THE LARGEST SAILING RACE IN THE WORLD
Trieste, 1 - 12 October 2025
Trieste, 1 - 12 October 2025
History
BARCOLANA, THE MARITIME SOUL OF TRIESTE
Conceived in 1969 by a group of sailing enthusiasts, the Barcolana has grown into an internationally renowned sailing festival and in 2019 it was named by the Guinness World Records as the “Largest Sailing Race in the World”.
For sea and sailing enthusiasts and for those who do not want to miss a one of a kind show, the event takes place annually in Trieste on the second Sunday of October. It is the Barcolana, the international sailing regatta with the largest number of sailboats racing in the world. The event is characterised by over a week of celebrations both on land and at sea and annually it turns Trieste into the European capital of sailing. Over two thousand boats line up at the start line, under the Faro della Vittoria (Victory Lighthouse), and the regatta is sailed by world-class helmsmen, amateur racers and cruisers, all participating in an event that every sea dog should experience at least once.
The history of the Barcolana is one of a kind. It began 51 years ago, as a simple, end-of-season regatta. The first competition was held in 1969 when 51 sailboats lined up at the start line, which was an impressive number of participants for the time, considering the number of sailboats that were present in the Gulf of Trieste. The first Barcolana – also referred to as the Autumn Cup - was won by Commander Pietro Napp who was a member of the local yacht club Società Triestina della Vela. His boat, Betelgeuse, is still today unaware of becoming a symbol and marking a key milestone in the history of the Barcolana.
For the first ten years, until 1979, the regatta was dominated by local yacht clubs such as the Società Triestina della Vela, the Yacht Club Adriaco, and the organizing yacht club Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. However, the spirit of the regatta was different and unique, even at that time, as it marked the end of the sailing season. The event was an end-of-summer festival before the boats were stored for the winter.
The Barcolana truly became international in the 1980s, when the economic boom also affected the sailing sector. In 1980 the Rube from Munich became part of the regatta history by being the first non-Italian boat to claim victory. Thanks to the newly acquired international dimension, the festival experienced its first great growth and sponsors came, along with the legendary Moro di Venezia. Those were the years of great enthusiasm for Italian sailors and their participation in the America’s Cup. Indeed, the enthusiasm generated by the America's Cup turned the presence of the Moro di Venezia into an event within the event and the vessel captained by Tiziano Nava, won the race in 1987 and 1989. The 1988 “in-between” race was won by Uragan, with Checco Battiston at the helm. This win notably brought the technology of ultralight boats to Trieste.
Then, Battiston (who had already won in 1982 with Condor) came up with the idea of racing in the regatta aboard a Luffe 55 – the Fanatic. After undergoing strict technological updates, the sailboat has since been a leading protagonist of the Barcolana, winning in 1990, 1993 and 1994. In the 1990’s the organisers modified both the route, placing the first buoy in Slovenian waters and also modified the rules, banning trapezes from the competition for safety reasons. And during this time, Slovenian sailors were determined to win it all, starting with the Gaia Legend, launched by Koper and sailed by Mitja Kosmina. Kosmina definitively brought home the Barcolana Triennial Challenge Trophy, designed by the Trieste sculptor Nino Perizi after his boat won in 1995, 1996, and 1997. In 1998 however, the Gaia Legend's technological innovations were no longer a mystery and designer Andrea Vallicelli in Rimini launched the evolved Slovenian hull with the Riveiera di Rimini. The Riviera di Rimini, owned by Giorgio Benvenuti who was an entrepreneur from Romagna and captained by the Neapolitan Paolo Cian, won the Barcolana in 1998. However in the following year it was disqualified, despite being the first sailboat to cross the finish line. As a result, the regatta was won by Mimmo Cilenti's boat Shining@driacom, from Padua. Mimmo Cilenti won one more time when he crossed the finish line first in 2000, the year of the windiest regatta when the Bora wind reached 60 knots, causing confusion and a lot of damage. This regatta proved that the Barcolana organizers and security teams were working properly. In the same year a new sailboat showed up at the start line owned by the pharmaceutical multinational company Pfizer and sailed by a crew from Lignano plus one Triestino, Lorenzo Bressani. The boat, called Cometa, had been built to win the Barcolana and was launched a few days before the race. However, it never made it passed the start line due to a broken helm.
Forced to head back to the harbour that year, Cometa successfully won the regatta in 2001 with Flavio Favini at the helm during one of the most memorable Barcolana editions remembered for its spectacular weather conditions. The wonderful sunshine and wind that characterised the 2001 race, made up for the terrible weather conditions of the previous year and in 2002 a record breaking 1969 sailboats took part in the race. The 2002 race was won by Idea, an 80-feet long boat chartered by Mimmo Cilenti, winner in 1999, and it was steered by Lorenzo Bressani. Mitja Kosmina returned, taking second place, with a new fully Slovenian boat, the Maxi Jena. The last sailboats crossed the finish line at 5 p.m., when the red October sun started to set behind the Trieste horizon.
