11th Raduno Vele Storiche Viareggio for Classic Yachts - Preview

Raduno Vele Storiche Viareggio event for Classic Yachts in the Mediterranean © Ass. Vele Storiche Viareggio

Pre-enrolment is officially open for the 11th Edition of the Raduno Vele Storiche Viareggio, which will take place in Viareggio from the 8th to the 11th October 2015.

Vintage, classic and traditional sailing boats may take part in this event, which is organised with the help of Club Nautico Versilia and AIVE (Associazione Italiana Vele d'Epoca), even if they are not members of the Vele Storiche Viareggio Association. The event officially closes the season for Vintage Sailing Boats in the Mediterranean and offers a unique occasion to mingle with other like-minded people before the Winter break.

After passing the ten-year mark this prestigious Tuscan brotherhood continues to uphold sailing traditions and to promote the culture of classic sails. The pre-enrolment in the October event, for which no advance payment is necessary, permits boat-owners to reserve a berth beforehand so that the boats may be berthed comfortably.

However, the first 20 boats which enrol officially by paying the requested fee, (200 euro for yachts up to 12 mts, 300 euro for yachts from 12 to 18 mts, 400 euro for yachts over 18 mts) will have a triple advantage: they will be given a discount of 20% on both the enrolment fee and the 2016 membership fee and a free 1 year subscription to "Giornale della Vela" (in digital format).

The three races scheduled, coastal and triangular, will take place in the sea off the towns of Viareggio, Forte dei Marmi and Marina di Carrara, with the beautiful background of the splendid Apuane Alps and the beaches of Versilia. This year too there will be the wonderful dinner offered to boat-owners and crew in the well-known Cantiere Navale Francesco Del Carlo in Viareggio, one of the most important restorers of vintage boats, known and respected internationally.

Until now more than 120 historical boats have taken part in this event during the various editions. To name a few, the splendid Royono, sailed by President J.F.Kennedy with Marilyn Monroe, Patience of 1931, Artica II, Stella Polare and Corsaro II of the Marina Militare Italiana, Ardi II sailed by the sailing hero Agostino Straulino, and also Bribon V, which belonged to King Juan Carlos, the ketch Eilean of Officine Panerai, the Sangermani Namib, the One Tonner Ojal¨¤ II, the pluri-winner Temptation (ex-Rrose Selavy), Madifra of the AIVE Chairman, and many more.

After the recent renewal of the Appointments within the Associazione, Vele Storiche Viareggio is now chaired by the Florentine Gianni Fernandes, who has succeeded the previous Chairman, the expert advisor in the restoration of vintage boats Enrico "Chicco" Zaccagni, now Commodore of the Association. Fernandes, as well as being a keen sailor, is the owner together with his wife Patrizia Cioni (who is also the creator of one of the prizes of the meeting) of Ilda, a Bermudan cutter built of wood in 1946. The appointment of Vice-Chairman has also changed and is now held by the Tuscan naval designer Stefano Rossi.

The meeting has always represented an important occasion to increase one's culture in the naval field. As well as hosting photographic, painting and model naval exhibitions, book presentations and demonstrations of the art of sailing, the association has always organised well-attended conventions. The themes have varied from the Register of Vintage Boats, the birth in Viareggio of a floating museum based on the world of boating, and the protection and valorisation of historical boats.

ORGANISING OFFICE: Ass. Vele Storiche Viareggio, c/o Club Nautico Versilia, Piazza Palombari Artiglio, Darsena Europa, 55049 Viareggio (Lu)