5th edition of The Grand Tour - Stage 2
by Manuel Vlacich 16 Jul 21:59 BST
The Grand Tour stage 2 - A circumnavigation of the Norwegian island of Sømmarøy © TGT
Manuel Vlacich and Franco Deganutti, sailors from Società Vela Oscar Cosulich, Italy,
have completed the circumnavigation of Sømmarøy, a Norwegian island located above the Arctic Circle,
famous worldwide for having declared itself a "time-free zone."
This marks the second leg of the fifth edition
of The Grand Tour Sailing, the sporting and exploratory project dedicated this year to the theme of Time,
under the claim "we don't measure time, we cross it." The feat was completed despite a setback that could
have jeopardised the entire leg.
At Tromsø airport, the closest hub to the island, the large bags containing the two inflatable Tiwal boats did
not arrive in full: each boat travels in two separate bags, one for the hull and one for the equipment, and
only two of the four expected bags reached their destination. The missing bags were precisely the hulls. A
setback that, just hours before departure, could have put at risk a sailing expedition built, by definition,
around its own boats.
Vlacich and Deganutti did not lose heart. At the island's sports club, home to just 300 residents, among the
equipment for football and the gear used for kayaking excursions in search of orcas, the two sailors found
two dinghies, two derives: the club's staff lent them without hesitation. A gesture of hospitality that allowed
the project to continue as planned.
On Friday, as scheduled, the circumnavigation of the island was completed in five hours, with winds ranging
between two and eight knots. The following day, Saturday, the island was hit by uninterrupted rain for the
entire day: a reminder of just how quickly conditions can change at these latitudes, and without warning.
It is precisely Sømmarøy's most authentic dimension that made this leg the symbolic heart of the entire
edition. During the months when the sun never sets, the island has effectively erased any conventional sense
of time, inspiring its residents' well-known campaign, years ago, to have it recognised as the world's first
"time-free zone."
"It's truly disorienting to have the sun that never sets," say Vlacich and Deganutti, who
during the white Arctic nights experienced first-hand just how hard it is, in such a setting, even to fall asleep.
Once the crossing was completed, the two sailors travelled to Tromsø, over an hour's drive away, to retrieve
the missing Tiwal boats, before flying back to Italy via Frankfurt and landing at Ronchi dei Legionari airport.
A logistical hiccup resolved with the same pragmatic spirit that has always defined the project, and one that
now stands as one of the most memorable anecdotes of this second expedition of the year dedicated to time,
following the one completed in spring on the Ganges, in India.
The Grand Tour Sailing is conceived and led by Friulian sailors Manuel Vlacich and Franco Deganutti, members
of Società Vela Oscar Cosulich (SVOC) in Monfalcone, already holders of a Guinness World Record and the
title of Sailors of the Year - Passion category 2024. Now in its fifth edition, the project is today one of the
most recognized Italian sporting initiatives for its ability to combine adventure, sustainability, and cultural
outreach.
The next stop is already set: in a week's time, Vlacich and Deganutti will be on the Thames to cross the Prime
Meridian by sail, starting from the symbolic location of Greenwich.
"But to avoid any risks," Vlacich jokes, this
time it will be Franco Deganutti who travels to London by van, bringing the boat bags directly with him: a way
to close the circle between the stillness of time in Varanasi, the absence of time in Sømmarøy, and the time
that, from there, begins to flow for the rest of the world.
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