Barcolana 2011 - Trieste / Italy

Barcolana

Barcolana Regatta 2011

Autumn Cup (Coppa d'Autunno), named after the village of Barcola, is a historical european sailing race born in 1969 thanks to the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano of Trieste / Italy. It takes place annually in the Gulf of Trieste, every second Sunday in October and is one of the largest sailing races in the world with over 2000 participants.

Port of Trieste

The first Barcolana took place in 1969, with 51 boats - already a large number considering the number of sailing boats then present in the Gulf of Trieste. The first Autumn Cup was won by Commander Piero Napp from the Società Triestina della Vela: he was not yet aware that his boat Betelgeuse was to become a milestone in Barcolana history.

During the first 20 races, the winners were mostly sailors coming from local Yacht Clubs, but later it started becoming an international event, involving Yacht Clubs from all over the world including the adjacent Slovenia and Croatia, and even Australia. Up to now, it has been the world's regatta with the higher number of participants: almost 25000 sailors and a total number of people involved in the event reaching about 25000.