The outcome of the 2003 and 2004 Barcolana strengthened the success of the event and the winner for both years was a New Zealand multimillionaire, Neville Crichton. His boat, Alfa Romeo, almost 30 metres long, won almost every regatta in the Mediterranean in 2003, after being awarded the Line Honour for winning the Sydney-Hobart race in Australia. In the “grand slam” of European sailing Crichton proudly sailed the Alfa Romeo in the Barcolana, adding it to his calendar at the last minute and bringing him a lot of satisfaction. Crichton was always at the helm of his boat and in 2003 he asked Brad Butterworth - a four-time America’s Cup winner who played a key role in the victory of the Swiss Alinghi crew - to join him as a tactician. The Triestino Lorenzo Bressani was also aboard as a local expert in 2003 and as a tactician in 2004. The team gained two clear victories, while Mitja Kosmina with his Maxi Jena finished second once again.
In 2005, another sailboat from the Southern Hemisphere followed in Alfa Romeo's footsteps. It was the maxi Yacht Skandia chartered by a group of Triestino athletes, Furio Benussi, Lorenzo Bressani and Stefano Spangaro. from the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano yacht club. The boat was sponsored by the Province of Trieste, and new traveling time records were set as the boat was brought to victory.
However, in the following year, 2006, Alfa Romeo, with a new hull, was back in the game. Crichton prevailed in his maxi yacht, proving that no other boat in the Mediterranean could compete with him.
Thanks to the growing success of the event, both on land and at sea, in 2007 the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano gave a fresh impetus to the event and according to security forces, as many as 300,000 people flocked to Trieste to enjoy the Barcolana. The regatta continued to be a local festival and an important sailing event, which even attracted America's Cup competitors and was discussed throughout Europe. Russell Coutts made a false start with his Rc44, but he did not seem to be concerned and he happily stated that it was the most captivating regatta he had ever seen. The Neapolitan Vincenzo Onorato was even more enthusiastic as he sailed his Rc44, the Mascalzone Latino, among 2,000 sailboats, finding out how powerful an event organized with passion can be. While Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo won once more, it became clear that this regatta was an opportunity to make every participant and every sailboat the protagonist of the event.
In 2008 Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo was yet again the first sailboat to cross the finish line and the Barcolana increasingly grew in importance as a mass media event and an occasion for important teams and sponsors to make themselves known. Such was the case for Shosholoza, South Africa’s America’s Cup team led by Captain Sarno, along with Tommaso Chieffi and Paolo Cian. Their boat sailed across many seas to get to the Barcolana and moor by the Molo Audace quay, where spectators hailed its arrival. It was not the first sailboat competing in America’s Cup to join the Barcolana, but the Shosholoza enthralled the world because it introduced sailing in South Africa and the Barcolana turned the tribute towards the Shosholoza into a constant ovation, both on land and at sea. The winner was again Alfa Romeo, but Paolo Cian and the Shosholoza worked a little miracle and managed to rank his boat, IACC, in an incredible and unexpected third place. Through the international press, news of the regatta sailed around the world.
In recent years, sailing has changed due to the economic crisis, but the Barcolana has continued fearlessly. In 2009 the Barcolana 41 took place and its controversial poster – a bewitching mermaid – became the symbol of Mitja Kosmina’s great success. After ranking second for seven years in a row, the Slovenian sailor with his boat, Maxi Jena, won an outstanding, moving and well-deserved victory. The Barcolana 41, characterized by mild wind, saw Idea Estel, helmed by Alberto Leghissa, place second and TuttaTrieste Vitrani – a 55-feet long boat sailed by Gabriele Benussi – place third. The introduction of web television and the live streaming of the regatta brought further publicity to the event as 122 video reports were broadcast, and 30,000 viewers were reached. At the end of 2009 the Barcolana website was named the most visited sailing website in Italy by the annual survey “Audiweb Mediadata”. On the Monday after the race the Triestino regatta achieved another great result when the prestigious newspaper Financial Times dedicated a three-column picture to the event.
The 2010 edition kicked off under excellent conditions: the splendid weather forecast attracted around 400,000 people to Trieste on the weekend of the regatta. At sea, the victory went to a historical protagonist of the regatta, the shipowner Igor Simsic, who, during the summer, had purchased and technologically updated Alfa Romeo 2. With a new livery, the boat won the regatta establishing the new time record on the updated course. Mitja Kosmina on his Maxi Jena placed second. The festival on land was at its height, with a great tribute to the city, where the motto “Trieste city of the Barcolana” was added on the road signs.
