Among the categories of participating boats are the Vintage and Classic Yachts, the IOR boats, Sangermani and the Swans. As part of the event, on Friday 30 May, the thirteenth edition of Vela & Sapori will be held, a culinary challenge between the crews aboard their boats. From Thursday to Saturday, three regattas will be held, followed by the awards ceremony and the crews' dinner. The event is a stop on the AIVE (Italian Vintage Sails Association) Circuit of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the CIM Championship, the International Mediterranean Committee that oversees vintage sailing regattas. Among the boats already registered are the 1909 Tuiga of Prince Albert of Monaco, the 1908 Mariska, the 1938 Mariella and the historic boats of the Navy Stella Polare, Tarantella and Artica II.
After last year’s “pilot” edition and in the 105th year of its history, which began way back in 1920, the Yacht Club Sanremo is inaugurating the first edition of the Grandi Regate Internazionali. From 29 to 31 May 2025, a fleet of boats belonging to the Vintage and Classic Yachts, Sangermani, Classic IOR, Open and Swan categories will compete in the waters of western Liguria to win a stage of the AIVE Regattas of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the CIM Championship, the International Mediterranean Committee that oversees and issues the regulations relating to vintage boat regattas. The event is organised by the Yacht Club Sanremo, chaired by the well-known sailmaker-yachtsman Beppe Zaoli, in collaboration with the Circolo Velico Capo Verde, the FIV (Italian Sailing Federation) and the AIVE (Italian Vintage Sails Association).
The Great International Regattas are included in the 2025 events of Liguria, the European Region of Sport, which, recognizing itself in the sporting, cultural and social purposes of the event, will not fail to provide its useful and effective contribution. Sponsors of the Great International Regattas, which enjoy the patronage of the Municipality of Sanremo - Department of Tourism Promotion and Events, are "Abate gioiellieri dal 1920" and the Casinò di Sanremo. The participating boats will be able to stop for free in the Old Port of Sanremo and be visible to the public from May 20 to June 7.

Major International Regattas, from 29 to 31 May 2025 the golden age of yachting returns to Sanremo

THE OVER 100 YEAR-OLD BOATS   
Among the oldest boats registered in the Great International Regattas are Tuiga from 1909 (sail number D3) and Mariska (sail number D1) from 1908, two of the last four 15-Metre International Rule still sailing in the world. Tuiga is the flagship yacht of the Yacht Club de Monaco and often sails with Prince Albert II and members of the Grimaldi family on board. Both were built by the Scottish shipyard Fife. Mariella is another splendid Fife from 1938, which has already completed a round-the-world trip in the past. Since 1992, when it was owned by Carlo Falcone from Livorno, it has completed numerous Atlantic crossings between Europe and Antigua, where it is based. Among the other large boats is the 99-year-old Hallowe’en, another Fife described by the designer himself as “a jewel”. Also on the starting line are the 1937 gaff cutter Vistona of the Borea d’Olmo family, known for having welcomed generations of aspiring sailors on board, and the 1973 Ojalà II, a multi-victorious Sparkman & Stephens built in aluminum in Holland.
Resolute Salmon, the Zaoli family’s boat, is instead a revolutionary design by Britton Chance. Built in triple layer of crossed cedar laminate by the Breton shipyard Pichavant in 1976, it has an innovative bayonet keel that reduces the draft to a few centimeters and 2600 pounds of lead ballast in the bilge. Other participants include Il Moro di Venezia I, Oliria, Matrero, Sagittarius, the 1952 Baglietto EA, the Sangermani Huna II and Nita, built by Carlini in 1977 based on a design by Argentine German Frers. Also present is a fleet of boats associated with Yacht Classic RH, the recently established association chaired by Riccardo Ghidella, which aims to spread the history of seafaring and develop the professions of the sea with particular attention to the centrality of the person and respect for Creation.
THE THIRTEENTH VELA & SAPORI
The thirteenth edition of Vela & Sapori will take place on Friday, May 30, an event within an event that combines sailing and cuisine. “The crews,” reports the Commodore of the Yacht Club Sanremo Umberto Zocca, “during the regatta will have to prepare a dish on board based on a theme that will be assigned to them. Upon returning to the mooring, a specialized jury will evaluate the dishes and assign them a score. The ranking points earned in this test will be added to those earned during the regatta.”

Major International Regattas, from 29 to 31 May 2025 the golden age of yachting returns to Sanremo
Major International Regattas, from 29 to 31 May 2025 the golden age of yachting returns to Sanremo
Major International Regattas, from 29 to 31 May 2025 the golden age of yachting returns to Sanremo
Major International Regattas, from 29 to 31 May 2025 the golden age of yachting returns to Sanremo

THE NAVY’S DEBUT OF TARANTELLA  
After the donation to the Navy in December 2023, the transfer from Malta where it was based and the subsequent restoration work, completed this year at the Cantieri Navali di La Spezia, the Tarantella boat is ready to debut on the Mediterranean regatta fields. Launched in 1969 by the Cantiere Carlini of Rimini, it was built in mahogany planking based on designs by Sparkman & Stephens (project no. 1961), is 16.70 meters long and has a Bermudian sloop rig. Among the participations and podiums achieved in regattas, often with Zaoli himself at the helm, those at the Mediterranean Championship, the Giraglia and the King's Cup. Also present in Sanremo are the Sangermani Stella Polare, which turns 60 this year, and Artica II from 1956, remembered above all for the victory of the Torbay-Lisbon achieved in the year of its launch. The Navy is today the first "collector" of vintage sails in Italy and its fleet is one of the most important at a global level. Suffice it to say that the 16 wooden boats of the Navy, currently operating on the regatta fields, were built between 1858 and 1987.