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Livorno, Regata delle Vele d’Epoca 2022

The 2022 vintage sails circuit starts from Livorno, on the occasion of the Settimana Velica Internazionale Accademia Navale Città di Livorno.

Vele d’epoca 2022

Registrations are still open for the “Regata delle Vele d’Epoca” organised from 30 April to 1 May 2022 on the occasion of the International Sailing Week at the Livorno Naval Academy, the first leg of the vintage sails circuit and the first round of the Artiglio Trophy 2022. There will also be the Navy’s historical sails, including Artica II, Penelope, Chaplin and the multi-winner Grifone, on which Admiral Agostino Straulino raced. Nave Italia, the Tender To Nave Italia Foundation’s brigantine used for social inclusion cruises, will also be present in the city. These will be joined by the Swan Classic and other boats associated with Vele Storiche Viareggio, including Margaret, Ilda, Barbara and Kerkyra II.  

Regata delle Vele d’Epoca – ©Paolo Maccione

Settimana Velica Accademia Navale

The 2022 vintage sails circuit starts from Livorno, on the occasion of the Settimana Velica Internazionale Accademia Navale Città di Livorno. From Friday 29th April to Sunday 1st May a fleet of historic sailing boats will gather at Marina Cala de’ Medici in Rosignano Marittimo, 20 kilometres south of Livorno, to take part in the Regata delle Vele d’Epoca.

Regata delle Vele d’Epoca – ©Paolo Maccione

Two days of regattas

Two regattas are scheduled for Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May, on coastal routes selected by the Regatta Committee according to weather conditions. On Saturday evening at 6.00 pm, at Yacht Club Cala de’ Medici, the Crew Party for owners and crews will be held, while on Sunday afternoon at 5.00 pm the prize-giving ceremony will take place in the square in front of Livorno Naval Academy. Among the sponsors and supporters of the International Sailing Week are Neri, Benetti, Drass, Marina Cala de’ Medici, Sitep Italia, Leonardo, BNL and Nautor’s Swan.

Regata delle Vele d’Epoca – ©Paolo Maccione

The sails of the Marina, the Swan classic and Nave Italia
The categories of boats admitted to the “Regatta of Vintage Sails” remain unchanged: Vintage Yachts (launched before 1950), Classic Yachts (launched before 1976), Spirit of Tradition, Historical Sails and Swan Classic, the fibreglass boats that have made the history of the Finnish Nautor’s shipyard. The Italian Navy plans to line up at the starting line Artica II, the 1956 yawl that won the Torbay-Lisbon regatta in the same year, and Grifone, the 5.50 Metre S.I. (International Tonnage) built in Sweden in 1963, which placed fifth at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and World Champion in Naples in 1965. The crew of the time was unforgettable, made up of the future Admiral Agostino Straulino, Olympic gold medallist in the Star class in Helsinki in 1952, Massimo Minervini and Bruno Petronio.

Regata delle Vele d’Epoca – ©Paolo Maccione

Palinodie, Nausicaa and Calypso

These should be joined by the 1965 “Palinodie” class Penelope, designed by the Americans Sparkman & Stephens and built at the La Spezia Navy Yard together with her twins Nausicaa, Calypso and Galatea. In 2013 Penelope was restored by Cantiere Navale Del Giudice in Caprera. Last but not least is Chaplin from 1974, donated to the Italian Navy in 2008 by the Novi family from Genoa and winner of the prestigious Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge Trophy the following year. If conditions permit, Nave Italia, the 61-metre schooner brig linked to the Tender To Nave Italia Foundation and already present in Livorno during the Settimana Velica, could also reach Cala de’ Medici to greet the racers from the sea. Next year, this Italian Navy sailing ship will be celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Regata delle Vele d’Epoca – ©Paolo Maccione

The boats of Vele Storiche Viareggio 
Among the boats associated with Vele Storiche Viareggio that will be racing in the “Regata delle Vele d’Epoca” are Ilda (1946) owned by VSV President Gianni Fernandes, the Camper & Nicholsons Barbara from 1923, which will celebrate 100 years since its launch next year, the 8 Metre S. I. Margaret from 1926 and the 8 Metre S. I. Margaret from 1926. I. Margaret from 1926 and Kerkyra II (ex Ardi) from 1968, winner in Spain in 2018 of the Copa del Rey, on which Agostino Straulino raced and won together with his owner Marina Spaccarelli Bulgari, the well-known luxury jewellery entrepreneur. 

Regata delle Vele d’Epoca – ©Paolo Maccione

Organisation and notice of regatta
The organisation of the “Regata delle Vele d’Epoca“, in addition to the Italian Navy, will be taken care of by the Lega Navale Italiana Sezione di Livorno and the Yacht Club Cala de’ Medici, with the involvement of the Associazione Vele Storiche Viareggio and the AIVE (Associazione Italiana Vele d’Epoca) for the eventual measurement of the boats.

More information

The event is the first unmissable opportunity to accumulate points for the assignment of seasonal trophies up for grabs, including the AIVE Cup of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Artiglio Trophy, of which the Livorno event is the first stage. Here is the link to the Notice of Race and the entry rules. Entries by e-mail to the following addresses: lnilivorno@gmail.com, or to the Secretariat of the Yacht Club Cala de’ Medici at info@marinacalademedici.it or at the e-mail address g.fernandes@velestoricheviareggio.org 

Useful links 

www.settimanavelicainternazionale.it 
www.lnilivorno.it 
www.marinacalademedici.it 

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