Barcolana54 presented by Generali: play-by-play

It is a wonderful sailing day in Trieste, with a light Bora in the early morning which then becomes increasingly stronger, until it reaches 28 knots in gusts. 1614 boats are at the starting line of an exceptional Barcolana. The start is adrenalin-filled, to say the least: the big names of the regatta are close together, but each one has its own clear idea of where to start from, because, with the Bora blowing, the best starting point is closest to Barcola. Arca starts between the centre of the line and Barcola, immediately hoists a headsail to luff at every gust of wind and aims to break away from the group quickly. Deep Blue sails downwind and hoists a gennaker for a different point of sail and immediately shows the perfect trim that it will then keep throughout the race. Portopiccolo Prosecco DOC, with Mitja Kosmina at the helm, starts under Barcola resisting the strongest gusts. Maxi Jena and Ewol Way of Life are right behind it, with the latter being forced to chase because of an improper hoisting of the gennaker. Woodpecker Cube Generali THSN sails close by. Some boats in the smaller categories have their moments of glory resisting the gusts of wind while surfing, in a Barcolana that will be one to remember.

A few minutes after the start, just as Arca is very close to Deep Blue, which is leading the regatta, the attachment of Arca’s headsail, that was allowing the overtaking, breaks. This is followed by frenetic moments: Furio Benussi's crew are able to manage the situation but decide to abandon the sail at sea to adjust the trim, while Deep Blue continues its course towards the first buoy with surgical precision. Arca's sail was retrieved by a support vessel, and this gave rise to a protest by Way of Life that will probably be discussed tomorrow by the international board. “As sailors and sports professionals, it is clear that the ISAF regulations have been broken”, wrote the Way of Life team in a note later in the afternoon, referring to the fact that the sail was left to the support vessel to recover instead of being retreived by the team.

However, the race is still open. Arca is the second to pass the first buoy, 140 metres behind Deep Blue, followed by Portopiccolo Prosecco Doc and Maxi Jena. It tries to make up ground in every possible way, but Wendy Schmidt remains in the best position in this duel at close quarters – almost a match race in a fleet race involving 1600 boats. Schmidt is able to keep the upper hand over Furio Benussi, who takes advantage of every gust of wind, trying to luff and bear away in order to find a way to overtake. The wind increases more and more on the side between Miramare and Trieste, with gusts reaching 28 knots. Benussi has to reef the mainsail to manage the gusts as best as possible, while Deep Blue confronts each gust with determination. The moment when the American team skippered by a woman crosses the finish line will go down in the history of the Barcolana, with Trieste warmly celebrating the first female skipper to win the race.

It has been an epic regatta for many crews, which have performed incredible feats in fighting against the gusting Bora in this edition. You will find the provisional classifications, both overall and by category, on the Barcolana website.