Challenging conditions today at sea for Maxi and Solaris boats

The Barcolana’s Thursday has brought challenging weather conditions, but also sporting results and the arrival of two-time Olympic gold medallist Caterina Banti, who will take part in the ‘Women in Sailing by Generali and Barcolana’ regatta tomorrow. The first race of the Barcolana Solaris Adriatic Cup and the second of the Barcolana Maxi - Trofeo Portopiccolo (Portopiccolo Cup) were held today.

It was precisely the theme of inclusion, central to this edition of the Barcolana, that was the focus of Caterina Banti's statements: “Men and women have different ways of expressing themselves, and this, I firmly believe, is a great, great strength.”

BARCOLANA SOLARIS ADRIATIC CUP - Today was the first day of racing for the Northern Adriatic competition in which the Solaris fleet raced in the Gulf of Trieste on the occasion of the 50^th anniversary of the shipyard based in Aquileia.

The 20 boats that took to the sea today along the approximately 24-mile coastal course were met with challenging conditions, including moderate sea, rain and wind between 12 and 25 knots from the south, and waves that were 1.5 metres high. The first ones to arrive completed the race in just under three hours. The winner under corrected time was Paolo Bastiani's Solaris Giovi (YC Porto S. Rocco), followed by Alvise Zanetti's Solaris Sunny (SVBG) and Matteo Forni's Lo Re (CV Riminese).

Sailor and philanthropist Cynthia Li Qiao also went into the water today on her new Solaris 55, Saphira; in the evening she took part in the official ceremony for the handover of the boat in Portopiccolo.

The next appointment is tomorrow at 10 a.m. in the water, along the Barcolana route, starting from Barcola and arriving in Trieste, where the fleet will be moored until Sunday before taking part in the Autumn Cup.

BARCOLANA MAXI TROFEO PORTOPICCOLO - The same challenging conditions were experienced by the seven Maxi yachts that competed in the second race of the Barcolana Maxi today, after yesterday's race was cancelled due to low wind.

Along the course, a coastal race from Sistiana to Trieste, the boats left on their right the offset mark located one mile from the starting line, passed the buoy in front of Punta Sdobba, and beat to windward towards the Gulf of Muggia. The last leg to the finish line located in front of Piazza Unità was a long beam reach. Now the Maxi boats are moored on the Rive, waiting for tomorrow's test race that will take place on the Barcolana course.

After one race, Alberto Leghissa's Anywave-Safilens is leading the ranking, followed by Nice-Fiamme Gialle, helmed by Paolo Cian, and David Mizrahi's Night Shadow.