70th edition of the Rolex Giraglia

The Rolex Giraglia celebrates this year its 70th edition. An internationally renowned regatta that was founded in 1953 to sympathize with the French and Italian nautical communities after the Second World War. This international event has become over the years a benchmark for sailing in the Mediterranean.

This edition started on Saturday, June 10 with a welcome race starting from Sanremo (Italy) and will last until June 17. Three days of racing will follow in the bay of Saint-Tropez, before the main race of the week on Wednesday, June 14. This 241-nautical-mile (446-kilometer) race has an enviable course. It starts in Genoa (Italy), and passes through La Giraglia, the emblematic rocky islet to the north of Corsica, hence the name Rolex Giraglia. This year, 184 yachts are taking part and will be on the starting line on Friday, June 9 with the Sanremo - Saint-Tropez.

This race is considered the main attraction and brings together a wide range of participants and various types of boats, from powerful Maxi boats over 18 meters in length, which can complete the course in less than 24 hours, to smaller monohulls, which make up the majority of the fleet and will normally remain at sea for between 24 and 60 hours.

In this competition, new formulas and scores have been introduced for the general classification. The objective of these new coefficients is that the competitors of this regatta also participate in the other competitions of the event (the Sanremo/Saint-Tropez regatta, the coastal regattas and the oceanic regatta).

This 70th edition of the Rolex Giraglia, like many nautical events of the past year, promotes an environmental sustainability initiative. The initiative is the result of a collaboration between the Italian Yacht Club, the European Commission and Confindustria Nautica, in support of the project "reforestation of oceanic posidonia fields".

The launch of this initiative aims to implement territorial environmental policies that collaborate with the protection of the marine area where the regatta takes place, in perfect harmony with the "Decade of Ecosystem Restoration" (2021-2030) launched by the United Nations, DiSTAV, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e della Vita of the University of Genoa.

The main objective is to implement a project for the reforestation of the damaged fields of various endemic plants found in the Ligurian Sea.