Sailor of the Year Special Edition 50 years GdV, from April 10 you can vote online! Find out the 50 nominees!

Once again this year we have arrived at the highlight of Italian sailing, the one that all sailors, enthusiasts and fans have been waiting for. The Sailor of the Year powered by Raymarine, the Oscars of Italian sailing. But 2025 falls on a special time for the Giornale della Vela: we turn 50 years old, and we assure you that you will remember this edition for a long time. Before telling you in detail how we selected the 50 (it could only be 50!) best candidates for the Sailor of the Year, which you can vote for on our dedicated website (starting April 10) velistadellanno.giornaledellavela.com, let’s start from the bottom, and that is the awards party, scheduled for Saturday, May 24, starting at 8 p.m., on the stage in the Marina di Cala de’ Medici square.

– DISCOVER ALL THE CANDIDATES

PARTERRE DE ROI

A party to which you are all invited and where you will find not only the créme of contemporary sailing, but also many great champions, namely the Sailors of the Year awarded by the Journal of Sailing from 1991 to the present. And who will take the stage to collect the prestigious Sailor of the Year Epic Special Edition 50 years GdV. And they will be the ones to award the 2025 Sailor of the Year 2025 Special Edition 50 Years GdV winners.

If you come, you are likely to meet people like Luca Rosetti, Ambrogio Beccaria, Alberto Bona, Andrea Mura, Giovanni Soldini, Francesco De Angelis, Flavio Favini, Alessandra Sensini, Paolo Cian, and Vasco Vascotto, just to name a few names that have come up as winners of the most prestigious award in Italian sailing.

Another certain presence is director Tommaso Romanelli, author of the docufilm “No More Trouble – What Remains of a Storm”: to him the Sailor of the Year Best Story 2025 award for making the most emotional and “true” docufilm in sailing history. It was not easy to recount on video the disappearance in the ocean – while he was trying to break the Atlantic record – of his own father Andrea. Tommaso succeeded very well, and he will be happy to tell you how, perhaps while viewing his work together with you, screened after the awards ceremony, starting at 9 p.m.

SAILOR OF THE YEAR RULES POWERED BY RAYMARINE

VOTE ONLINE NOW

From 10/04 to 10/05 ONLINE VOTING.

50 CANDIDATES chosen by the Journal of Sailing, divided into 5 categories (Sailor of the Year Absolute, Passion, Owner, Innovation, Young) to be voted online at velistadell’anno.giornaledellavela.com from 1 p.m. Thursday, April 10 to noon Saturday, May 10, 2025. Everyone can cast one vote for each category (max 5 votes), subject to email entry. The public’s vote is binding. The top 5 vote-getters in each category advance to the finals. From these, the GdV jury will choose the winners.

24/05 – Marina Cala de’ Medici

THE GREAT FESTIVAL OF SAILING

On Saturday, May 24, at Marina Cala de’ Medici, all the winners will be unveiled at the big sailing party for the 50th anniversary of GdV. Starting at 8 p.m. All invited!

27/05 to 31/05

THE SAILER OF THE YEAR PROCESS On air on the Sail Newspaper youtube channel and at velistadellanno.giornaledellavela.com, in 5 episodes, appointments with all the winners

THE CATEGORIES AND HOW TO VOTE FOR YOUR IDOLS

Speaking of difficult: getting to the 50 names on the facing page was arduous, but we did it. They are the 2025 nominees for Sailor of the Year, whom you will have to vote for, in their respective categories:

– Sailor of the Year Absolute. Award to the sailor who has excited us most during the season with his or her achievements or feats.

– Young Sailor of the Year. To the best young talent in Italian sailing.

– Sailor of the Year Owner. To the owner who has achieved the best results or accomplished outstanding feats.

– Passion Sailor of the Year. To those who have shown passion to sell and pass on. In cruising, in racing, as a coach.

– Sailor of the Year Innovation. Planners, designers, innovators of Italian sailing.

Here on the left you will find the program, the timing of the 2025 Velista of the Year and the rules. To meet all the winners in person, we do not expect you at the unmissable Velista dell’Anno 2025 Special Edition 50 years GdV evening: but know that in the days following the award ceremony, it will go live on our Youtube channel and on our socials “The 2025 Velista of the Year Trial.” Our editorial staff will be with the winners to tell you their stories. You can as always send comments and “live” questions, which our Sailors of the Year will be happy to answer. Now all you have to do is vote for your favorites from April 10 on velistadellanno.giornaledellavela.com!

• DISCOVER ALL THE CANDIDATES