The 2011 edition was characterized by a wonderful sunny day, with gentle winds, which involved all competitors: those who raced to win and the great majority of the 1761 participants who just wanted to be part of the race. Igor Simsic's Esimit Europa 2, with Alberto Bolzan at the helm and Jochen Scheumann as the skipper, won by a wide margin over Mitja Kosmina's Maxi Jena, which placed second, while Kosmina had to hold at bay the Croatian Shining - a large, typical Adriatic Open boat - which ranked third. Behind them, until mid-afternoon, was a great display of sailing skills, involving competitiveness, reefing, the ability of keeping clear of boats, combined with a sheer passion for sailing. The regatta was also raced by entrepreneurs, including the steel entrepreneur Luigi Cimolai, at the helm of his Southern Star, who ranked 13th, followed by the chairman of Assicurazioni Generali Gabriele Galateri di Genola, who ranked 32nd. And Francesco Illy sailed his boat into 42nd place.
On the contrary, the 2012 and 2013 editions took place, as if in slow motion. The sea was dead and calm. Even the winner, Esimit Europa 2, crossed the finish line in 2012 after a very long time of 3 hours and 59 minutes and in 2013, 2 hours and 16 minutes. In 2012, despite a windy eve where the Bora wind blew at 25 knots, the 44th event was characterized by a very weak south-east wind in the early phases of the race, and soon it totally died down, making it impossible for almost all boats to move. Local weather forecasts predicted westerly winds which actually never arrived and only 20 of the 1737 sailboats and over 20,000 sailors taking part in the regatta, crossed the finish line after completing the 17-mile course.
The 45th edition, marked by a strong commitment by tacticians and helmsmen to continue racing even with mild winds, was instead the regatta of small sailboats and second place went to Giorgio Martin’s 52-foot boat TP52 Aniene 1a Classe. Third place went to Roberto Distefano’s 55-foot vessel TuttaTrieste con List, while fourth place went to Megaenergija (Uros Zvan) – which had been sailing for over 20 years and had belonged first to Mitja Kosmina (it was called Gaja Cube in the ‘90s), then to Igor Simcic (it was Esimit Europa 1) and finally to the Slovenian Zvan from Maribor who achieved an amazing result.
The 2014 edition of Barcolana46 was organized by Mitja Gialuz, a law professor at the University of Trieste and the youngest chairman in the history of the Sailing Club Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. Innovation was the key word to his leadership. Gialuz, a former Junior class 470 world champion, brought innovation to both the Sailing Club and the Barcolana, achieving great success in just a few months. Compared with the previous year, participation increased by 16% with a total of 1878 boats entering into the race. Another special feature of this Regatta was the racecourse, which was redesigned to end in the waters off Piazza Unità d’Italia. More than 300,000 spectators watched Esimit Europa 2 and Jena No Borders Team compete for first and second place. Esimit Europa 2 eventually won but it was ultimately Illyteca owned by Mario Quaiat and steered by Jaro Furlani which took second. The Jena no Borders team ranked third and Tempus Fugit ranked fourth. Special mention went to Andrea Micalli’s “Drake passage DHL Express” which ranked ninth, but came in first in the Farr 80 class, a class of one-design monohulls which had just finished sailing around the world. The Generali Trophy for the cruiser class was awarded to Massimo Zannini’s Ypsilon, a 41 ft yacht designed by Roberto Starkel from Trieste.
The wind in the 2014 edition was calm, while the 2015 regatta was marked by Bora winds gusting to 84 knots. This edition of the Barcolana was particularly exciting and technically challenging with a difficult racecourse and unstable winds. The 10 knot north-easterly winds and gusts of 20 knot Bora winds blew unevenly in the Gulf of Trieste meaning that tacticians constantly had to find new solutions. However, it did not prevent the 1681 boats and 15,000 people from sailing in the event. The regatta was won by Robertissima III with Roberto Tomasini Grover as helmsman and Vasco Vascotto as tactician. Jena No Borders Team ranked second and Pendragon ranked third, Anywave Onboard and Puh ranked respectively fourth and fifth.
