There are more than 60 boats registered for the VELA Cup Chiavari (May 2-4). Only you are missing

VELA Cup Chiavari (May 2-4, regatta Saturday, May 3) is one week away, and there is still time for you to participate in the first 2025 leg of the Sailing Newspaper’s regatta/festival circuit.

VELA Cup Chiavari, you can’t miss it

A stage that promises to be unmissable-the weather forecast is excellent-and we explain why in three reasons (although there would be many, but many more!).

• SIGN UP FOR SAILING CUP LIGURIA MAY 2/4

1. So many boats at the VELA Cup Chiavari!

First, because at the VELA Cup Chiavari, at the Marina di Chiavari Calata Ovest, there are already so many of you.

Let’s take a look at some of the more than 60 boats that have already signed up for the Chiavari leg and which, in pure VELA Cup spirit, are a wonderful mix of cruising, racing, weekender, latest generation and Classic Boats. And if you don’t have a boat, take advantage of the new “look for/off boarding” service.

Let’s start with the “big guns”: like Bruno Veronesi’s Swan 78 Azzurro, one of the aficionados of the VELA Cup: “I am fed up with the rating systems that require you to prepare the boat in a very specific way and every year the rules change. I was used to it in the Adriatic, where everything is much simpler, you race in real and whoever comes first, wins. In fact, if it were up to me, I would eliminate the awards altogether. I go sailing for fun, and the VELA Cup for me is a party,” he had told us.

Among the best performing boats, there is no shortage of ClubSwan 42s, for example, such as Mirko Bargolini’s Spirit of Nerina: Frers’ racer is one of the most successful offshore models. It will be one of the boats to beat in Tigullio…along with Massimo Arrighi’sAdvanced A44 Alebi, Fabio Montale’s First 34.7 Firstissima, Matteo Villa’sX-43 Xilla, Salvatore Sarpero’s Vismara 43 Arly…But watch out also for the many Grand Soleils, such as Bel Rebelot, Sergio Brizzi’s GS 40 C, or Raffica 3, Walter Tronconi’s GS 43 Maletto.

Classic Boats, that is, boats more than 25 years old (which will also have a dedicated ranking) do we have any? Plenty of them, starting with Pietro Giolli’sX Three-Quarter Tonner, through Zunino-Roso’s Baltic 39 Blue Witch, Lucio Ruocco’s Grand Soleil 39 Mirit, Francesco Danese’s Elan340 Britomart, Alberto Rossetti’s Elan333 Diana, and Vincenzo Romeo’s Elan 37 Zerag IV, just to name a few.

Those who follow us know, the formula of the VELA Cup is simple: all boats of any age and size can participate, and no tonnage certificate or bureaucracy is needed. Among the little ones and weekenders, not to be missed are Grazia Celestina 3, an emblazoned Este 24 by the Tigullini Campodonico-Vernengo, Antonio Cogni’s Saffier SE 27 Gared, and Alessandro Agosta’s Tofinou 12 Grazia, fresh winner of the Marina di Loano Winter Meet.

And then lots of more or less high-performance cruisers of every generation, from Michele Centemero’sItalia Yachts 15.98 SofiMa to the Dufour 34 Hermissanda II, via the 1982 ketch designed by John Alden Half Moon, by Francesco Nessi. In short, boats for all tastes, really.

• SIGN UP FOR SAILING CUP LIGURIA MAY 2/4

More and more boats are registering every day: we remind you that you can do so until May 3 morning, directly at the VELA Cup “desk” at the Marina di Chiavari Calata Ovest. But pre-registering online eases the time!

2. The route in the heart of Tigullio

The VELA Cup Liguria will have a coastal course of about 12 miles. It starts in front of Marina di Chiavari Calata Ovest, then buoys in Lavagna, off Chiavari and Portofino, and finally back to the start/finish line. The regatta takes about 4 hours in total.

Back ashore, in the afternoon (from 6:30 pm) there is the big party-award ceremony at the dock with prizes for those who did well at sea and rich raffle prizes for all. Plus music, food and drinks for all crews!

• SIGN UP FOR SAILING CUP LIGURIA MAY 2/4

3. Useful news at the Chiavari stage.

Meteomed, an official weather service, provides dockside with guru Riccardo Ravagnan useful tips on using weather on the boat. Most useful!

By contrast, the spirit of the VELA Cup where there is merit for every type of boat: racing, cruising, old or newly launched, with experienced or novice crew, is not new but well-tested. Most importantly, there is a leaderboard that puts everyone on an equal footing for everyone…and prizes always for “almost everyone” even if you don’t win.

• SIGN UP FOR SAILING CUP LIGURIA MAY 2/4

We look forward to seeing you in Chiavari, May 2-4 (regatta on Saturday, May 3).