Jubilee 50th sailing regatta Barcolana

The jubilee 50th sailing regatta Barcolana is finished.

Every year, second Sunday in October, The Gulf of Trieste is the host of the most numerous, as well as the most popular sailing regatta in the world. This year on the start line there were 2689 applied sailboats, which is the new record of Barcolana. The organizer of this unique international regatta, where on the start line you can see sailboats with different shapes and sizes and their crews, is Societa Velica Barcola Grignano.

The Barcolana regatta is founded in 1969. On the start line there were 51 applied sailboats, and the first winner was skipper Napp and his boat „Betelgeuse“. Number of applied boats, number of visitors that participate in this regatta, not to mention the interest of the media and the sponsors, and the whole popularity of regatta grew from one year to another. Today, after 50 years we can say that Barcolana is much more than just competitive regatta, it is a festival of sailing and matter of prestige. The whole manifestation on the sea and in the city lasts for 10 days.

Some of the most important events are:

• Land Rover Extreme 40 – for the first time in 2014, the catamarans Extreme 40 of the Extreme Sailing Series will race for several days in the Gulf of Trieste;
• Barcolana Young- a race on Optimist boats dedicated to athletes aged between 8 and 15;
• Barcolana Classic- a race for vintage and classic boats;
• Barcolana by Night- the UFO 28 one-design class boats will race by night just off Piazza Unita d Unita;
• Barcolana FUN: kitesurfers and windsurfers will race in the Bacino San Guisto, just off Piazza Unita d Italia;

Barcolana also includes important events in the city:

• Bacolanda Village – a village of stands along the Rive of Trieste offering food and wine areas, areas dedicated to the sponsors and exhibitions of technical equipment;
• Barcolana in Music – several night concerts before the Barcolana;
• FuoriRegata- local businesses organize events and activities including tasting, cultural and commercial events.

The winner of this year’s regatta is the same as the last year. Spirit of Portopiccolo outsailed the regatta field of 13 nautical miles for only 57, 04 min. For skipper Furio Bennussio this was third consecutive victory on the Barcolana regatta. Second one on the rudder of the boat Spirit of Portopiccolo and one more as a skipper on the sailboat Alfa Romeo.

Even this year the wind from Northeast called Bora with an average speed of 15 knots enabled this spectacle to prove its status as one of the most popular and most numerous sailing regattas in the world. Runner- up is Ottica INN-Tempus Fugit sailboat and in the third place came former Slovenian Olympic sailor Gašper Vinčec in his boat „Way of life.“

Award ceremony is usually held at the end of November. As we said before, Barcolana is more than sporting competition that is why we have numerous award categories.

Award categories are:

• Barcolana Trophy (permanent trophy): to the overall winner;
• President of the Republic Trophy: to the overall winner;
• Generali Trophy: to the winner in the Cruiser Class, the trophy is not awarded to race boats but only to “cruisers”;
• Cups: to the first, the second and the third in each category; to the first, the second and the third in each Cruiser Class; to the first monotype boat belonging to a class with over 10 participants;
• Fondazione CRTRIESTE Trophy: to the skipper of the first boat of the Trieste Province;
• Port of Trieste Trophy: to the Italian boat that beats the highest number of boats in its category;
• Italo-Austrian Friendship Trophy: to the first Austrian boat in the overall ranking;
• City of Trieste Trophy: to the sailing club within the zone 13 with the highest number of entrants (excluding SVBG);
• Fulvio Molinari Trophy: to the first boat owner in the overall ranking who participated in at least 20 Barcolana regattas;
• IYFR Trophy (International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians): to the first boat with a crew consisting of a Rotary member and at least one disabled member of a Paralympic Federation;
• Giovanni Sigovich Trophy: to the first boat of the IX category (up to 6.45 m in length);
• Fair Play Barcolana Trophy: to the boat owner who during the Barcolana distinguished himself/herself for fair play actions which best express the seafaring spirit of the event;
• “Rose in the Wind” Trophy: to the first helmswoman of a boat with a mixed crew;
• Boatowner of the Italian Navy League: to the first boat of the Italian Navy League.

The representatives of NorthEast Travel participated in Barcolana as visitors and we have to compliment the organizer who definitely knows what he is doing. Even the smallest detail is organized up to perfection. The competition at sea is perfectly matched with the events inland. Skipper of the NorthEast team Karlo Zupičić sailed on the Gran Soleil 54 „Quattro esse“ sailboat with his Macedonian friends, came in the finish line 140th in the total order of 2689 participants and won 9th place in his category. Congratulations to Karlo and to his team!!!

Congratulations to all the winners and we are looking forward to the next editions of this prestige regatta!!!