2016 marked a milestone in the history of Barcolana: the Benussi brothers, who had been sailing on separate yachts for more than 12 years, raced together and won Barcolana48, crossing the finish line in only 59 minutes and 59 seconds. Because of the gusts of wind, the regatta started one hour later than scheduled. The Bora winds blew between 15 and 25 knots. Mitja Kosmina placed second for the ninth time in a row and Pendragon came in third place. In fourth place came the entrepreneur Claudio de Eccher with his Mrs. Seven, an excellent Southern Wind 100 which was steered by Alberto Bolzan and which hosted the mayor of Trieste. The regatta was also and importantly raced by Sir Ben Ainslie, as guest of Land Rover and Illycaffe’s chairman Andrea Illy, steering Ancilla Domini DOC together with Mauro Pelaschier and it finished in 14th place. Beppe Sala, mayor of Milan and Gabriele Galateri di Genola, chairman of Assicurazioni Generali, followed the regatta on board the Ancilla Domini. Gabriele and Furio Benussi, winners of the regatta, stated: “This is a family victory, but most importantly this Barcolana was won by our city Trieste”. 1,758 boats competed that year.
The 2017 edition of Barcolana was described as the “record edition”: 2,101 participants, 25,000 sailors, huge on-land celebrations, and thousands of visitors watching the Regatta from the Rive seafront. In 1 hour, 12 minutes and 17 seconds, Spirit of PortoPiccolo sailed along the 13-mile quadrilateral course starting in the waters off the Barcola Riviera and crossing the finish line located off Piazza Unità d’Italia, in the heart of Trieste. Mitja Kosmina arrived second, four minutes later and Bodini’s Pendragon Alilaguna ranked third. Yakimenko owner of TP52 and Cristian Ponthieu, its tactician and helmsman, ranked fourth, and they still cannot believe they raced in such a special Regatta. After winning the overall class in the Giraglia Rolex Cup regatta they are now winners in the Barcolana. Leghissa, owner of Anywave, ranked fifth and E VAI took the sixth place. Two RC44s - the Slovenian Scorpio and Magia Docktrine, owned by Marino Quaiat – competed for seventh and eight position while Paolo Montefusco, owner of Idrusa came in nineth. Mauro Pelaschier’s Ancilla Domini placed tenth.
2018 - On Sunday morning at 10.30 am, the sailing race kicked off right after the Italian Air Force flew over Trieste city centre. The 50th anniversary of the Regatta attracted a record number of yachts, sailors and spectators. Included in this event was the presence of the tall ship Vespucci, over 400 events on land and at sea organised by SocietaÌ€ Velica di Barcola e Grignano and a team of great sponsors, including first and foremost Assicurazione Generali. Spirit of Portopiccolo won Barcolana50 after completing the race in only 57.04 minutes. Ottica Inn – Tempus Fugit came in second and in third, Way of Life. Viriella, the largest sailboat to ever compete in a Barcolana regatta, placed fourth, followed by Woodpecker Cube, Pendragon, Anemos, Ancilla Domini, and Seven. The Barcolana, with over 2689 registered yachts, marked a new Guinness World Record and became officially the "Largest Sailing Race in the World".
2019 - Way of Life, owned by the Slovenian shipowner GasÌŒper VincÌŒec, wins Barcolana51 presented by Generali in 1h54’10’’. The boat beat an epic calm sea and all the competitors who had been tipped to win on the eve of Barcolana, thanks to an outstanding set-off and to the accurate selection of the stern sail. The second place was unexpectedly scored by Shining, the ultralight hull owned by Milos Radonjic, followed by the RC44 Scorpio of Iztok Krumpak. This podium was completely unexpected and made up of Adriatic light boats, which benefited from the non-existent wind: Adriatic Europa came fourth with Dusan Puh and Fanatic of Alex Peresson fifth.
Known in the Gulf under the name of Maxi Jena, Way of Life won the regatta in 2009 and scored a second place in several editions: today, the boat has raced an excellent regatta with no wind, steadily sailing at a maximum speed of 3 knots. GasÌŒper VincÌŒec, Finn class Olympic champion (Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008) was at the helm and accurately replaced, according to the different speed, by Zan Luka Zelko, a young promising Slovenian sailor who has already qualified in Laser class in the Tokyo Olympics, and by the Slovenian “super coach” Neno Viali, sporting “dad” of many champions. The Slovenian cycling champion PrimozÌŒ RoglicÌŒ, winner of the Vuelta race, was aboard Way of Life too, during this epic victory that was build meter after meter.
“What a beautiful day, Barcolana is a never-ending surprise – commented SVBG chairman Mitja Gialuz – the largest boats couldn’t sail at their best with no wind and an outsider won, setting off with the right sail and sailing at a very fast pace without slowing down, and staying upright. A beautiful and crowded Barcolana: the images that will be in my heart are those of the fleet of sailors bathing, or playing the guitar, or waving happily despite the slow race, excited to be racing Barcolana."
