THE LARGEST SAILING RACE IN THE WORLD
Trieste, 2 - 11 October 2026
Trieste, 2 - 11 October 2026
07.09.26
Registration opens for the 2026 ‘Go to Barcolana da Ravenna – Trofeo Gruppo Hera’
Organised by Circolo Velico Ravennate in collaboration with Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, the race will set sail from Marina di Ravenna on Thursday 8 October as a feeder event for the world’s largest sailing race.
The multi-utility company confirms its support with a dedicated trophy, race pack and branded T-shirt for every crew.
The multi-utility company confirms its support with a dedicated trophy, race pack and branded T-shirt for every crew.
The “Go to Barcolana da Ravenna – Trofeo Gruppo Hera” will once again set sail from Marina di Ravenna for its sixth edition. In 2026, the event will once again offer sailing enthusiasts the opportunity to take on an exciting competition along the beautiful Adriatic coast, with the chance to win a truly unique trophy.
The crossing is a feeder event for the 58th edition of the renowned Barcolana in Trieste – the world’s largest sailing race, taking place from 2 to 11 October 2026 and featuring several major new developments this year. It is organised by Circolo Velico Ravennate (CVR) in collaboration with Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano (SVBG), with multi-utility company Hera confirming its partnership for the sixth consecutive year. In addition to providing the trophy, which passes from winner to winner each year as a perpetual challenge trophy, the company will give every crew taking part in the crossing from Ravenna to Trieste a race pack including a branded T-shirt.
The presentation of the sixth edition, attended by SVBG Vice-President Dean Bassi, Hera Comm Head of Customer Relationship Management Marco Impiglia, and CVR President Matteo Plazzi, was preceded by an environmental clean-up walk through the pine forest and Parco Marittimo in Marina di Ravenna. The event organisers, the SVBG Optimist Junior and Cadet teams and the CVR ILCA team joined forces to clear litter from the area, further strengthening the event’s close connection with environmental sustainability.
The race from Ravenna to Trieste
The crews will set sail from Marina di Ravenna at 2 pm on Thursday 8 October, as they did in the previous edition, with the aim of reaching the Gulf of Trieste. The race will cover a distance of 95 nautical miles (approximately 176 km) and is expected to attract around fifty boats from the central and southern Adriatic coast. The competition is open to all boats over 8.46 metres in length, which will be ranked according to ORC handicap ratings.
Registration is now officially open: boat owners will receive a single bow number valid for both the feeder race and the main event in Trieste on Sunday 11 October. There is also something new this year: entrants to the “Go to Barcolana” who declare that they are Hera Group customers will be entitled to a special discount on the entry fee, further confirming the increasingly close partnership between the multi-utility company and the race.
The Hera Group’s sustainable trophy
For the “Go to Barcolana da Ravenna”, the Trofeo Gruppo Hera will be presented to the winning crew by SVBG President Mitja Gialuz during the prize-giving ceremony to be held on Saturday 10 October at the Trieste Chamber of Commerce.
The trophy was created by the winner of an internal competition launched six years ago by the Ravenna Academy of Fine Arts, with which Hera has developed important collaborations as part of its SCART project. Since 1998, the project has promoted the recovery and reuse of resources through art.
“Bringing to Trieste the crews setting out from Ravenna and the central Adriatic means expanding the Barcolana community and giving tangible meaning to our invitation to be part of it,” said Dean Bassi, Vice-President of Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. “The Go to Barcolana da Ravenna – Trofeo Gruppo Hera makes the journey to Trieste part of the Barcolana experience itself: we set out from different places, with different stories and experiences, but we arrive together to share the same passion for the sea and sailing. I would once again like to thank the Hera Group, which has supported this project for six years, and Circolo Velico Ravennate for its work in engaging the crews. To all of them we say: fair winds. We look forward to welcoming you to Trieste, where together we will be Barcolana.”
