Sailor of the Year 2025, 6,000 votes in 24 hours. Who’s winning and how to vote

The Velista of the Year Special Edition 50 Years GdV could only start with a bang.

Sailor of the Year 2025, more than 6,000 votes in 24 hours

Twenty-four hours after the opening of online voting-with which you decide the finalists for the most coveted award in Italian sailing: there is time until May 10-you have already given 6,000 preferences to the magnificent 50 2025 nominees in the running for the five categories Sailor of the Year Absolute, VdA Passion, VdA Owner, VdA Young, and VdA Innovation.

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We tell you how the voting is going. Those who have already caught the breakaway, those who are struggling, those who are still “sly.” Also because anything can happen, between now and May 10: we remind you that, according to the rules, the 5 most voted sailors in each category will pass to the final stage. Among them, the jury of the Giornale della Vela will decide the winners of the Oscars of Italian sailing.

Sailor of the Year Absolute. Maggetti and Conti/Porro “discounted,” Farci-Mureddu surprise

At the top of the “Absolute Sailor of the Year” category (award to the sailor who has excited the most with his or her results), at the moment, with almost 400 votes, are, somewhat surprisingly, sailors Francesco Farci and Pietro Mureddu.

The feat that earned them the nomination is no small affair: after 1,492 nautical miles and more than nine days of non-stop racing aboard a Figaro 3, Farci and Mureddu took first place in the longest regatta in the Mediterranean, the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Veloce: and, judging by the votes, the heart of the community following them as well.

The second and third provisional places, however, are not surprising: Marta Maggetti (350 votes) gave us an Olympic gold medal in Marseille on the iQFOiL flying boards (confirming her as the true heir to Alessandra Sensini, four-time Sailor of the Year), Giulia Conti and Margherita Porro won the women’s America’s Cup, at the helm of the AC 40 Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.

They are followed by Ambrogio Beccaria, who won the legendary Transat CIC, formerly the Ostar, in 2024 (and who is now preparing his round-the-world trip in IMOCA 60) and the wonder couple Marco Gradoni and Gigi Ugolini, winners of the youth America’s Cup with Luna Rossa.

Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti, second consecutive Olympic gold medalists, and Giancarlo Pedote (second completed world tour) are right there. But anything can still happen…

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Sailor of the Year Passion. Vaurien loaded, Pitter and Bernardinelli at the top

In the Sailor of the Year Passion category (an award for those who have shown passion for sailing to sell and to pass on. In cruising, in racing) in the lead we find Francesco Graziani and Marta Delli, propelled by the Vaurien community, the legendary dinghy that has raised generations of sailors and still gathers enthusiasts from all over (by the way, it will be featured at the VELA Cup and the big sailing party on May 24 in Cala de’ Medici, where we will unveil the Sailors of the Year).

The two, very strong and passionate sailors aged 57 and 54, dominated on Lake Liptov in the foothills of the Tatra Mountains between Slovakia and Poland at the World Class Championship.

They are followed closely by Giorgio Pitter, the owner who refitted an icon of the “old” IOR, the Phantom (C&C 66 designed by Cuthbertson & Cassian in 1973), turning it into a school boat for a team of young up-and-coming sailors, flanked by an experienced portion of the crew who will help them grow in the world of sailing by bringing them closer to the world of racing; and Guido Bernardinelli, winner of the H-Boat World Championship and a passionate owner who jumps on his Swan 55 Alegher as soon as he can.

In fourth place – for now – Gregor Stimpfl (seven Middle Sea Races, one Fastnet with his Scuderia 65 Hagar V. A life dedicated to sailing. In the last Middle he handled the dismasting with great seamanship), in fifth Andrea Mura: the sailor from Cagliari, already 2014 Sailor of the Year, with his Open 50 Vento di Sardegna completed the Global Solo Challenge in third position, around the world solo and non-stop in “vintage” style. A stoic feat, completed after 120 days.

This is the top five. But we do not rule out surprises in the coming days….

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Young Sailor of the Year. The reign of the optimists (for now)

It’s pure tussle in the Young Sailor of the Year category (an award dedicated to the best young talent in Italian sailing).

