Sailor of the Year, the Magnificent 52 / 4 (Mantaci to Soldini)

Soon we will start again: warm up your mice. In these days, from A to Z, we will learn more about the stories of the 52 candidates who passed the first stage of the Sailor of the Year. You will be able to vote for them again starting March 4 (1 p.m.), with the online poll closing on March 15 at 12 p.m. (remember that the votes from the first phase are reset): only 25 will remain.

Below are the fourth 10 of the “magnificent 52” (50 + 2 chosen by you, Salvatore Mantaci and Pietro Supparo). At the bottom of the list, however, you will find the rules for the Sailor of the Year.

SALVATORE MANTACI (Seaman)
We were literally inundated with emails supporting his candidacy. Salvatore Mantaci, a Sicilian transplanted to Milan, resigned from the company where he worked and set sail from Genoa for the solo Atlantic crossing in August 2015, after a long and demanding period of repairs and optimizations that he personally made to make his sailboat fit for what lay ahead. The name of his beloved is, or rather was, Tarabaralla (a 34-foot CBS Serenity ’78): unfortunately, Salvatore was shipwrecked in the Ocean, but this has only increased his popularity: you can follow him on the blog http://oceanotarabaralla.blogspot.it

FRANCESCO MARRAI (Athlete)
Sensational was his victory at the Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta, a pre-Olympic test event in the waters where the Games will be held this year. Needless to say, he immediately passed into the special watch list, considering that his all-time idol, the evergreen Robert Scheidt, finished three places behind him in the rankings. If all goes as it should Francis could really come back from Rio with a medal around his neck.

GIANCARLO PEDOTE (Seaman)
Wherever he goes, he wins. Giancarlo Pedote is probably the strongest ocean sailor we have in Italy: in 2015, the FFV (the French sailing federation) awarded him and Erwan Le Roux, his partner on the Multi 50 trimaran FenetrèA-Prysmian, the prestigious 2015 Trophée des Champions following their important achievements during the year: winning the Transat Jacques Vabre, the very tough race from Le Havre (France) to Itajaì (Brazil) and all the other Multi 50 races on the calendar.

MARCELLO PERSICO (Designer)
Persico is synonymous with excellence. Internationally recognized, especially after the miraculous repair work on Team Vestas after the Volvo Ocean Race incident. Marcello Persico is head of the Nembro (Bergamo) shipyard, which is currently the most important “hi-tech” entity in Italian sailing. This is where the most cutting-edge boats are churned out, and this is where the new VO65s will be produced ahead of VOR 2018.

MATTEO PILATI / FRANCESCO RUBAGOTTI (Athletes)
Matteo Pilati and Francesco Rubagotti embody a new generation of sailors: the “flying” ones, thanks to foils: in fact, they triumphed at the 2015 Redbull Foiling Generation Italia in Malcesine (Verona, Italy) race on Flying Phantoms. They thus qualified for the world finals of the event to be held this year.

MATTEO POLLI (Designer)
Matteo Polli, Chief Designer of Italia Yachts, is the hottest designer in ORC racer/cruisers. From 2014 are the Italia Yachts 15.98 and the fast cruiser-racer Low Noise 2 commissioned by Giuseppe Giuffré (for whom Polli also optimized the M37 Low Noise), 2015 World Champion. Wherever he gets his hands on, he is likely to have boats he has modified win: his, for example, are the appendages on the First 36.7 BluOne and the optimization of the Mumm 30 Mummy One as well as the J-111 Black Bull. Polli is good at it.

ALESSIO QUERIN – TEAM MUMMY ONE (Owner)
Minialtura in Italy is making a comeback after a period of substantial darkness. Minialtura’s Owner of the Year is Alessio Querin, in command of Mummy One. The verdict could not have been different, as Querin’s boat (with Trieste’s Jacopo Cunial at the helm and Monfalcone’s Loris Plet at the mainsail) had won the Minialtura tricolor in Chioggia in May.

DEMI RIO / MARIA COLUZZI (Athletes)
Another pair of girls to watch closely: Demi Rio and Maria Coluzzi made headlines by finishing the U19 Women’s European Championships in 420 in third place, confirming themselves as “special watchers” for 2016.

RICCARDO SEPE (Athlete)
Lazio-bred optimist Riccardo Sepe achieved many good results in 2015. But the most resounding is the Garda Optimist Meeting victory, already a 2012 Guinness World Record for the number of participants, which in 2015 had the participation of 29 nations and 863 young sailors (187 cadets and 676 juniors).

GIOVANNI SOLDINI (Sailor)
He set the time reference on the San Francisco – Shanghai route, participated in the Sydney Hobart with Maserati, finishing in fourth place. it was a good 2015 for Soldini, who hangs up the VOR70 to devote himself to trimarans.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE THIRD 10 CANDIDATES

CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE SECOND 10 CANDIDATES

CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE TOP 10 CANDIDATES

HOW THE 2016 SAILOR OF THE YEAR VOTING WORKS
On Friday, May 6, at 7 p.m., the Sailor of the Year award ceremony will take place at the VELAFestival in Santa Margherita Ligure (Genoa) during the Evening of Champions. But how does one come to award the most prestigious prize in Italian sailing? With a long and “hard” online selection process where your input is crucial. We explain it in detail, step by step.

– FIRST STAGE (WINNING VOTE – CONCLUDED) – FROM 100 to 52 CANDIDATES.
– 100 CANDIDATES to vote online on our website from Jan. 29 (from 1 p.m.) to Feb. 16 (closing at 12 p.m.)
– 20 CANDIDATES INDICATED BY YOU (you can send us names and motivation from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4 to email speciali@panamaeditore.it) voted online on our website from Feb. 5 (from 1 p.m.) to Feb. 16 (close at 12 p.m.)
– The 50 most voted and the 2 most voted among those indicated by you pass the round
– SECOND STAGE (WINNING VOTE) – 52 to 25 CANDIDATES.
– 52 CANDIDATES to vote online from March 4 (from 1 p.m.) to March 15 (closing at 12 noon)
– The 25 highest vote-getters pass the round
– THIRD STAGE (CONSULTATIVE VOTE) – 25 to 5 CANDIDATES.
– 25 CANDIDATES to be voted for online from March 31 (from 1 p.m.) to April 15 (closing time 12 noon). The online public vote has advisory value: taking into account your preferences, a jury selects the 5 who pass the round
– FOURTH PHASE – CHOOSING THE SAILOR OF THE YEAR (AND OTHER AWARDS)
-THE 5 CANDIDATES make up the shortlist of “papabili” for Sailor of the Year. These will compete, based on the jury’s decisions, for the Sailor of the Year award and the others: TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year “Passion,” TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year “Innovation,” and TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year “Performance.” Each of the winners will be awarded a TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 high-precision waterproof chronograph (pictured opposite), capable of withstanding depths of up to 300 meters. Who the winners are you will only know on the evening of May 6 in Santa Margherita. You are all invited!

For any information regarding the Sailor of the Year, please write to us at speciali@panamaeditore.it

FIND OUT WHAT IS SAILOR OF THE YEAR

AT THIS LINK FIND OUT IN DETAIL THE FIRST ROUND OF VOTING FOR THE MAGNIFICENT “100”

DISCOVER ALL 100 INITIAL CANDIDATES FOR SAILOR OF THE YEAR, FROM A TO Z

FIND OUT THE STORIES OF THE “CHOSEN BY YOU” NOMINEES AND THE REASONS FOR THE NOMINATIONS