RoundItaly Genova-Trieste: YCI and SVBG announce a new offshore race
by Barcolana 6 Jul 2021 07:21 BST
16 September 2021
RoundItaly Genova-Trieste © Yacht Club Italiano - Martina Orsini
A simple formula but gripping and competitive. Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano and Yacht Club Italiano, with the support of Fincantieri, present the first edition of "RoundItaly Genova-Trieste". The year 2021 sees the inauguration of the longest non-stop regatta of the Mediterranean: 1,130 miles of sailing along the Italian coasts, with a single and spectacular obligatory passage in the strait of Messina.
The event, organized by the two yacht clubs and in partnership with Confindustria Nautica in its capacity as organizer of the 61st Salone Nautico di Genova, will unite, with a spectacular regatta, the two capitals of Italian sailing, national harbours, in their love for the sea at a moment of maximum visibility: RoundItaly Genova-Trieste will, in fact, start on September 16th 2021 - the day of the inauguration of the Salone Nautico - from Genova and will arrive in Trieste during the days of the Barcolana, along the same finishing line of the largest sailing race in the world, in front of Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia. The timing of the first to arrive will be considered the new sailing record of the Genova-Trieste route, which ideally will also unite the shipyards of the navalmeccanico Group of the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic shores.
"A new, big race is born - comments the chairman of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, Mitja Gialuz - and it is born under the sign of the partnership between SVBG, YCI and Confindustria Nautica. The genesis of this event is singular: last year we thought of uniting Genova and Trieste, SVBG and YCI, Salone Nautico and Barcolana with a virtual regatta in which over 21 thousand e-sailors participated from all over the world. This route was so fascinating and the challenge so interesting from the sports point of view that we wanted to bring it from the virtual world to the real one. We are talking about one of the new routes of the Barcolana, conceived together with the Yacht Club Italiano under the sign of a collaboration that honours us, and the willingness to team up to enhance culture and develop the offshore sailing projects in Italy".
"The link with Trieste - says the chairman of the Yacht Club Italiano Gerolamo Bianchi - has become stronger with the excitement and commitment to trace a new route together, uniting two cities so far apart, but so similar when it comes to their DNA and culture. A non-stop race of over 1,100 miles is unique in the Mediterranean, full of 'insidious' but fascinating passages and, above all, it will certainly be coveted by record hunters. After the partnership between our Millevele and Barcolana, and the SVBG/YCI mixed crew on Persico 69Fs last summer, we are happy with this development that goes way beyond the formal relationships of reciprocity, by underlining and strengthening the friendship and team spirit between the two cities and the two clubs".
The Support of the Mayors of the Two Cities - The mayors of Genova and Trieste have warmly welcomed the event that unites their respective cities: "I am excited about this new great sporting event - declared the mayor of Genova, Marco Bucci - our city and that of Trieste will unite in the name of the sea, the element that characterizes the history of our communities. Our cities are distant but have many similarities. Each with its own peculiarities and consolidated traditions, Genova and Trieste will unite thanks to sailing in the name of two great events that characterize our worlds: the Salone Nautico Internazionale and the Barcolana. Genova is ready to collaborate on this new challenge!"
It comes down to "A new route of friendship and collaboration between two great cities with an important seafaring tradition - comments the mayor of Trieste, Roberto Dipiazza - which is renewed in the name of the Barcolana, able to innovate year after year and to unite sports aspects with environmental and sustainability issues. A heartfelt thank you also to Fincantieri for its concrete presence and the ability to unite the Country".
The Support of Confindustria Nautica and FIV - The regatta, which will take place according to the international rules of offshore sailing when it comes to the subject of safety, has the support of the Federazione Italiana Vela. "Over 1,100 miles around the wonders of Italy seen from the sea, the best of Offshore sailing in the Mediterranean - claims the chairman of the FIV, Francesco Ettore - and in particular the synergic union of two sea capitals and those institutions deeply engaged in the promotion of sailing culture. From the Salone Nautico to the Barcolana: in between there are all the seas of Italy and the thrills they provide. The FIV is delighted to support initiatives that aim to popularize offshore navigation. A great opportunity for Italian sailors".
"After the success of the virtual regatta experience in 2020 - comments Saverio Cecchi, chairman of Confindustria Nautica - this year Genova-Trieste will take place both at sea and online so as to engage an ever-growing public of enthusiasts and provide a strong sign of a return to normality. The regatta is scheduled for September 16th, the inauguration day of the 61st Salone Nautico. As organizers of the event, we are happy to contribute to an ambitious and high-profile project, which has us collaborating with partners such as the Federazione Italiana Vela, the Yacht Club Italiano and its chairman Bianchi, with whom we have developed, over the past two years, a strong bond of esteem and friendship, and the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, the organizer of the Barcolana of Trieste, with whom we have been collaborating successfully for some time now. Our commitment as always will aim to unite the professionalism of our team with the love and respect that we share for the sea in its every shape".
The Participation of Class40 - Registrations will open soon, and there is a series of Class40 yachtsmen who have already confirmed their interest. "Class40 - says Pietro Luciani, vice-president of Class40 - enthusiastically supports the project of this fascinating race in the heart of the Mediterranean: over 1,100 miles on a varied and exigent route are unique in the panorama of Mare Nostrum and represent a challenge that the skippers of Class40 are eager to face".
The Concept - "The organization of this regatta - explains Dean Bassi, Offshore Sports Director of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano - enables the creation of a close link between the regattas in the Tyrrhenian at the beginning of September, the regattas in the Alto Adriatico of mid-October and the season's finale in Malta, creating new opportunities for the yachtsmen who want to be protagonists of the Mediterranean during the second half of the season. We are working together with the Yacht Club Italiano from a technical point of view in order to make RoundItaly Genova-Trieste particularly interesting for the crews, who will have to face numerous tactical choices in order to excel, and for the public thanks to a multimedia narrative able to capture and offer new points of view on our seas and coasts".
"The Mediterranean in autumn - comments the Sports Director of the Yacht Club Italiano, Jean Dufour - is a truly interesting sea. The weather becomes unpredictable and can transform the regatta into an exciting race, in particular when the conditions are perfect - a long descent along the Tyrrhenian with western winds and an ascent of the Adriatic with frequent winds from the southern quadrants, all this with the added complexity of the obligatory passage in the Strait of Messina and the endless tactical choices that such a race involves. In recent times, sailing is proving itself to be once more a driving force for virtuoso initiatives, with 'the sea that unites, as it has never before' - paraphrasing a well-known Barcolana payoff. And it is like this that all of us at YCI look on with interest at the development and growth of many disciplines - first among these the Offshore sailing".
Sustainability - The event will also have a strong commitment linked to sustainability, becoming an opportunity to monitor the Italian seas. Along the RoundItaly route, the crews will collect a series of images concerning the condition of the sea and the marine flora and fauna, paying particular attention to the issue of plastic waste. The information gathered will be used as topics for reflection in Trieste, on the occasion of the Barcolana Sea Summit on the condition of the Mediterranean.
RoundItaly Genova - Trieste will also promote the RECO project, and will foresee the presence on board of an ecological manager, as was the case on the occasion of Barcolana52 and the 68th edition of the Rolex Giraglia.