The event’s testimonial Dee Caffari stated: "Barcolana 51 was extraordinary, crazy, fabulous, so many boats! But the wind was very light and we didn’t finish the course, so I have to come back next year."
Conceived in 1969 by a group of sailing enthusiasts, the Barcolana has grown into an internationally renowned sailing festival and in 2019 it was named by the Guinness World Records as the “Largest Sailing Race in the World”.
For sea and sailing enthusiasts and for those who do not want to miss a one of a kind show, the event takes place annually in Trieste on the second Sunday of October. It is the Barcolana, the international sailing regatta with the largest number of sailboats racing in the world. The event is characterised by over a week of celebrations both on land and at sea and annually it turns Trieste into the European capital of sailing. Over two thousand boats line up at the start line, under the Faro della Vittoria (Victory Lighthouse), and the regatta is sailed by world-class helmsmen, amateur racers and cruisers, all participating in an event that every sea dog should experience at least once.
The history of the Barcolana is one of a kind. It began 51 years ago, as a simple, end-of-season regatta. The first competition was held in 1969 when 51 sailboats lined up at the start line, which was an impressive number of participants for the time, considering the number of sailboats that were present in the Gulf of Trieste. The first Barcolana – also referred to as the Autumn Cup - was won by Commander Pietro Napp who was a member of the local yacht club Società Triestina della Vela. His boat, Betelgeuse, is still today unaware of becoming a symbol and marking a key milestone in the history of the Barcolana.
For the first ten years, until 1979, the regatta was dominated by local yacht clubs such as the Società Triestina della Vela, the Yacht Club Adriaco, and the organizing yacht club Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. However, the spirit of the regatta was different and unique, even at that time, as it marked the end of the sailing season. The event was an end-of-summer festival before the boats were stored for the winter.
The Barcolana truly became international in the 1980s, when the economic boom also affected the sailing sector. In 1980 the Rube from Munich became part of the regatta history by being the first non-Italian boat to claim victory. Thanks to the newly acquired international dimension, the festival experienced its first great growth and sponsors came, along with the legendary Moro di Venezia. Those were the years of great enthusiasm for Italian sailors and their participation in the America’s Cup. Indeed, the enthusiasm generated by the America's Cup turned the presence of the Moro di Venezia into an event within the event and the vessel captained by Tiziano Nava, won the race in 1987 and 1989. The 1988 “in-between” race was won by Uragan, with Checco Battiston at the helm. This win notably brought the technology of ultralight boats to Trieste.
Then, Battiston (who had already won in 1982 with Condor) came up with the idea of racing in the regatta aboard a Luffe 55 – the Fanatic. After undergoing strict technological updates, the sailboat has since been a leading protagonist of the Barcolana, winning in 1990, 1993 and 1994. In the 1990’s the organisers modified both the route, placing the first buoy in Slovenian waters and also modified the rules, banning trapezes from the competition for safety reasons. And during this time, Slovenian sailors were determined to win it all, starting with the Gaia Legend, launched by Koper and sailed by Mitja Kosmina. Kosmina definitively brought home the Barcolana Triennial Challenge Trophy, designed by the Trieste sculptor Nino Perizi after his boat won in 1995, 1996, and 1997. In 1998 however, the Gaia Legend's technological innovations were no longer a mystery and designer Andrea Vallicelli in Rimini launched the evolved Slovenian hull with the Riveiera di Rimini. The Riviera di Rimini, owned by Giorgio Benvenuti who was an entrepreneur from Romagna and captained by the Neapolitan Paolo Cian, won the Barcolana in 1998. However in the following year it was disqualified, despite being the first sailboat to cross the finish line. As a result, the regatta was won by Mimmo Cilenti's boat Shining@driacom, from Padua. Mimmo Cilenti won one more time when he crossed the finish line first in 2000, the year of the windiest regatta when the Bora wind reached 60 knots, causing confusion and a lot of damage. This regatta proved that the Barcolana organizers and security teams were working properly. In the same year a new sailboat showed up at the start line owned by the pharmaceutical multinational company Pfizer and sailed by a crew from Lignano plus one Triestino, Lorenzo Bressani. The boat, called Cometa, had been built to win the Barcolana and was launched a few days before the race. However, it never made it passed the start line due to a broken helm.
Forced to head back to the harbour that year, Cometa successfully won the regatta in 2001 with Flavio Favini at the helm during one of the most memorable Barcolana editions remembered for its spectacular weather conditions. The wonderful sunshine and wind that characterised the 2001 race, made up for the terrible weather conditions of the previous year and in 2002 a record breaking 1969 sailboats took part in the race. The 2002 race was won by Idea, an 80-feet long boat chartered by Mimmo Cilenti, winner in 1999, and it was steered by Lorenzo Bressani. Mitja Kosmina returned, taking second place, with a new fully Slovenian boat, the Maxi Jena. The last sailboats crossed the finish line at 5 p.m., when the red October sun started to set behind the Trieste horizon.
