RoundItaly: Argo is the winner in IRC

RoundItaly ends its first edition with a record time set at 6d 18h 03m 57s – marked by the first to arrive, the maxi Pendragon – and by the excitement of the participants, tired but satisfied on the finishing line in front of the headquarters of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. This new regatta has shown us just how much our sea demands not only great navigating skills but an excellent preparation of boat and crew, especially in a time like this with such unstable weather conditions.

But let us rewind the tape: after the departure on September 16th, the five boats found themselves up against gusts of wind from the South, which immediately made it clear that it would not be a leisure cruise. While Carlo Alberini’s Maxi quickly overtook the rest of the fleet, the Class40 group and the First 44 Argo, during the first 500 miles towards the Strait of Messina, navigated in a sort of dance that had them both far apart and really close. At the first gate of Messina, in fact, after a slow descent of the Southern Tyrrhenian, the three Class 40s passed the checking point a few minutes – if not seconds, like the first two – from each other. During this phase, the First 44 Argo lost important miles, slowed down by light winds and the opposing currents of the strait. And while Pendragon began eating up the miles at an impressive rate, thanks to the sustained winds of the Ionian Sea, the fleet of followers got separated in the second section of the route, which connects Messina with the second gate of the regatta, namely the cape of Santa Maria di Leuca. Here the Class40 Ediliziacrobatica had to stop for roughly an hour for a supply of water, irretrievably losing miles and precious time to its direct opponents which, having left Puglia, positioned their bows towards the Albanian coast to begin the ascent of the Adriatic. It was the Adriatic, though, that proved to be very tricky, with a storm that attacked the fleet for about 30 hours, forcing the competitors to practically sail upwind as far as the Istrian coast. And while Pendragon passed the finishing line very swiftly (September 23rd at 11am), the others navigated along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, arriving between 7 am of the 24th and 8am of the next day. The first among the Class 40 was Kamak of Stefano Raspadori with Alberto Bona and Andrea Caracci, to be followed by Kika Green Challenge of Cristiano Verardo with Cecilia Zorzi and Pietro Luciani and, arriving third, was Ediliziacrobatica of Ernesto Moresino with Francesco Farci and Lorenzo Meroni. Finally, after 9 days 10h 41m 56s, at 3:41am of Sunday night, the First 44.7 Argo of Luciano Manfredi crossed the finishing line in Barcola, after a long voyage which brought him to Trieste. With an overall age of 213 of the four Argo sailors, as well as various vicissitudes – including the breakdown of the on-board electronics – they managed to accomplish the task of arriving in front of the Pendragon on corrected time and thus win the IRC victory.

“I wish to congratulate all the yachtsmen who participated in RoundItaly for being tenacious and inspiring – said the chairman of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, Mitja Gialuz – and I wish to thank them for having written this beautiful page in sailing history. From the images and from the stories, the spirit with which this regatta was born shines through, a regatta that unites Genova and Trieste, YCI and SVBG, Salone Nautico and Barcolana. We have witnessed a spectacular and, technically, a very challenging race: I am convinced that this event will become a classic of offshore sailing in the Mediterranean. I wish to thank our friends of the yacht Club Italiano, Fincantieri, Promoturismo FVG, Confindustria Nautica, the Federazione Italiana Vela, and the General Command of the Coast Guard for their extraordinary work these past few weeks. Driven by the enthusiasm of the participants, over the next few days we will set to work on the second edition”.

“Having been able to unite Genova and Trieste is a great success for us organizers – stated the Chairman of the Yacht Club Italiano, Gerolamo Bianchi – and I am convinced we have traced an important route for the future of offshore sailing in the Mediterranean. Five boats in this first edition set the time record, crossing four Italian seas with dedication, effort and enthusiasm, and us with them. A journey of 1130 miles along our peninsula which, I am sure, has taken on a new value in the international sailing calendar”.

With over 30,000 participants from all over the world, E-RoundItaly, the virtual twin of RoundItaly, has also ended, confirming the great success it had already obtained in its first edition in 2020. The first virtual sailor, French Tipapacheri BSP MCES, who crossed the finishing line not long after the real class40, boasts a journey time of 8 days 03 hours 34 seconds, followed by two fellow citizens, Buddha BSP MCES and Taberly-TPN.