Barcolana regatta

The Barcolana is a historic international sailing regatta taking place every year in the Gulf of Trieste on the second Sunday of October. The Barcolana is one of the most crowded regattas in the world, which draw in record number of participants – 1968 - in 2002. Thanks to its particular formula, the Barcolana is a unique event on the international sailing stage: on the same starting line expert sailors and sailing lovers race side by side on boats of different sizes divided into several divisions according to their overall length.

The Barcolana was founded in 1969 thanks to the initiative of the yacht club Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. It has always taken place on the second Sunday of October to end the season of the yacht club, and therefore its full name is Barcolana Autumn Cup Regatta. During the first edition of the regatta, only 51 sailing boats from yacht clubs of Trieste took part in the race. Year after year the Barcolana has become more and more popular attracting international crews and world-famous sailors.

The race takes place on a 15-mile four-sided, fixed mark course. The starting line is between the Miramare Castle and the seat of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano and for the first time in 2014 the finish line will be in the waters just off Piazza Unità d'Italia. Over the years the route has undergone several changes and for many years one buoy has floated in Slovenian waters.

The Barcolana is not an event for sailors only, but it involves the whole city of Trieste attracting tourists from abroad. Every year about 25,000 sailors take part in the race and more than 250,000 spectators watch the Barcolana from the Trieste seafront, known as the Rive, and from the Karst highland. Thanks to the particular conformation of the territory around the Gulf of Trieste, spectators can enjoy the race from numerous observation points as if sitting in a natural “sailing stadium”.

The Barcolana is not only the regatta on Sunday morning, but includes several events involving the sea and the city for ten days. In recent years several races and side events have taken place:

The Barcolana also includes several events on land:

Several prizes are awarded during the prize-giving ceremony which usually takes place at the end of November. The spirit of many prizes goes beyond the mere sporting result and enhances sporting values and the origin of the event.

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Wikipedia