The outcome of the 2003 and 2004 Barcolana strengthened the success of the event and the winner for both years was a New Zealand multimillionaire, Neville Crichton. His boat, Alfa Romeo, almost 30 metres long, won almost every regatta in the Mediterranean in 2003, after being awarded the Line Honour for winning the Sydney-Hobart race in Australia. In the “grand slam” of European sailing Crichton proudly sailed the Alfa Romeo in the Barcolana, adding it to his calendar at the last minute and bringing him a lot of satisfaction. Crichton was always at the helm of his boat and in 2003 he asked Brad Butterworth - a four-time America’s Cup winner who played a key role in the victory of the Swiss Alinghi crew - to join him as a tactician. The Triestino Lorenzo Bressani was also aboard as a local expert in 2003 and as a tactician in 2004. The team gained two clear victories, while Mitja Kosmina with his Maxi Jena finished second once again.
In 2005, another sailboat from the Southern Hemisphere followed in Alfa Romeo's footsteps. It was the maxi Yacht Skandia chartered by a group of Triestino athletes, Furio Benussi, Lorenzo Bressani and Stefano Spangaro. from the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano yacht club. The boat was sponsored by the Province of Trieste, and new traveling time records were set as the boat was brought to victory.
However, in the following year, 2006, Alfa Romeo, with a new hull, was back in the game. Crichton prevailed in his maxi yacht, proving that no other boat in the Mediterranean could compete with him.
Thanks to the growing success of the event, both on land and at sea, in 2007 the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano gave a fresh impetus to the event and according to security forces, as many as 300,000 people flocked to Trieste to enjoy the Barcolana. The regatta continued to be a local festival and an important sailing event, which even attracted America's Cup competitors and was discussed throughout Europe. Russell Coutts made a false start with his Rc44, but he did not seem to be concerned and he happily stated that it was the most captivating regatta he had ever seen. The Neapolitan Vincenzo Onorato was even more enthusiastic as he sailed his Rc44, the Mascalzone Latino, among 2,000 sailboats, finding out how powerful an event organized with passion can be. While Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo won once more, it became clear that this regatta was an opportunity to make every participant and every sailboat the protagonist of the event.
In 2008 Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo was yet again the first sailboat to cross the finish line and the Barcolana increasingly grew in importance as a mass media event and an occasion for important teams and sponsors to make themselves known. Such was the case for Shosholoza, South Africa’s America’s Cup team led by Captain Sarno, along with Tommaso Chieffi and Paolo Cian. Their boat sailed across many seas to get to the Barcolana and moor by the Molo Audace quay, where spectators hailed its arrival. It was not the first sailboat competing in America’s Cup to join the Barcolana, but the Shosholoza enthralled the world because it introduced sailing in South Africa and the Barcolana turned the tribute towards the Shosholoza into a constant ovation, both on land and at sea. The winner was again Alfa Romeo, but Paolo Cian and the Shosholoza worked a little miracle and managed to rank his boat, IACC, in an incredible and unexpected third place. Through the international press, news of the regatta sailed around the world.
In recent years, sailing has changed due to the economic crisis, but the Barcolana has continued fearlessly. In 2009 the Barcolana 41 took place and its controversial poster – a bewitching mermaid – became the symbol of Mitja Kosmina’s great success. After ranking second for seven years in a row, the Slovenian sailor with his boat, Maxi Jena, won an outstanding, moving and well-deserved victory. The Barcolana 41, characterized by mild wind, saw Idea Estel, helmed by Alberto Leghissa, place second and TuttaTrieste Vitrani – a 55-feet long boat sailed by Gabriele Benussi – place third. The introduction of web television and the live streaming of the regatta brought further publicity to the event as 122 video reports were broadcast, and 30,000 viewers were reached. At the end of 2009 the Barcolana website was named the most visited sailing website in Italy by the annual survey “Audiweb Mediadata”. On the Monday after the race the Triestino regatta achieved another great result when the prestigious newspaper Financial Times dedicated a three-column picture to the event.
The 2010 edition kicked off under excellent conditions: the splendid weather forecast attracted around 400,000 people to Trieste on the weekend of the regatta. At sea, the victory went to a historical protagonist of the regatta, the shipowner Igor Simsic, who, during the summer, had purchased and technologically updated Alfa Romeo 2. With a new livery, the boat won the regatta establishing the new time record on the updated course. Mitja Kosmina on his Maxi Jena placed second. The festival on land was at its height, with a great tribute to the city, where the motto “Trieste city of the Barcolana” was added on the road signs.
