1424 registrations for the Barcolana presented by Generali

Barcolana © Studio Borlenghi

The official number of participants for Barcolana 52 is 1424. "We are honoured," said SVBG President Mitja Gialuz, "to have such a large number of participants to this special edition of the regatta. A number that is linked not only to the actual participation, but to the willingness of the shipowners to be part, even in name only, of this event. We have many testimonies of people who know that they cannot reach Trieste to race but they wanted to register anyway, to receive the materials of the regatta, and to be with us."

While it will only be a symbolic participation for a part of the fleet, there are those who have already been training - for days - for the Barcolana. This morning at 9:30, punctual as every year, the Bernetti regatta began, organized by the Nautical Society Pietas Julia, considered the precursor for Barcolana and an occasion for the last "test" leading up to the regatta. The prologue-regatta was attended by two of the favored candidates for the overall victory of Barcolana, Arca SGR and Way of Life: the duel saw Arca SGR win the race with great decisiveness, showing a lot of determination, but also characteristics of the hull more suited to the weather conditions that monopolized the Gulf of Trieste today, making the test very challenging for the approximately 140 hulls at the start.

At Sea / Melges 24, an outstanding Act4, Peter Karrie on Nefeli Wins - Very challenging weather conditions in the Gulf have led to an unprecedented Act 4 of the European Melges 24 circuit organized by the Società Triestina Sport del Mare as part of the events related to Barcolana. Today there was only one race with the scirocco wind before the libeccio arrived and began to create large swells. Unusual conditions for the Adriatic and very challenging for the 19 crews from five countries: The victory goes to the German Nefeli with Peter Karrie (Segel Club Rheingau) at the helm, who closes the race with even points to the Trieste crew captained by Michele and Diego Paoletti with Giovanna Micol, Pietro Perelli and Giulia Pignolo on board, who placed second on the basis of the overall rankings. Third place, and first place in Corinthian rankings for Luis Tababochia, on the boat flying the German flag White Room, while fourth place goes to Arkanoé by Montura, helmed by Sergio Caramel.

At Sea / Barcolana Fun by Siram Veolia, a great success with all slots filled to learn to fly on the water - Great success for Barcolana FUN by Siram Veolia: all available slots were filled by participants eager to learn how to sail foils aboard the Persico 69F, demonstrating a great interest in this new discipline.

e-Sailing/ Offshore Genoa-Trieste, Cassouletisf of France leading, possibly arriving as early as tomorrow - The exceptional weather conditions of the past few days, with a combination of libeccio and scirocco winds present in both the real-world and in the digital environment of the Genoa-Trieste 2020 Regatta have greatly sped up the offshore race, whose arrival in Trieste could occur as early as night or tomorrow.

After three days of very close racing the fleet has split!

The world's attention is on the leading 50 boats who have made good speed since passing through the Straits of Messina yesterday. They currently sit half way up the Adriatic sea but light winds have seen a change in strategy. Some have sailed further west towards the Italian mainland whilst others went east towards Croatia. For the moment the Croatian route is paying off with the three leading boats, who are all French, choosing that side. With the current forecasts suggesting the winner will reach Trieste in the next 24-36 hours Italian eSailing fans are still hoping for a home win. Martinell0 (ITA) has surged into fourth place and is just 6 nautical miles behind the leader Cassouletisf (FRA). The number of boats in the Genove to Trieste round Italy race has grown to around 20 thousand with new eSailors deciding to give it a go.

"This event" - said President Mitja Gialuz - "really surprised everyone, both due to the number of participants and great amount of interest that the event has received: an interest that pulled in the e-sailors, as well as the public normally more tied to sailing at sea, who have now discovered how much of the racing tactics they are familiar with can be applied even on a simulator. Now, with the Salone di Genoa, the Yci and FIV the goal is to look ahead to 2021, to accompany the digital regatta with an event in the water, with the same spirit and potential".

The e-sailing event is organized by Confindustria Nautica, Barcolana, Saloni Nautici, YCI, SVBG and together with FIV wants to be a bridge between Genoa and Trieste, the two cities that produce and organize sailing events, that in the start of October, have helped to bring Italy to the center of the worlds' attention.