“The new edition of the Go to Barcolana da Ravenna provides further impetus to accelerate our efforts in the field of sustainability,” said Marco Impiglia, Hera Comm Head of Customer Relationship Management. “This starts with the trophy itself, which passes from winner to winner each year and was created six years ago by a student at the Ravenna Academy of Fine Arts, with which we have been collaborating for more than a quarter of a century through the SCART project, promoting the artistic reuse of waste materials. What is more, the crews sharing the challenge of the race from Ravenna to Trieste on 8 October will establish a symbolic link between the two communities, where every day we provide energy, environmental and water services to millions of households and businesses as part of a journey towards the energy transition, decarbonisation and an overall reduction in environmental impact. The Hera Group is therefore proud not only to present its trophy to the winner of this sixth feeder race, but also to be an official sponsor of Barcolana. I wish all the participating boats fair winds, with a special word of encouragement for the Hera Group crews who, as is tradition, will be competing in the event.”
“The Go to Barcolana da Ravenna – Trofeo Gruppo Hera has now become a permanent fixture in the Circolo Velico Ravennate calendar, an event that has grown and established itself over the years,” said Matteo Plazzi, President of Circolo Velico Ravennate. “Thanks to the excellent work carried out in previous editions, it has become a point of reference for boat owners choosing to sail to Trieste to take part in Barcolana, turning the passage to Trieste into a genuine sporting experience and an opportunity for safe offshore sailing. We are delighted and proud to partner with Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano in this event. It is a club with which we share a vision of sport based on high-quality competition, the development of young sailors and fleets, and the ability to create events that engage and enhance the entire sailing community of the northern Adriatic. The Go to Barcolana da Ravenna – Trofeo Gruppo Hera perfectly embodies this philosophy: bringing together sport, the local area and a passion for sailing, creating a journey that begins in Ravenna and ends in Trieste and which, year after year, we want to make increasingly significant. I would also like to thank the Hera Group, which has chosen to accompany us on this journey since the very first edition, consistently supporting a project in which we strongly believe and contributing to its growth and consolidation within the northern Adriatic sailing scene.”
The “Go to Barcolana da Ravenna” is part of the “Adriatic Challenge”, a four-race feeder circuit leading up to Barcolana that connects the southern and northern Adriatic before reaching Trieste. Numerous sailing clubs and organisations are involved, starting with the initiative’s promoter, Assonautica Italiana: SVBG, Circolo Velico La Scuffia, Marina di Pescara, Marina Dorica, Lega Navale Manfredonia, CVR, and the Assonautica associations of Pescara/Chieti, Ancona, Ravenna and Trieste.
The crossing is a feeder event for the 58th edition of the renowned Barcolana in Trieste – the world’s largest sailing race, taking place from 2 to 11 October 2026 and featuring several major new developments this year. It is organised by Circolo Velico Ravennate (CVR) in collaboration with Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano (SVBG), with multi-utility company Hera confirming its partnership for the sixth consecutive year. In addition to providing the trophy, which passes from winner to winner each year as a perpetual challenge trophy, the company will give every crew taking part in the crossing from Ravenna to Trieste a race pack including a branded T-shirt.
The presentation of the sixth edition, attended by SVBG Vice-President Dean Bassi, Hera Comm Head of Customer Relationship Management Marco Impiglia, and CVR President Matteo Plazzi, was preceded by an environmental clean-up walk through the pine forest and Parco Marittimo in Marina di Ravenna. The event organisers, the SVBG Optimist Junior and Cadet teams and the CVR ILCA team joined forces to clear litter from the area, further strengthening the event’s close connection with environmental sustainability.
The race from Ravenna to Trieste
The crews will set sail from Marina di Ravenna at 2 pm on Thursday 8 October, as they did in the previous edition, with the aim of reaching the Gulf of Trieste. The race will cover a distance of 95 nautical miles (approximately 176 km) and is expected to attract around fifty boats from the central and southern Adriatic coast. The competition is open to all boats over 8.46 metres in length, which will be ranked according to ORC handicap ratings.
