Palermo-Montecarlo 2023 - Sailing at its best

Palermo-Montecarlo 2023 © Palermo-Montecarlo

Here we are, it is the eve of the Palermo-Montecarlo 2023 edition, the offshore sailing race queen of the Mediterranean summer: a 500-mile navigation from the Gulf of Mondello to the Principality of Monaco, with a gate passage in Porto Cervo, full of tactical calls, weather strategies, teamwork and manoeuvring. Sailing at its best.

• Palermo-Montecarlo 2023: tomorrow 22nd august the departure from Mondello at 12:00
• At the press conference, greetings from the Mayor of Palermo, speeches from institutions, partners and the presence of many big names in sailing
• 44 boats at the start: favourites, outsiders, records. Regatta complete guide
• Sleep management in an offshore regatta: a research from a university student to help sailors

Organized by the Circolo della Vela Sicilia with the collaboration of the Yacht Club de Monaco and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and under the aegis of the Italian Sailing Federation, UVAI (Unione Vela d'Altura Italiana) and IMA (International Maxi Association), the Palermo-Montecarlo is in its 18th edition, and confirms a growth trend, for entries quantity and quality, and in the international profile: exactly half of the crews comes from 11 nations, other than Italy.

Palermo-Montecarlo 2023 press conference - photo © Palermo-Montecarlo

The Palermo mayor's greeting - The Mayor of Palermo Roberto Lagalla sent this greeting to the presentation of the regatta: "Again this year the Palermo-Montecarlo renews its tradition which undoubtedly manages to give the limelight to the city because the regatta is an important spot for tourism. Thanks to Circolo della Vela Sicilia for its commitment, being among the three major clubs organizing the competition".

The presentation - The President of Circolo della Vela Sicilia Agostino Randazzo, in his welcome speech said: "I am happy to experience the eve of a particularly rich edition of our regatta. Rich in many aspects that go beyond sport. We are approaching the 20 years of history of the Palermo-Montecarlo and we see every year, and more and more, the presence of great personalities, sailing champions, prestigious owners, boats that have glorious past. The attention from the institutions, and from historical partners gives us the impetus to always improve. This year many foreign friends, as well as Italian participants, were able to see extraordinary pieces of art on display at the Club to celebrate the sport of sailing and also culture. And it is wonderful for us to experience all this with the young students of the sailing school, who are our future."

Also present were: Nicola Vernuccio, Director General of the Metropolitan City of Palermo, who participates in the support of the event, the Captain Fabio Rottino, Second Commander of the Western Sicily Maritime Directorate, Donatello Mellina of the Italian Sailing Federation, who brought greetings from President Francesco Ettorre, a regular at the regatta but busy in Holland for the Olympic Sailing World Championships.

Also noteworthy were the interventions of two personalities close to the Circolo della Vela Sicilia: Matteo Plazzi, one of the most expert and complete Italian sailors, historical member of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, currently Rules Advisor and team representative in the "Recon" panel.

The presence of Plazzi and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli is a confirmation of the team's closeness to the Circolo della Vela Sicilia, of which the boat proudly wears the flag in the top sailing competition.

The other sailor to greet was Alessandro Torresani, a young emerging solo ocean navigator, who is preparing for his first Mini Transat, a regatta that crosses the Atlantic in two legs with boats of just 6 and a half metres, the Mini 650s. Alessandro is a CVS athlete and has not failed to underline how the Palermo-Montecarlo is a source of inspiration for many young people.

A brief talk with some of the skippers, owners, tacticians, Italian and international personalities concluded the presentation to the media, which was followed by the skipper meeting led by this year's Race Director, the Ligurian Fabio Barrasso.

Following the regatta - The departure at 12:00 on 22 August (unique fleet) will be commented live from the sea for the public at the Circolo della Vela Sicilia, and broadcast on YouTube and Saily TV. Tracking on the official website will allow you to follow the route and positions throughout the journey.

The boats that will line up at the start in Mondello are 44. An impressive fleet that should benefit from favorable weather conditions in the early hours of the race with wind from the North-North-East which will allow good progress upwind. In the following hours and days, the forecasts indicate variable winds, with possible reinforcements from the Mistral wind in the Bocche di Bonifacio, which will require the work of the on-board strategists to choose the best routes, maintaining a good average speed.

Record - The Palermo-Montecarlo record remains unbeaten since 2015, when it was established by Esimit Europa 2 in 47 hours, 46 minutes and 48 seconds. The same boat, now named Black Jack, is among the favorites of this edition and naturally - wind permitting - it also aims for victory and the record. The trophies up for grabs are the Angelo Randazzo Trophy to the winner on corrected time in the largest class, and the Giuseppe Tasca D'Almerita Trophy to the winner of Line Honors in real time, plus the Emanuele Bruno Trophy to the first crew from a Sicilian club.

