The Palermo-Montecarlo turns 20
by Palermo-Montecarlo 21 Dec 2024 07:00 PST
19-24 August 2025
19th Palermo-Montecarlo Regatta day 1 © Circolo della Vela Sicilia / Studio Borlenghi
After a great 2024 season, sailing is preparing for an equally important 2025. Among the events to mark on the agenda, the twentieth anniversary edition of the Palermo-Montecarlo stands out, the late summer offshore sailing regatta that crosses the Mediterranean and has attracted the best sailors and the most beautiful boats since the beginning.
The historic 20th edition of the regatta conceived and organized by the Circolo della Vela Sicilia in collaboration with the Yacht Club de Monaco and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, will take place from 19 to 24 August 2025. From the start in the Gulf of Mondello, to the climb up to the gate in front of Porto Cervo, the passage of the Strait of Bonifacio and the coast of Corsica to the arrival among the skyscrapers of the Principality: route, scenarios, weather strategies, organization and social moments has made this regatta unique.
The first edition saw six crews set off on 18 August 2005 from the Gulf of Mondello and after three days and three nights the victory of the historic ketch Steinlager, skippered by Agostino Randazzo, with Mauro Pelaschier on board. Since that first edition, the Palermo-Montecarlo has always grown and has continued to tell stories about boats, sailors and navigation. Until the last 2024 edition, which saw 51 participants and the new race record set by the maxi 100-foot Black Jack in just over 44 hours, three hours less than the previous record.
In view of the 20th anniversary edition, the Palermo-Montecarlo restarts with the 12 nations represented last year, with half of the international fleet, and with the usual presence of many names in sailing world, like Bouwe Bekking, Stu Ballantyne, Simon Doubney, Kito de Pavant, Pietro D'Alì, Alberto Riva, Luca Rosetti, Matteo Sericano, Alessandro Torresani, Michele Regolo, Enrico Zennaro, Gaetano Figlia di Granara, Edoardo Bonanno, Roberto Spata, Andrea Caracci and many others. With Race Director Giancarlo Crevatin and an high-level regatta management staff, collaborators and volunteers of the three organizing clubs.
In the coming weeks, the Notice of Race for the 20th Palermo-Montecarlo 2025 will be published and it will be possible to pre-register online on the event official website. Following the approach to the twentieth anniversary edition, a countdown of news, updates, characters, memories will follow, up to the appointment with the event week.
The President of the Circolo della Vela Sicilia, Agostino Randazzo said: "The Palermo-Montecarlo has always been something more than a simple regatta: its length, the passages along the route, the friendship and comparison between the crews, the twinning between two cities. An opportunity to meet and a navigation to remember for a lifetime.
I want to pay homage to the friends of the Yacht Club de Monaco, who since the first edition have been an integral part of the organization of the regatta, with the usual quality, style and passion well known to the competitors. And to the friends of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda who since several editions are managing the mandatory gate in Porto Cervo with great skill and dedication.
As a Club, we are proud of the twentieth anniversary, eager to welcome participants to an edition that will be historic, and we are already looking ahead to continue to grow in terms of the quality and quantity of participants and the increasingly international nature of the event."
A greeting to the next twentieth anniversary edition also came from the Yacht Club de Monaco General Secretary, Bernard D'Alessandri: "I am thrilled to celebrate the 20th edition of the Palermo-Montecarlo, an iconic race that not only symbolizes the deep maritime traditions between Monaco and Sicily, but also strengthens our enduring bonds of friendship.
I would like to honor the late Angelo Randazzo, whose visionary leadership made this project a reality, and his son, my friend Agostino Randazzo, who elevated the race to the status of a Mediterranean classic.
This event reflects the shared values of the Yacht Club de Monaco and the Circolo della Vela Sicilia: a dedication to excellence, sportsmanship and the promotion of sailing to inspire future generations".
President Randazzo also added: "I take this opportunity to send to all owners, sailors, friends of sailing clubs, and to the entire Italian sailing community, my best wishes for a peaceful Christmas and a Happy 2025!"
https://www.palermo-montecarlo.it/