Barcolana regatta

The Barcolana is a historic international sailing regatta taking place every year in the Gulf of Trieste on the second Sunday of October. The Barcolana is one of the most crowded regattas in the world, which draw in record number of participants – 1968 - in 2002. Thanks to its particular formula, the Barcolana is a unique event on the international sailing stage: on the same starting line expert sailors and sailing lovers race side by side on boats of different sizes divided into several divisions according to their overall length.

NASA satellite image of the Gulf of Trieste
Start of the 38th Barcolana
Sailing the first side of the route during the 41st Barcolana

History

The Barcolana was founded in 1969 thanks to the initiative of the yacht club Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. It has always taken place on the second Sunday of October to end the season of the yacht club, and therefore its full name is Barcolana Autumn Cup Regatta. During the first edition of the regatta, only 51 sailing boats from yacht clubs of Trieste took part in the race. Year after year the Barcolana has become more and more popular attracting international crews and world famous sailors.

The course

The race takes place on a 15-mile four-sided, fixed mark course. The starting line is between the Miramare Castle and the seat of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano and for the first time in 2014 the finish line will be in the waters just off Piazza Unità d'Italia. Over the years the route has undergone several changes and for many years one buoy has floated in Slovenian waters.

Participation

The Barcolana is not an event for sailors only, but it involves the whole city of Trieste attracting tourists from abroad. Every year about 25,000 sailors take part in the race and more than 250,000 spectators watch the Barcolana from the Trieste seafront, known as the Rive, and from the Karst highland. Thanks to the particular conformation of the territory around the Gulf of Trieste, spectators can enjoy the race from numerous observation points as if sitting in a natural “sailing stadium”.

Side events

The Barcolana is not only the regatta on Sunday morning, but includes several events involving the sea and the city for ten days. In recent years several races and side events have taken place:

The Barcolana also includes several events on land:


Cups and Trophies

Several prizes are awarded during the prize-giving ceremony which usually takes place at the end of November. The spirit of many prizes goes beyond the mere sporting result and enhances sporting values and the origin of the event.


Walk of Fame

Edition Sailboat Skipper Club
1969 Betelgeuse Napp STV
1970 Marie Pesle YCA
1971 Carla Sigovich Garda
1972 Sandra Toffaloni YCA
1973 Vento di mare Rizzi STV
1974 Kaiten Zalukar SVBG
1975 El Raguseo Colonna STV
1976 El Raguseo Colonna STV
1977 Papillon Drioli YCA
1978 El Cid Bartoli-Zago STV
1979 El Cid Bartoli-Zago STV
1980 Rupe Hoffmeister-Stadler YC Monaco
1981 White Shadow Drioli SVBG
1982 Condor Battiston YCL
1983 White Shadow Drioli SVBG
1984 Condornonsisamai Becchetti YCL
1985 Blue Eyed Princess Bardelli SVBG
1986 La Fenice di Venezia Venerucci CNC
1987 Il Moro di Venezia Ferruzzi-Nava Ravenna
1988 Uragan Battiston YCL
1989 Il Moro di Venezia 2 Ferruzzi-Nava Ravenna
1990 Fanatic Zizala-Battiston YCL
1991 Satanasso Calbre Gaburri-Poli ANS
1992 Il Moro di Venezia Ferruzzi-Chieffi YCI
1993 Fanatic Zizala-Battiston YCL
1994 Fanatic Zizala-Puh YCL
1995 Gaia Legend Kosmina YCJK
1996 Gaia Legend Kosmina YCJK
1997 Gaia Legend Kosmina YCJK
1998 Riviera di Rimini Benvenuti-Cian CV Rimini
1999 @DRIACOM Cilenti CDV Pd
2000 @DRIACOM Cilenti CDV Pd
2001 Cometa Pfizer-Favini CVMM
2002 Uniflair Cilenti-Bressani CVV
2003 Alfa Romeo Neville Crichton Cruising Yacht Club Australia
2004 Alfa Romeo Neville Crichton Cruising Yacht Club Australia
2005 Trieste Provincia di[1] Lorenzo Bressani
2006 Alfa Romeo 2 Neville Crichton Cruising Yacht Club Australia
2007 Alfa Romeo 2 Neville Crichton Cruising Yacht Club Australia
2008 Alfa Romeo 2 Neville Crichton Cruising Yacht Club Australia
2009 Maxi Jena Mitja Kosmina Jahtni Klub
2010 Esimit Europa 2 Igor Simčič
2011 Esimit Europa 2 Igor Simčič
2012 Esimit Europa 2 Jochen Schümann Yacht Club de Monaco
2013 Esimit Europa 2 Jochen Schümann Yacht Club de Monaco

References

  1. Name used by Skandia, the boat that in 2003 won the Sydney-Hobart regatta in Australia

External links