Sailor of the Year 2025, we are at 15,000 votes: -7 days to the close of voting

The Velista of the Year Special Edition 50 Years GdV, powered by Raymarine, now enters the crucial phase of online voting, the last week, to determine who will be the finalists in the queen category, The Velista of the Year, and in all the others.

Sailor of the Year 2025, passed 14,000 votes

We’re heading into the final rush of online voting for Il Giornale della Vela’s Sailor of the Year 2025 – and again this year you decide the finalists for the most coveted award in Italian sailing: there’s time until May 10 – 15,000 preferences have now been registered to the 50 2025 candidates 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. Also because anything can happen, between now and May 10, in the week that will decide everything: we remind you that, according to the rules, the five most voted sailors in each category will pass to the final stage. Among them, the Giornale della Vela jury will decide the winners of the Oscars of Italian sailing. The public vote is therefore decisive for the outcome of the Awards.

Sailor of the Year Absolute. CONTI/PORRO remain in the lead

The situation does not change at the moment in the Queen of the Prize category. Firmly at the top of the standings is the pair of “terrible girls” who won, as helmsmen of the AC 40 Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, the Women America’s Cup: Giulia Conti and Margherita Porro have surpassed 1,000 votes and lead the standings. That “Giulia trust me” from Margherita in the voices from aboard in the maneuver has stuck in the mind.

They are followed by Francesca 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, even the heart of the community following them, they are now firmly in second place.

In third place Marta Maggetti, gave us an Olympic gold in Marseille on the iQFOiL flying boards (confirming her as the true heir to Alessandra Sensini, four-time Sailor of the Year), already at over 400 votes. How can we forget that crazy layline on that Mistral day in Marseille?

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

In the Sailor of the Year Passion category (award for those who have shown passion for sailing to sell and to pass on. Cruising, racing) there is a head-to-head.

At the top of the rankings now is back George Pitter, the owner who has refurbished 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, joined by a portion of experienced crew who will help them grow in the world of sailing by bringing them closer to the world of racing; A short distance away are Francesco Graziani and Marta Delli, buoyed by the Vaurien community, the legendary dinghy that raised generations of sailors and still draws enthusiasts from all over (by the way, Will be featured at the VELA Cup and the big sailing festival 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.

Great comeback to third place for Giacomo Bei, who looks solid in the podium area by now. Nominated in the passion category because he brought the Swan 57 Matchless, the boat that survived the terrible 1979 Fastnet, back to life.

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Young Sailor of the Year. What a tussle!

It’s pure tussle in the Young Sailor of the Year category (an award dedicated to the best young talent in Italian sailing), which seems to have found its new leaders.

Leading the way is the Lorenzo Sirena /Alice Dessy pair. Together in 2024 they won the world youth title in the Nacra 15 class. The two young sailors, Sirena son of Max, coached by Gigi Picciau of the Italian Sailing Federation and Marcella Mamusa of the Cagliari Yacht Club, had a great championship in the waters of Riva del Garda going on to win the world title.

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 getting second place at the Autumn Meeting in Riva del Garda and the title the Italian U17, are in second position.

They are followed closely, almost side by side, by young Bianca Marchesini, the spearhead of Italian Optimist, and another Optimist,

Jesper Karlsen, another great talent from the great Italian Optimist gymnasium.

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Sailor of the Year Owner. Who goes up and who goes down

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

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

Continuous changes in the last step of the podium, where Alessandra Angelini now rises.

Aerospace engineer and wine producer (from four different wineries), owner of Marga, a 1910 Auric Cutter, with which she won in Class Epoch A the Vele d’Epoca di Imperia, and won in the Auric category the International Mediterranean Championship.

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

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 now is Luca Botter: His Maxi Dolphin boatyard is an excellence that has built some of the most beautiful boats of the moment.

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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Sailor of the Year 2025 is powered by Raymarine