The 2011 edition was characterized by a wonderful sunny day, with gentle winds, which involved all competitors: those who raced to win and the great majority of the 1761 participants who just wanted to be part of the race. Igor Simsic's Esimit Europa 2, with Alberto Bolzan at the helm and Jochen Scheumann as the skipper, won by a wide margin over Mitja Kosmina's Maxi Jena, which placed second, while Kosmina had to hold at bay the Croatian Shining - a large, typical Adriatic Open boat - which ranked third. Behind them, until mid-afternoon, was a great display of sailing skills, involving competitiveness, reefing, the ability of keeping clear of boats, combined with a sheer passion for sailing. The regatta was also raced by entrepreneurs, including the steel entrepreneur Luigi Cimolai, at the helm of his Southern Star, who ranked 13th, followed by the chairman of Assicurazioni Generali Gabriele Galateri di Genola, who ranked 32nd. And Francesco Illy sailed his boat into 42nd place.
On the contrary, the 2012 and 2013 editions took place, as if in slow motion. The sea was dead and calm. Even the winner, Esimit Europa 2, crossed the finish line in 2012 after a very long time of 3 hours and 59 minutes and in 2013, 2 hours and 16 minutes. In 2012, despite a windy eve where the Bora wind blew at 25 knots, the 44th event was characterized by a very weak south-east wind in the early phases of the race, and soon it totally died down, making it impossible for almost all boats to move. Local weather forecasts predicted westerly winds which actually never arrived and only 20 of the 1737 sailboats and over 20,000 sailors taking part in the regatta, crossed the finish line after completing the 17-mile course.
The 45th edition, marked by a strong commitment by tacticians and helmsmen to continue racing even with mild winds, was instead the regatta of small sailboats and second place went to Giorgio Martin’s 52-foot boat TP52 Aniene 1a Classe. Third place went to Roberto Distefano’s 55-foot vessel TuttaTrieste con List, while fourth place went to Megaenergija (Uros Zvan) – which had been sailing for over 20 years and had belonged first to Mitja Kosmina (it was called Gaja Cube in the ‘90s), then to Igor Simcic (it was Esimit Europa 1) and finally to the Slovenian Zvan from Maribor who achieved an amazing result.
The 2014 edition of Barcolana46 was organized by Mitja Gialuz, a law professor at the University of Trieste and the youngest chairman in the history of the Sailing Club Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. Innovation was the key word to his leadership. Gialuz, a former Junior class 470 world champion, brought innovation to both the Sailing Club and the Barcolana, achieving great success in just a few months. Compared with the previous year, participation increased by 16% with a total of 1878 boats entering into the race. Another special feature of this Regatta was the racecourse, which was redesigned to end in the waters off Piazza Unità d’Italia. More than 300,000 spectators watched Esimit Europa 2 and Jena No Borders Team compete for first and second place. Esimit Europa 2 eventually won but it was ultimately Illyteca owned by Mario Quaiat and steered by Jaro Furlani which took second. The Jena no Borders team ranked third and Tempus Fugit ranked fourth. Special mention went to Andrea Micalli’s “Drake passage DHL Express” which ranked ninth, but came in first in the Farr 80 class, a class of one-design monohulls which had just finished sailing around the world. The Generali Trophy for the cruiser class was awarded to Massimo Zannini’s Ypsilon, a 41 ft yacht designed by Roberto Starkel from Trieste.
The wind in the 2014 edition was calm, while the 2015 regatta was marked by Bora winds gusting to 84 knots. This edition of the Barcolana was particularly exciting and technically challenging with a difficult racecourse and unstable winds. The 10 knot north-easterly winds and gusts of 20 knot Bora winds blew unevenly in the Gulf of Trieste meaning that tacticians constantly had to find new solutions. However, it did not prevent the 1681 boats and 15,000 people from sailing in the event. The regatta was won by Robertissima III with Roberto Tomasini Grover as helmsman and Vasco Vascotto as tactician. Jena No Borders Team ranked second and Pendragon ranked third, Anywave Onboard and Puh ranked respectively fourth and fifth.