Leading the way is Bianca Marchesini, 14, who took bronze at the European Optimist and the European team title. Right behind is fellow Optimist Jesper Karlsen, 13, European silver.

In third place were Giulia Lusini (2008) and Camilla Parrinelli (2010), from Follonica, who in 2024 They won the Rs Feva World Championships in the Netherlands Women’s category, also taking second place at the Autumn Meeting in Riva del Garda and the title the Italian U17.

Closing out the top quintet are other Optimist specialists: Cristian Castellan (fourth at the Carrara European Championships and part of the team that won the European Team Championships title. He won the 2024 Italian title) and Anna Merlo (in addition to taking part in the 2024 European Optimist team success, she won individual silver).

The games are still very long, and many candidates are ready to make gushes. Predictions, as of now, leave time to be found.

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Sailor of the Year Owner. All Mad About Ariella Cattai

Ariella Cattai, a CERN nuclear physicist and owner of the Bermudian sloop Crivizza, Classic Marconi Category, a regular at Classic Boat regattas, won the International Mediterranean Championship, also taking the Tirrenia Challenge, a prize intended for the hull that, in 2024, traveled the most miles to reach all the championship race courses: more than 3,000, in this case.

Beloved in the world of classic sails, she has jumped to the top of the Sailor of the Year Owner category (with 350 votes), the award dedicated to owners who have accomplished out-of-the-ordinary feats or achieved excellent sporting results, and is running away solo.

Behind her is Sofia Giondi (the young girl from Forlì, a past in 420s and 470s, is the new face in the one-design world and has been racing at a high level in J/70s and also in RS 21s for a couple of years now. In 2024 the exploit with the victory of the European J/70 in Cala Galera).

In third place was Riccardo De Michele (At the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Portocervo, in which he has participated for many editions, in the Maxi 4 category, with the Vallicelli 80 H2O De Michele achieved his sixth victory in this prestigious event).

Fourth and fifth – thus in the “promotion” zone – Alessandra Angelini (Aerospace engineer and wine producer from four different wineries, owner of Marga, a 1910 Cutter Aurico, with which she won in the Epoca A class at the Vele d’Epoca di Imperia) and Massimo Guardigli (CEO Comar Yachts and C Catamaran With his C-Cat 38 Bellamossa – City of Fiumicino built at Comar, he won the multihull category at the ARC 2024). We will see…

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Sailor of the Year Innovation. Top 3: Semeraro, Bianchi, Ardizio

The games are also more than open in the Sailor of the Year Innovation category, where Italian sailing planners, designers, and innovators are competing. In the lead, for now, is Paolo Semeraro.

His Neo were a gamble when they were born but now they have become an international reality. Boats made in Italy, built in carbon, with hulls designed to redefine even the canons of cruising, and that entertain crews in regattas. Winning bet.

But watch out, behind him is engineer Max Bianchi: you may not know his name (or maybe you do, given the amount of votes he has received so far), but this gangly 84-year-old gentleman revolutionized, exactly 50 years ago, the world of sailing. He invented the swivel-bladed propeller-not coincidentally his propellers are called Max Prop-that made sailing easier for everyone. And, to this day, he is not tired of experimenting, innovating, looking ahead. Spoiler: a new Max Prop is coming that promises to be revolutionary…

In third place is Luca Ardizio (he is the architect of the revamped interior design of the new Dufours. A name to watch out for). Closing out the quintet of “qualifiers” are Nox Oceani (the company that developed the first eco-Optimist, the small sustainable dinghy made of basalt fiber, low-impact resins and cork) and Luca Bassani, the “Mr. Wally” who revolutionized sailing by “inventing” easy-sailing and who conceived the brand-new WallyRocket 51 bolide.

Who will win? It is still too early to tell.

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Keep voting (and see you on May 24)

You have met the stories of the protagonists of the current Sailor of the Year, many we will tell you in the coming days. In the meantime, keep voting! And remember that on Saturday, May 24 at Marina Cala de’ Medici, at GdV’s big 50th anniversary sailing party, all the winners will be revealed. Starting at 8 p.m. All invited!

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