ocean Record in 7 days, 21 hours, 13 minutes and 31 seconds, aboard the

*Equator to Equator Record in 29 days, 9 hours, 10 minutes and 55 seconds, aboard the

*Classic Yachts Circuit, aboard the S&S

"Galvana" of The Pella Brothers *In 2017-18, he was a crewmember on leg 3 with Team AkzoNobel in the Volvo Ocean Race . 2016: *

, record attempt, aboard the

. Circumnavigation of the world in 47 days, 14 hours and 47 minutes *Substitute of the

Vendée Globe --> The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. It is named after the Département of Vendée, in France ...

, round-the-world, single-handed regatta, for the French skipper Kito de Pavant *

IMOCA 60 The IMOCA ("Open 60"), is a 60ft development class monohull sailing yacht administered by the International Monohull Open Classes Association, International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA). The class pinnacle event are single-handed sail ...

Circuit *Abandon

Transat Québec-Saint-Malo Transat may refer to: * Transat A.T., Canadian tour and travel agency ** Air Transat, Canadian airline owned by Transat A.T. * Concept Composites MD03 Transat, French ultralight aircraft * "The Transat", also called the Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic ...

, capsized aboard the "MOD70 Musandam Oman-Sail" *Classic Yachts Circuit, aboard the S&S

"Galvana" of The Pella Brothers 2015: *1st Sailing Arabia – The Tour, aboard the “EFG Bank (Monaco)” of Sidney Gavignet *Round Ireland Sailing Record in 40 hours, 51 minutes and 57 seconds, aboard the "

MOD 70 The Multi One Design 70 (MOD 70) is a multihull one-design yacht class, named after the Multi One Design company, created in 2009. The MOD 70 is a class of trimaran A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main ...

Musandam-Oman Sail" *Indian Ocean Record in 6 days, 23 hours and 4 minutes, aboard the ''

'', between Cape Agulhas in South Africa (20°East) and South East Cape in Tasmania (146°49 East) 2014: *1st

, aboard the “Tales II” *Record

–

in 16 days, 17 hours, 47 minutes and 8 seconds, aboard the “Tales II” *First and only Spanish to win a transoceanic single-handed regatta *Trophée Course Open UNCL (Union Nationale pour la Course au Large) *

Circuit 2013: *

Circuit *2nd

Transat Jacques