Following a simple and pleasant opening ceremony held at the docks and regatta village located in front of the Galata Sea Museum in Genoa—with greetings from Dr. Maurizio Daccà, President of the Promoters of the Sea Museums—right on schedule at 12:00 noon yesterday, under a beautiful sunny sky and with a Scirocco wind blowing between 12 and 14 knots, the Race Committee, aboard the Beppe Croce (the historic pilot boat of the hosting club, Yacht Club Italiano), gave the official start to the final of the Mixed Offshore European Championship.
This is the second event of 2025, the now well-established sailing season of the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour, organized by the Italian Navy, Difesa Servizi S.p.A., and SSI Sport Events.
The success of previous seasons—particularly the 2025 edition of the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour, which concluded last July after 10 hard-fought legs with the victory of the Guardia di Finanza team—has undoubtedly contributed to increasing interest from an ever-growing number of international teams eager to race in the Mediterranean waters surrounding Italy.
Following a careful selection process conducted with the support of the prestigious RORC (Royal Offshore Racing Club)—as part of a growing collaboration aimed at promoting sailing in general, and offshore sailing in particular—10 teams were selected to compete. Represented nations include Australia, India, USA, UK (2 teams), Ireland (2 teams), France, Germany, and Spain.
The 225-nautical mile course starts from Genoa, in the waters off Lido d’Albaro, heading towards Gorgona, Capraia, and Giraglia (all to be rounded to starboard), before rounding the Genoa start buoy (also to starboard), then on to the Portofino buoy, and finally returning to finish again at Lido d’Albaro. It’s a classic course, deeply tied to the history of Genoese and Ligurian sailing—an appropriate choice for an event under the patronage of Regione Liguria and the Municipality of Genoa.
After the first 150 miles, sailed under consistently favorable weather conditions (between 12 and 24 knots), the fleet—still closely packed—is already about 40 miles from the Genoa buoy.
Currently in the lead is the French team of Guth and Hockings-Cooke, followed by the German team of Aalburg and Kennis, and Ireland 2 with Hemeryck and Griffiths.
The final stages of the race can be followed via Live Tracking provided by Trac-Trac, both on their website and at www.nastrorosatour.it.
A drop in wind expected tonight could reshuffle the standings before the estimated arrival in the early hours of tomorrow morning, 18 September.