Registrations will close on September 15th and after that date the boats will be accepted with reservation and with a penalty on the fee. A small fleet of classic Sparkman & Stephens Swans will also be taking part for the first time. Boats that have been missing for several editions will return and the entire fleet will participate in an elegance competition. Three days of regatta, accompanied by initiatives such as visits to the restoration sites, painting and photography exhibitions and crew dinners with live music at the Del Carlo shipyard, which this year celebrates 60 years of activity.

Vele Storiche Viareggio, expire on the 15th September 2023 registrations for the XVIII gathering of vintage boats

THE HISTORICAL SAILS RALLY VIAREGGIO COMES OF AGE
Already more than 30 vintage, classic and historic boats have registered for the 18th edition of the Raduno Vele Storiche Viareggio (www.velestoricheviareggio.org), which thus becomes 'of age', organised from 12 to 15 October 2023 by the association of the same name together with the Club Nautico Versilia. Registrations will close on Friday 15 September, and after that date boats will be accepted with reservations and a penalty on the registration fee of 100 euro. Here is the link to register your boat:
https://velestoricheviareggio.org/iscrizione-imbarcazioni-xviii-raduno-vsv-click-day.

The three scheduled regattas, where it will be possible to race both with the CIM rating certificate and in real time within the so-called 'homogeneity groups', will take place between Friday 13 and Sunday 15 October and will be followed by the prize-giving ceremony. Boats that have made the history of the rally and won on previous occasions will also be taking part, such as the 1966 Sangermani Namib of Pietro Bianchi from Parma, who returned to the Tyrrhenian Sea after sailing for several years in the Adriatic. From this year, the event represents the last stage of the CIM Mediterranean Championship, which comprises 10 stages divided between France, Spain, Italy and the Principality of Monaco. The XVIII Raduno Vele Storiche Viareggio is an event organised by the FIV (Italian Sailing Federation), which entrusts its organisation to the affiliates Associazione Vele Storiche Viareggio (VSV) and Club Nautico Versilia (CNV), with the support of the Associazione Italiana Vele d'Epoca (AIVE) and the Comitato Internazionale del Mediterraneo (CIM).

Vele Storiche Viareggio, expire on the 15th September 2023 registrations for the XVIII gathering of vintage boats
Vele Storiche Viareggio, expire on the 15th September 2023 registrations for the XVIII gathering of vintage boats
Vele Storiche Viareggio, expire on the 15th September 2023 registrations for the XVIII gathering of vintage boats
Vele Storiche Viareggio, expire on the 15th September 2023 registrations for the XVIII gathering of vintage boats
Vele Storiche Viareggio, expire on the 15th September 2023 registrations for the XVIII gathering of vintage boats

FROM THIS YEAR THE CLASSIC SPARKMAN & STEPHENS SWANS ALSO ARRIVE
From this year and for the first time, the Viareggio Historic Sails Rally will be attended by some sailing yachts of the "S&S Swan Association", yachts built by the Finnish Nautor shipyard and designed by the Sparkman & Stephens studio in New York. Since 1966, the year Nautor was founded, there have been 824 S&S Swans produced by the yard, almost all of which have survived and sailed the seas of the globe. The "S&S Swan Association" (www.classicswan.org) is an association founded in 2001 by the Milanese art dealer Matteo Salamon together with his friend Stefano Cioni (1958-2015), which now has over 600 members in more than 20 countries, including Sweden, Germany, England, Italy, Spain, Greece, Chile and Brazil.

THE INITIATIVES, THE PARADE AND THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CARLO SHIPYARD
An exhibition of watercolours of vintage boats by watercolour painter Emanuela Tenti, Romano Tomassini (also owner of Huntress II of 1921) and Noel Gazzano, photographs by Marco Trainotti, a meeting devoted to safety at sea, and the arrival of vintage cars. These are some of the collateral initiatives organised for the public and crews on the occasion of the 18th Gathering. Among the novelties, worth mentioning is Saturday morning's parade that will run from the Darsena Europa along the canal to the harbour exit where a special jury will choose the boat that will be awarded the Elegance Prize. There will also be the customary visit 'with a snack' to the restoration works of Cantiere Del Carlo, which has always been an active supporter of the rally. Owners and workers will be the stars of Saturday evening's crew dinner, with live music, hosted at the shipyard's headquarters in Darsena Italia. Here the 60th anniversary of the business, started in 1963 by Francesco 'Cecco' Del Carlo, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 88, will be celebrated.