2016 marked a milestone in the history of Barcolana: the Benussi brothers, who had been sailing on separate yachts for more than 12 years, raced together and won Barcolana48, crossing the finish line in only 59 minutes and 59 seconds. Because of the gusts of wind, the regatta started one hour later than scheduled. The Bora winds blew between 15 and 25 knots. Mitja Kosmina placed second for the ninth time in a row and Pendragon came in third place. In fourth place came the entrepreneur Claudio de Eccher with his Mrs. Seven, an excellent Southern Wind 100 which was steered by Alberto Bolzan and which hosted the mayor of Trieste. The regatta was also and importantly raced by Sir Ben Ainslie, as guest of Land Rover and Illycaffe’s chairman Andrea Illy, steering Ancilla Domini DOC together with Mauro Pelaschier and it finished in 14th place. Beppe Sala, mayor of Milan and Gabriele Galateri di Genola, chairman of Assicurazioni Generali, followed the regatta on board the Ancilla Domini. Gabriele and Furio Benussi, winners of the regatta, stated: “This is a family victory, but most importantly this Barcolana was won by our city Trieste”. 1,758 boats competed that year.
The 2017 edition of Barcolana was described as the “record edition”: 2,101 participants, 25,000 sailors, huge on-land celebrations, and thousands of visitors watching the Regatta from the Rive seafront. In 1 hour, 12 minutes and 17 seconds, Spirit of PortoPiccolo sailed along the 13-mile quadrilateral course starting in the waters off the Barcola Riviera and crossing the finish line located off Piazza Unità d’Italia, in the heart of Trieste. Mitja Kosmina arrived second, four minutes later and Bodini’s Pendragon Alilaguna ranked third. Yakimenko owner of TP52 and Cristian Ponthieu, its tactician and helmsman, ranked fourth, and they still cannot believe they raced in such a special Regatta. After winning the overall class in the Giraglia Rolex Cup regatta they are now winners in the Barcolana. Leghissa, owner of Anywave, ranked fifth and E VAI took the sixth place. Two RC44s - the Slovenian Scorpio and Magia Docktrine, owned by Marino Quaiat – competed for seventh and eight position while Paolo Montefusco, owner of Idrusa came in nineth. Mauro Pelaschier’s Ancilla Domini placed tenth.
2018 - On Sunday morning at 10.30 am, the sailing race kicked off right after the Italian Air Force flew over Trieste city centre. The 50th anniversary of the Regatta attracted a record number of yachts, sailors and spectators. Included in this event was the presence of the tall ship Vespucci, over 400 events on land and at sea organised by SocietaÌ€ Velica di Barcola e Grignano and a team of great sponsors, including first and foremost Assicurazione Generali. Spirit of Portopiccolo won Barcolana50 after completing the race in only 57.04 minutes. Ottica Inn – Tempus Fugit came in second and in third, Way of Life. Viriella, the largest sailboat to ever compete in a Barcolana regatta, placed fourth, followed by Woodpecker Cube, Pendragon, Anemos, Ancilla Domini, and Seven. The Barcolana, with over 2689 registered yachts, marked a new Guinness World Record and became officially the "Largest Sailing Race in the World".
2019 - Way of Life, owned by the Slovenian shipowner GasÌŒper VincÌŒec, wins Barcolana51 presented by Generali in 1h54’10’’. The boat beat an epic calm sea and all the competitors who had been tipped to win on the eve of Barcolana, thanks to an outstanding set-off and to the accurate selection of the stern sail. The second place was unexpectedly scored by Shining, the ultralight hull owned by Milos Radonjic, followed by the RC44 Scorpio of Iztok Krumpak. This podium was completely unexpected and made up of Adriatic light boats, which benefited from the non-existent wind: Adriatic Europa came fourth with Dusan Puh and Fanatic of Alex Peresson fifth.
Known in the Gulf under the name of Maxi Jena, Way of Life won the regatta in 2009 and scored a second place in several editions: today, the boat has raced an excellent regatta with no wind, steadily sailing at a maximum speed of 3 knots. GasÌŒper VincÌŒec, Finn class Olympic champion (Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008) was at the helm and accurately replaced, according to the different speed, by Zan Luka Zelko, a young promising Slovenian sailor who has already qualified in Laser class in the Tokyo Olympics, and by the Slovenian “super coach” Neno Viali, sporting “dad” of many champions. The Slovenian cycling champion PrimozÌŒ RoglicÌŒ, winner of the Vuelta race, was aboard Way of Life too, during this epic victory that was build meter after meter.
“What a beautiful day, Barcolana is a never-ending surprise – commented SVBG chairman Mitja Gialuz – the largest boats couldn’t sail at their best with no wind and an outsider won, setting off with the right sail and sailing at a very fast pace without slowing down, and staying upright. A beautiful and crowded Barcolana: the images that will be in my heart are those of the fleet of sailors bathing, or playing the guitar, or waving happily despite the slow race, excited to be racing Barcolana."
The event’s testimonial Dee Caffari stated: "Barcolana 51 was extraordinary, crazy, fabulous, so many boats! But the wind was very light and we didn’t finish the course, so I have to come back next year."
