Alberto Muñoz, a 22-year-old from Dianense, is part of the crew of the Maxicat Victoria catamaran. Led by the Spanish navigator Alex Pella, he is part of the team that intends to break the record for the westward circumnavigation of the world, trying to obtain the Elcano Oceanic Trophy in 100 days, coinciding with the 501st Anniversary of the 1st Circumnavigation.
The challenge will involve going against winds and tides and will be a milestone in navigation. In this interview, the Dianense tells us how this adventure came to him, his passion for boats and what the preparations are for this challenge, which he hopes to start in November 2025.
QUESTION: You studied naval architecture, why that career?
ANSWER. Yes, I studied naval architecture in England and finished a year ago. Well, I studied that because I have been passionate about boats since I was little, I have been sailing all my life and I really liked the technical side (maths, physics…), I knew I wanted to study engineering. At home I was always told “you have to do a career, choose whatever it is”, so I combined sailing with architecture and engineering.
I had the opportunity to go to England and now that I'm done it was an incredible decision, I'm very happy to have done this.
Q. Does your passion for boats run in your family?
R. No, my parents don't sail, although their attachment to the sea is a bit of a family tradition. Now, thanks to me, it's the other way around: they've bought a small boat and are totally hooked.
But no, it was simply that I started sailing when I was little at the Nautical Club as an extracurricular activity and it ended up catching on and becoming my passion.
Q. How did this adventure come to you?
R. It's a bit of a long story, but it comes from my relationship with Alex. I met Alex quite a few years ago, eight or nine, and well, we became better friends. I started sailing with him on a classic boat that he owns with his brothers and, finally, when this project came up, he contacted me.
Q. Did you think carefully about whether you wanted to be part of the project or did you just accept straight away?
R. No, not at all, it was a call and he said, “Hey, call me next week if you want and such,” and I told him no, that I would say yes right away. I just happened to be finishing my degree, I had 4 months or so left, so I told him I was going to wait until I finished my degree. I put the master’s degree and the different plans I had on hold and I came to do this knowing with absolute certainty that it was the right thing to do.
Q. How long have you had the Maxicat Victoria now?
R. Well, we bought the boat a year and a half ago.
Q. How has the start been? Have you settled into the team easily?
R. Yes, it's great. It's a very small team, we're all passionate about the sea. We have Lalou and Alex, who are role models for Alejandro and me, who are the younger part of the crew. Then there's Delphine and Frank, who help us a bit with logistics on land, and three more people, Manuel, Pablo and Pilar, who have been there since day one, totally integrated and have been very good.
It was super easy, there were no moments of questioning whether you were in the right place, very good, in this aspect unbeatable.
Q. What is it like to live on a boat?
R. Now, since the boat is in Dénia, I live at home, which is something I didn't think would happen so soon; the rest of the crew are settled. It's great because we've just left the boat, everyone goes home, lives their life... it's good to get away from the boat a little.
Answering the question, when we are sailing, well, we like it, we dedicate ourselves to this and I love it. It changes a lot, you have to break a little with the daily routine on land: you don't sleep the same amount of time, you don't eat at the same time, the rhythm and routine are very different, but well, I love it, it's another way of life.
Q. How is living with your classmates?
R. Very well. There are always, well, problems on all ships: one has a harder time getting up, one is more orderly than the other… But the truth is that we all understand each other, we try to say when we have a problem and there is no serious conflict; with the four stupid things that have happened we have quickly resolved it.
Q. What preparations need to be made for such a trip?
R. The boat is 25 years old and we are going to take on a current challenge, a really important challenge. Being an old boat, we are giving a second life to this object.
When we got it back, it had been "cruised", it had been made comfortable, they had introduced systems that really don't help us much. When we took over the neighbourhood we said "okay, we have this time until we go around the world, we are going to gradually revert the boat to what it was and adapt it to us", to the needs that we have.
In these last modifications, what we have done is to remove the hydraulics: the boat has a hydraulic system with which you move the winches and that is not allowed by the record, they do not approve it because it has to be all human power. We have made a hybrid to be able to do without that hydraulics, that is a bit of the most important change of these last two months for the next challenge.
For example, we were previously refitting the sails, which will be sent to the sailmaker for checks and adjustments and to reinforce them a bit. Then we added another safety system (such as a backup antenna)… and well, many things, the list is huge, I could talk for 20 minutes. We are continuously improving the boat, changing and continuing with that long list we have to go around the world.
Q. Are you taking any personal items with you to bring you luck on your trip around the world?
R. No, not really (laughs), I don't have anything that I'm really attached to.
Q. Are you afraid in any way about this challenge?
R. No, I think fear holds you back. There are things that make you fear, there are things that you think about and say “damn, when it’s here”… but you don’t face it with fear, I wouldn’t say with anxiety either… I would say like you want it to come, to face it.
We are also going with Alex and Lalou, who are people with a lot of experience. It is something that we are preparing, we are aware of what we are going to do, so I think there should be no fear. Obviously there will be surprises, but there is nothing that we do not know.
Q. What do you plan to do after this challenge?
R. I have no idea, I don't know, I like many things: I'm passionate about this, what I studied, I'm passionate about. I'm not working as a naval architect right now, but I'm doing other things that I also love. So I don't know, I imagine that I'll think about it after travelling around the world, which is a lot of days. At the moment I have ideas, but now, which of all of them will I do first? I have no idea.