Maxi - The maxi of the Australian owner Peter Hamburg, with the famous New Zealand tactician Brad Butterworth, the helmsman and strategist Joao Signorini, and the navigator Alex Nolan, will have as main opponent the other awaited maxi: Shockwave 3 Prosecco DOC by Claudio Demartis, with on board, among others, Roberto Ferrarese and two youngs from the Circolo della Vela Sicilia: Max Maneschi and Orazio Fatta della Fratta. ARCA SGR, the Fast and Furio Sailing Team 100-footer, will not be at the start, as communicated by skipper Furio Benussi: "We were aiming a lot at this Palermo-Montecarlo, one of the seasonal objectives, but our boat still needs to complete the set-up after the long spring refitting. We will see you soon and will return to Palermo!"

Among the four maxis in the race, mention should be made of the VO70, former yacht of the "I Love Poland" round-the-world regatta, skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski, a complete sailor: Olympic campaigns in 470, match race world titles, an America's Cup with +39 Challenge. The boat has an exceptional palmares, victories in the Transatlantic Care, the Maxi Cup, the Middle Sea Race, a second in the RORC 600 Caribbean and a third in the Fastnet, in short: boat and crew to keep an eye on.

Eight couples at the start - No less than eight boats will race the "Per 2" version of the regatta (two crew members), including the Colombre, JPK 1080 with the oceanic skippers Massimo Juris and Andrea Iacopini, the Loli Fast, Davide's Fast 3600 Paioletti and Guido Trasimeni, the Pegasus, class950 (among the smallest hulls in the race) with Francesco Conforto and Ruggero Bellucci, the return of Made in Midi, Class40 of the great Kito de Pavant paired with Gwenael Gbick, the Sardinian couple from Salvartore and Francesca Nurra, husband and wife, on JPK 1010 Su Cantu and Su Entu. One of the Class40s on the other hand - ACI of Croatian former Olympic ski gold medalist Ivica Kostelic - will sail with three people.

Big names - In addition to those already mentioned, among the personalities and sailing champions who will be protagonists of this Palermo-Montecarlo we must mention Mauro Pelaschier, on the Elo II one-off fom Yacht Club Italiano; the new ocean navigator Marco Guerra on his debut with the Class40 Imagin'Act, the former Indulgence of Andrea Fornaro; the Monegasque Thierry Leret with the Grand Soleil 48 Joy of the Yacht Club de Monaco; Australian Olympic legend Mitch Booth, tactician on Franco Niggeler's Cookson 50 Kuka 3 which also has navigator Pietro D'Alì on board; the French Caroline Petit, skipper of the first all-female crew in the history of the regatta, on the Dufour 34 Moogli; the French owner Dominique Tian who returns as defender with his Ker 46 Tonnerre del Glen, overall winner of the 2022 edition, and during the presentation he officially returned the Angelo Randazzo Challenge Trophy to the club. And again: Alessio Bernabò, disabled skipper and animator of the Divermente Marinai association, in preparation for an ocean campaign, and with him on board Andrea Pendibene, former Mini Transat navigator.

Sleep management in the regatta in a university study - During the Palermo-Montecarlo 2023, on Shockwave 3 Prosecco DOC, the boat with the CV Sicilia flag, five of the sailors on board and two helmsmen will wear special bracelets to monitor their sleep in regatta. The initiative is part of a study by the student Livia Gonzi, daughter of an owner who has participated in numerous editions of the regatta. The thesis entitled "Intermittent sleep in regatta: basic or overrated?" it is part of the degree course in Sport and Health Sciences of the School of Human Health Sciences. After the Palermo-Montecarlo the results of the study will be announced.

Circuits and partners - Included in the circuit of the FIV Italian Offshore Sailing Championship, with the highest coefficient scoring for the final classification, the 500 miles of the Palermo-Montecarlo are also part of the following prestigious circuits: the IMA Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge; the Mediterranean Offshore Trophy; the Mediterranean Trophy for the Class40; and the 2023 edition of the Championnat et Trophées Inshore et Offshore Méditerranée en Équipages-IRC.

The event is also directly promoted by the Sicilian Region Department of Tourism, Sport and Entertainment, with the participation of the Metropolitan City of Palermo and the support of the Sicily Foundation. Sponsor partners are Tasca d'Almerita and Porsche, Centro Porsche Palermo.

www.palermo-montecarlo.it/2023/it