Registration is now officially open: boat owners will receive a single bow number valid for both the feeder race and the main event in Trieste on Sunday 11 October. There is also something new this year: entrants to the “Go to Barcolana” who declare that they are Hera Group customers will be entitled to a special discount on the entry fee, further confirming the increasingly close partnership between the multi-utility company and the race.
The Hera Group’s sustainable trophy
For the “Go to Barcolana da Ravenna”, the Trofeo Gruppo Hera will be presented to the winning crew by SVBG President Mitja Gialuz during the prize-giving ceremony to be held on Saturday 10 October at the Trieste Chamber of Commerce.
The trophy was created by the winner of an internal competition launched six years ago by the Ravenna Academy of Fine Arts, with which Hera has developed important collaborations as part of its SCART project. Since 1998, the project has promoted the recovery and reuse of resources through art.
“Bringing to Trieste the crews setting out from Ravenna and the central Adriatic means expanding the Barcolana community and giving tangible meaning to our invitation to be part of it,” said Dean Bassi, Vice-President of Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. “The Go to Barcolana da Ravenna – Trofeo Gruppo Hera makes the journey to Trieste part of the Barcolana experience itself: we set out from different places, with different stories and experiences, but we arrive together to share the same passion for the sea and sailing. I would once again like to thank the Hera Group, which has supported this project for six years, and Circolo Velico Ravennate for its work in engaging the crews. To all of them we say: fair winds. We look forward to welcoming you to Trieste, where together we will be Barcolana.”
“The new edition of the Go to Barcolana da Ravenna provides further impetus to accelerate our efforts in the field of sustainability,” said Marco Impiglia, Hera Comm Head of Customer Relationship Management. “This starts with the trophy itself, which passes from winner to winner each year and was created six years ago by a student at the Ravenna Academy of Fine Arts, with which we have been collaborating for more than a quarter of a century through the SCART project, promoting the artistic reuse of waste materials. What is more, the crews sharing the challenge of the race from Ravenna to Trieste on 8 October will establish a symbolic link between the two communities, where every day we provide energy, environmental and water services to millions of households and businesses as part of a journey towards the energy transition, decarbonisation and an overall reduction in environmental impact. The Hera Group is therefore proud not only to present its trophy to the winner of this sixth feeder race, but also to be an official sponsor of Barcolana. I wish all the participating boats fair winds, with a special word of encouragement for the Hera Group crews who, as is tradition, will be competing in the event.”
“The Go to Barcolana da Ravenna – Trofeo Gruppo Hera has now become a permanent fixture in the Circolo Velico Ravennate calendar, an event that has grown and established itself over the years,” said Matteo Plazzi, President of Circolo Velico Ravennate. “Thanks to the excellent work carried out in previous editions, it has become a point of reference for boat owners choosing to sail to Trieste to take part in Barcolana, turning the passage to Trieste into a genuine sporting experience and an opportunity for safe offshore sailing. We are delighted and proud to partner with Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano in this event. It is a club with which we share a vision of sport based on high-quality competition, the development of young sailors and fleets, and the ability to create events that engage and enhance the entire sailing community of the northern Adriatic. The Go to Barcolana da Ravenna – Trofeo Gruppo Hera perfectly embodies this philosophy: bringing together sport, the local area and a passion for sailing, creating a journey that begins in Ravenna and ends in Trieste and which, year after year, we want to make increasingly significant. I would also like to thank the Hera Group, which has chosen to accompany us on this journey since the very first edition, consistently supporting a project in which we strongly believe and contributing to its growth and consolidation within the northern Adriatic sailing scene.”
The “Go to Barcolana da Ravenna” is part of the “Adriatic Challenge”, a four-race feeder circuit leading up to Barcolana that connects the southern and northern Adriatic before reaching Trieste. Numerous sailing clubs and organisations are involved, starting with the initiative’s promoter, Assonautica Italiana: SVBG, Circolo Velico La Scuffia, Marina di Pescara, Marina Dorica, Lega Navale Manfredonia, CVR, and the Assonautica associations of Pescara/Chieti, Ancona, Ravenna and Trieste.
