Sometimes for a woman to go from family cruising to wanting to get on the helm and experience the thrills of a real offshore race is a short step. Especially when there is a fanatical “girl power” regatta circuit in Italy such as the Navy Pink Ribbon Tour 2023.
Even in Italy in recent years there are more and more women taking up sailing. And let’s not talk about the wives, girlfriends, or daughters who board the family boat to absentmindedly siphon off the weekend outing or summer cruise. That perhaps may simply be the fuse that detonates a true love, pursued and cultivated later in a completely autonomous, conscious and free way.
The same love that drives a girl to take the helm of a drift boat or a mom to participate in a club regatta or even to take a course for a boating license. Because the sea makes no gender distinctions and exudes a kind of sacred power, a primitive spirit, a practical yet mental sense that conquers all. And it is so strong that in some cases it prompts one not to be satisfied with just sailing along the coast. One seeks the high seas, the boundless horizon, the sailing away from lands and boundaries that becomes a metaphor for a quest aimed at plumbing ourselves, measuring ourselves against nature, dreaming big.
The Mediterranean under sail with a woman’s eyes and heart
Here, for all those women who experience these emotions and feel that offshore sailing can be a wonderful journey in and out of your skin, there is an appointment not to be missed. It is called the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour and is a prestigious offshore racing circuit organized by Sailing Series International that has among its goals precisely to enhance all women skippers.
In 2023, the circuit opens with the 2nd Mediterranean Female Offshore Championship, an offshore regatta featuring 10 female crews and taking place starting April 20 on one of the Mediterranean’s most fascinating and tough courses. The one from the legendary RAN 630. It starts in Livorno, goes to the “gate” in front of Porto Cervo, then descends to Capri, with a “buoy” to be left placed off Marina Piccola, just in front of the Faraglioni, and then returns to the finish line in Livorno. A regatta that in these spring months will offer the competing sailors all kinds of conditions: strong winds, bonanzas, thunderstorms as intense sunny days, for a non-stop sailing of about 3 days.
A tough regatta that teaches the art of sailing
In fact, the RAN 630 is the longest offshore race in the entire Mediterranean; it does not even fear the Middle Sea Race, which “stops” at just 605 miles. Not surprisingly, it is considered an excellent training ground for both Naval Academy students and racers in the Mini 6.50 Class, and given its technical difficulties some have even taken to calling it the “Fastnet of the Tyrrhenian.” Is there a more beautiful way to learn about and fall in love with the Mediterranean?
What makes the 2nd Mediterranean Female Offshore Championship even more interesting is that it is being raced aboard the Bénéteau Figaro Class 3, the first series one-design with foils, signed by Van Peteghem, Lauriot, Prevost (VPLP). The event, scheduled from April 22 to May 1, is organized by the Yacht Club Livorno and the Naval Academy and is part of the Italian Offshore Championship. One can register until next March 23.
The 2nd Mediterranean Female Offshore Championship will also be an excellent opportunity for the women to hone their skipper skills and also assert themselves in the subsequent events scheduled on the Navy Pink Ribbon Tour 2023 calendar. All fascinating, authentic, challenge-filled regattas that just seeing you there in the fleet your boyfriends, husbands, children, friends, and anyone who loves you, we are sure will be proud of you!
NAVY PINK RIBBON TOUR 2023 AT A GLANCE
OBJECTIVE: The goal of the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour 2023 is to promote offshore sailing in Italy and the presence of women in offshore racing. But it is also a container of institutional, social and environmental values.
ORGANIZERS: The Navy Pink Ribbon Tour 2023 is organized by Difesa Servizi S.p.A. in collaboration with Sailing Series International Sports & Events, and with the key support of ENIT – National Tourism Agency and the Italian Sailing Federation.
EVENTS & DATES:
- 2nd Mediterranean Championship Female Offshore. Locations: Leghorn. Dates: April 22-May 1.
- Dmo European Championship. Location: France. Dates: May 29-June 5.
- Navy Pink Ribbon – Giro d’Italia. Genoa. Dates: June 30-July 29.
- Dmo World Championship. Location: Taranto. Dates: October 2 – 8.
- Navy Pink Ribbon Fast. Location: Venice. Dates: November 5 – 19.
BOAT: All events on the calendar are run aboard the Bénéteau Figaro Class 3, the first series one-design with foils, used for the Tour de France. A fast and super technological 10.85-meter boat signed by Van Peteghem, Lauriot, Prevost (VPLP) who have synthesized the best of the world’s dedicated offshore foil in this project.
REGISTRATIONS AND WEBSITE: The official website of the Navy Pink Ribbon Tour 2023 can be found at www.nastrorosatour.it where all information can be viewed, race notices downloaded and registrations finalized for all scheduled events.
