La Spezia, a day of sport closes the first edition of the Golfo dei Poeti Cup
Spice – A family of tourists stops to photograph vintage cars. Wooden spokes and leather seats attract the curiosity of children as much as, a few meters from the red lighthouse of the Italia pier, do the Nave Italia and the sails cradled by the water and caressed by a faint breath of wind. Thus ended the first edition of the Golfo dei Poeti Cup. The trophy of the same name brought the beauty of 420 sailors to the mirror in front of the Morin, all driven by the ambition of closing two weeks of events in the best possible way. And the grand finale did not disappoint expectations.
Despite a tired breeze, the last races, a regatta in La Spezia and a sailing trip to Lerici, have left their mark on La Spezia residents and tourists. The objective of recovering an important piece of the city’s history was achieved. It was the year 1878, in fact, when the Gulf of Poets was the scene of the first regatta at sea on the occasion of the launching of the battleship Dandolo. And that’s not all. The Italian naval league was also born among the seaside villages of La Spezia. It was 1897 and, inspired by Augusto “Jack la Bolina” Vecchi, Attilio Montegazza and other prominent personalities, it was established following the example of the English Naval League. Reasons that strongly contributed to the creation of the first edition of the Golfo dei Poeti Cup.
There were seven races in total. Each class had its chance to show off. The first arrived on Saturday 9 September, dedicated to young people: the Fiorillo Young Trophy. On the 10th it was the turn of the Michele Fiorillo Regatta. And again: on the 15th the fifth stage of the Regional Paralympic Sailing Championship took place (Hansa 303), on Saturday the Mariperman Trophy and the Solox2 Meteor and J24 regattas. An important preamble, which accompanied the event hand in hand until yesterday. From the early hours of dawn, the center was filled with athletes. The cycling race started at 9am, half an hour after the 10km race. Tourists, attracted by the vintage cars of the Balestrero Club and by the possibility of visiting Nave Italia, the largest brigantine in the world, flocked to the Morin promenade. Finally, at 12pm, the sails were unfurled and began to dance after two ultralight vehicles flew over the race course.
«The show was incredible – highlighted Giorgio Balestrero, Gianfranco Bianchi, Davide Bendinelli and Attilio Cozzani -. Despite a not too strong wind, the race was held anyway.” Now the wait is all for the official results, which should arrive as soon as possible. The awards ceremony, however, is scheduled for September 30th at the Largo Fiorillo Cruise Terminal.
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