Spirit of Portopiccolo, steered by Furio Benussi, with Alberto Bolzan as mainsailer, and tactitians Lorenzo Bressani and Gabriele Benussi, won the 50th edition of Barcolana, the largest regatta in the world held in Trieste, with 2689 competitors, 28 thousand sailors, and over 300 thousand spectators on land.

The regatta was raced with light wind gusts (“Borino”) between 6 and 15 knots. Right from the beginning Benussi’s sailboat was in the lead and completed the 13-mile long race in the Gulf of Trieste in only 57 minutes and 4 seconds. CQS Tempus Fugit, owned by Masoli-Furlan-Kosmina-Zennaro couldn’t outperform Spirit of PortoPiccolo’s because of its less efficient sails and arrived second. Benussi’s perfect trim throughout all 57 minutes of sailing, allowed him and his crew to score the second victory in a row aboard the same boat.

CQS - Tempus fugit ranked second and Way of Life third. Absolute fourth was Viriella, the largest sailboat to ever compete in a Barcolana regatta , steered by Pelaschier and supporter of the One Ocean Foundation. Swan 90 Generali - Woodpecker Cube owned by Alberto Rossi, arrived fifth. The other large ship taking part in Trieste’s celebrations was the tall ship Vespucci which symbolically entered the regatta last as “unofficial” competitor. “The Barcolana50 regatta was a great celebration - commented Mitja Gialuz, chairman of the Sailing Club Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano - A deep thank you goes to Trieste and the sailors, who contributed to creating this breathtaking view in the Gulf of Trieste and made Trieste a unique city”. But the Barcolana celebrations aren’t over yet! Just make sure to visit us 5 p.m..