On land / all ready for "Barcolana - Un Mare Di Racconti" between Miramare and Historic Cafes - The opening of "Barcolana - un mare di racconti", the cultural event that discusses the sea, sailing and travel, is scheduled for tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Miramare Castle: "We chose the castle of Miramare" - explained Mitja Gialuz - "because it is a symbolic place to talk about the sea and tell stories of sailing. The very history of the Castle, together with Maximilian and Carlotta, is inextricably linked to the sea." The first of the "sailing stories" is scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, October 5 at 5:00 p.m.: Appearing, together with Alessandro Mezzena Lona, is Andrea Ricolfi, who will present to the public "The Last Sailor", edited by Garzanti. The novel tells of a fictional island, Noss, located in the Norwegian Sea, and the story of Matias, whose training and fate will be inextricably linked to a gift from his father, a small wooden boat, the Marlin. Starting from that hull, which he does not know how to control, his dream will take shape: to give life to a sailing school. And starting from there he will discover, suspended between joy and pain, his place in the world.

"We begin our Festival" - commented Alessandro Mezzena Lona - "from a symbolic place and with an author closely related to Trieste, who from our sea was inspired by working here, at the Higher School of Advanced Studies. We begin our journey from Miramare and with a novel where the boat is at the center of a life, as for many Trieste natives, and as for all participants in the Barcolana".

To participate in the event, you must book a reservation on the official website of Barcolana.

On Land / The "Aria" installation of Stefano Conticelli arrives tonight - The "Aria" installation is expected to arrive tonight at 3 a.m. in Piazza dell'Unità, created by the artist Stefano Conticelli. The great work, measuring 4 meters long by 1.70 wide, was made in recent weeks by Conticelli, starting from a single, beautiful, block of marble coming from the Morelli Travertine quarries, and worked Corten steel to reproduce the sails. The Aria installation arrives in Trieste with a message from the artist, who will reach her in time for the inauguration, scheduled for October 8: "For me" - wrote Stefano Conticelli - "it was a natural step to dedicate this work, "ARIA" to Barcolana; wind and sea, inspired by the beauty of Trieste and your horizon. A horizon of great beauty that can only be overcome by going, with imagination, towards that fine, imperceptible line: the line of dreams. Thank you for your welcome, I have worked with great passion on this piece with the intention, together with you, to protect our natural heritage and focus on the possibility that each of us has to contribute to this." "Aria" will be place in the night in Piazza dell'Unità and will be inaugurated at sunset on October 8. A smaller version of the work will be donated to SVBG and located in Barcola.

Inshore: Barcolana e-Sailing Cup Qualifiers kick off tomorrow - After two days of training and trials in the e-gulf of Trieste on board the e-Barcolana50, tomorrow everything will kick off with the qualifications of the Barcolana e-sailing Cup: from Monday to Wednesday, fans will be able to compete in the qualifiers, registering for free and participating in the virtual regattas that are held in the virtual recreation of the Gulf of Trieste (with sights such as Castello di Miramare, the Faro della Vittoria and waterfront of the city present) aboard the e-Barcolana50. These are buoy races, governed by an algorithm that allows the best to progress higher on the scoreboard with the aim of entering the final on Friday, October 9. A cash prize is up for grabs for the three sailors on the podium. To participate, simply access the www.virtualregatta.com platform and then chose the inshore regattas section. At that point, the Barcolana e-sailing CUP will appear in the menu of virtual regattas currently under way around the world.

Schedule:

Online - Barcolana e-sailing Cup
Online - Barcolana e-sailing Offshore Genoa-Trieste 2020 Regatta
Online - Italiano E-Sailing Championship @Barcolana
From 3:00 to 6:00 at the Central Hydrodynamic plant in Porto Vecchio of Trieste - "Plastic Ocene - "the anthropization of the sea" Exhibit
From 5:00 to 6:00 - at the Central Hydrodynamic plant in Porto Vecchio of Trieste - Children's workshops with WWF AMP Miramare- The Blue whale eats (ages 5-7)
5:00 p.m. Online - Barcolana Job Restart - New routes: the challenge of digital citizenship for schools and families
5:00 p.m. at Castle of Miramare - "Barcolana- Un mare di racconti" - Andrea Ricolfi presents the book "The Last Sailor"