Barcolana: Spectacular day of racing with para sailing and next generation foil academy
by Barcolana 5 Oct 2023 19:48 BST
29 September - 8 October 2023
Barcolana: Spectacular day of racing with para sailing and next generation foil academy © Barcolana / Studio Borlenghi
Anywave Safilens has won it all at Barcolana Maxi - Trofeo Tivoli Portopiccolo. The hull of helmsman Alberto Leghissa and tactician Sandro Alberti won the line honour and came in first in the ranking in corrected time of today's race on the Barcolana course, and also ranked first in the general classification of Barcolana Maxi - Trofeo Tivoli Portopiccolo thanks to its second place in yesterday's coastal race and to today's great performance.
After the cancellation of the first day's race due to the calm sea, yesterday and today's beautiful edition of the Maxi was characterised by the Bora. At ease with gusts of wind up to 20 knots in yesterday's coastal race and up to 15 knots on the Barcolana course today, Alberto Leghissa, as the real expert of the Gulf that he is, managed to determine the fastest route along the Barcolana course and even recover Anywave Safilens's handicap compared to smaller boats.
According to the general classification, Mxi Dolphin 62 Ekita ranked second - it came in first in Friday's race but fourth today. The third place goes to Night Shadow, which came in third yesterday and fifth today.
During today's race, held on the Barcolana course with the Bora gusting, Anywave Safilens crossed the finish line after 1 hour, 17 minutes and 55 seconds. Vor 60 CleanSport Energy ranked second in corrected time, and Swan 56 Vanish II ranked third. The awards ceremony is scheduled for this evening at 7 p.m. at the Barcolana Hospitality - Io Sono Friuli Venezia Giulia.
"It has been a great edition of the Barcolana Maxi - Trofeo Tivoli Portopiccolo," commented SVBG sports director Dean Bassi. "The Bora made it possible to hold two excellent races, and it was spectacular to see the tactics that the hulls adopted on the Barcolana course while having to take into account the ORC rating system and therefore having to race against the clock. We have the winner of the Barcolana Maxi, a race that is held on equal terms, which is an important award for us".
Parasailing - After Tuesday's regattas, inclusive sailing is once again Trieste's main protagonist. Many top Italian athletes competed on the regatta course, including silver and bronze medallists at the last World Championships in the Netherlands Davide Di Maria and Antonio Squizzato, who competed side by side with international sailors and able-bodied athletes. Thanks to the support of World Sailing and the activities of the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV)'s Para Sailing Academy supported by IBSA, Trieste is at the centre of a great sports and cultural movement, which believes that sailing is for everyone. The athletes proved their competitiveness and confronted the wind and the waves in the beautiful waters of Trieste, while people on land cheered enthusiastically. This event is much more than a competition - it is an opportunity to raise awareness of inclusion and to celebrate diversity, showing that sailing is a sport open to all, regardless of physical ability.
Two classes of boats were involved in this edition of the Barcolana Para Sailing: the Hansa 303 Class (won by Vincenzo Gulino, followed by Jazz Turner and Carmelo Forastieri) and the 2.4 Class (Antonio Squizzato ranked first, Davide Di Maria second, and Giancarlo Mariani third).
"This day of racing is a clear sign of our commitment to opening the doors of sailing to everyone, regardless of physical ability," said Councillor Fabio Colella. "The Barcolana Para Sailing is a major event that highlights the talent and determination of Para Sailing athletes. We will keep up the hard work to promote accessibility and inclusion in sailing".
The FIV - IBSA Para Sailing Academy will be back tomorrow with an "open day" dedicated to local associations and organisations that deal with disabilities. Instructors and boats will be available to disabled people who have never tried sailing in order to bring them closer to this sport.
FIV's Foil Academy - For the second time, the FIV's Foil Academy powered by Luna Rossa - the foiling development programme created to promote and develop young people's technical skills in collaboration with the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV) - has taken part in the Barcolana to give talented young sailors the chance to "fly" on foils and try to become tomorrow's champions. "After last year's work, our collaboration with the Barcolana is a source of great satisfaction," said Alessandra Sensini. "This is an exceptional opportunity to continue what we have started and to share the activities that we are developing in collaboration with the Barcolana. This year in particular, we are really pleased to have involved local athletes. Foiling is becoming more and more known in the area, and its growing popularity gives us the chance to draw from an increasingly vast reservoir of skilled athletes."
Trieste also welcomed the eSailors today at the Trieste Convention Center: they are 11 "virtual" sailors coming from all over Europe. Tomorrow afternoon, in a "super wired" hall of the Convention Centre, they will compete in the virtual regatta for the eSailing World Championship title. It was World Sailing that established that the event would be part of the Barcolana. It will be possible to watch the virtual regatta live on Friday afternoon.