All crazy for a boat that is 112 years old. Dinghy party in Portofino

She is small-slightly more than 3 1/2 meters by 1 wide-and undeniably “ancient,” a small lance with overlapping planking and auric sail, designed in 1913 and inspired by yacht tenders, much to the delight of owners who could have fun while docking in ports, challenging each other. Since then the Dinghy 12′ has remained pretty much the same with a few concessions to weight and materials.

Fashions pass, the Dinghy remains

But despite the fact that 112 years have passed, this moving-drift single, the world’s longest-lived, remains a puzzle, far from fast (glide, this unknown!) and complicated by endless micro-adjustments, the effect of which is more often than not the opposite of what one would expect. It is not a wind boat: above 16 knots (the limit for class racing) the helmsmen go into survival mode. It is precisely these characteristics that make the Dinghy the boat of choice for “mature” sailors, that special category of enthusiasts (bordering on masochism) who, after spending a lifetime on boats of all kinds, choose to challenge themselves even before their opponents in a balancing act between technique, tactics, experience and patience.

Of course, fashions pass, technologies advance but the Dinghy remains and continues to proselytize.The 90th Italian class championship will be held in September.

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All at the legendary “Bombolino d’oro,” the Dinghy festival

But in the meantime, the first and super classic event of the season is the “Bombolino d’oro” – SIAD Trophy, first put up for grabs 28 years ago by the unforgettable Roberto Sestini in the waters of the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure and Rapallo, entrusted to the experienced and solid organization of the Yacht Club Italiano.

More than 70 helmsmen are vying for the 2025 edition, called to confront, for three days and six races, the light and unpredictable breezes of one of Italy’s most difficult and fascinating race courses, not surprisingly nicknamed amiably by the natives the “gulf of the nesci” (i.e., of the “fools”).

How the regatta went

It starts with a patchy and dancing wind between 7 and 9 knots, a charade that is so difficult to decipher that only two gulf experts like Matteo Baú and Filippo Maria Jannello manage to finish the two races with single-digit placings. With the wind shifts even the self-positioning buoys become traps capable of triggering more than a tangle of boats with their sudden shifts.

On the second day the gulf surprised everyone with a more stretched wind than expected, around 10 knots, but of “dancing” direction. Among the “scuffle” victims was also the reigning Italian champion Vittorio D’Albertas, a bit underwhelming compared to his standards despite some prodigious recoveries. With the discard of the worst result, the ranking seemed to “normalize” with the most likely candidates for victory concentrated in a handkerchief of points in the first ten positions and ahead of all Luigi “Gin” Gazzolo, a veteran of the class and of Tigullio.

Day three and everything is still to be decided. The gulf is at its best with a breeze never greater than 6 knots, at the limit of perceptible, with the usual set of holes and jumps and a diabolical short and crossed wave, triggered by the passage of boats on a Sunday walk around the race course. It is no coincidence that winning both races is Massimo Schiavon, known as “the professor” not only for his encyclopedic knowledge of the Dinghy but also because, when the wind becomes a puff, he is capable of giving lessons to everyone. Gazzolo defends himself as long as he can, pressed by Jannello, so much so that at the end of the penultimate race they are both leading the standings on equal points. And both of them – as great connoisseurs of the field – in the last challenge choose the right, waiting for the “scarce one” that, however, fatally arrives too late.

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Marcello De Gaspari pigliatutto

Crossing the last decisive finish line in second place and winning the Bombolino d’Oro, at the helm of his Irene, is a Genoese pharmacist in splendid form, 67-year-old Marcello De Gaspari (LNI Genova Centro), who got off to a poor start on the first day (25th and 12th place in the first two races) but was capable of a splendid and smooth progression (2-3-4-2) as well as great tactical acumen, so much so that he pulled 5 points ahead of his pursuers Fabrizio Bavestrello and Filippo Jannello, both at 28.

“I have participated many times in this regatta but had never won,” admits De Gaspari, still a bit incredulous, “in fact I had never been so trained and in tune with my boat. Decisive was the decision to prepare myself on Lake Massaciuccoli, where there is a good group of dinghists and the possibility of confronting calm waters and light winds.” Dedication, training, confrontation. The winning formula on any boat and in any sporting discipline.

The student…

Only in the Dinghy class is an under 40 considered a “student,” complete with a dedicated ranking and trophy. Winning it, and not for the first time, was 39-year-old Andrea De Santis at the helm of Lunatica (LNI Mandello del Lario). Milanese by birth and a cosmetic surgeon by profession, he won the first race and finished 26th overall.

“In truth, I am a pupil only anagraphically,” he tells us, “since I have been going to Dinghy for 12 years, since my father (also a Dinghist competing for the Bombolino d’Oro) bought a 2001 Santorsola. I was 27 years old and going in lasers. The Dinghy seemed clunky, boring and slow to me. But after the very first approach I fell hopelessly in love with it. It teaches you ‘real’ sailing and the beauty of going slow. The water, the boat and you. Emotions I haven’t experienced on any other boat. And then it teaches you humility especially when you see an older gentleman comfortably sitting on the edge parading you downwind while you are belting with your abs on fire. But on the Dinghy the head counts more than the muscles. Here I am the only one under 40 in the race and that is a shame. That’s why I race with a camera on the bow. I want to show my friends how fun and exciting this boat can be. I hope I can proselytize in Mandello to train and grow together. Also because this is my last year as a student. Starting next year, I’m going big…”

….e the legend

To prove beyond a reasonable doubt that at the helm of a Dinghy the head is worth more than the muscles, there are the “legends,” that is, the over-80 category. Maybe they don’t go to the belts and when the wind increases too much they retreat in good order. But when the breeze is light and inconstant as in the Gulf of Tigullio, they unleash all their experience and sensitivity, burning in the rankings even the under 40s. That’s what Attilio “Titti” Carmagnani (Yacht Club Italiano), class of 1945, did, winning his category and 25th overall. A guy who doesn’t know what superstition is. His Tou Lì is all green, as are the sail numbers and the helmsman’s shorts.

“It is actually a color that has always brought me luck on all my boats,” he confides, “and I am fond of it. He helmed his first Dinghy as a child: “Certainly not for racing,” he says, “I used to take my sisters there to swim in the caves. Then I always had offshore boats until I hung up the rudder. For twenty years I stayed away from sailing, until 2000, when some friends convinced me to buy a Dinghy. Since then my life has improved. I have fun and good company.” For Tweety, regattas are just part of the fun.

“I am passionate about being able to find solutions to perfect my boat. For example to be able to point my feet since my legs don’t reach the drift box. Look at this…” and he shows us not without a hint of pride a retractable aluminum tube sticking out from under the bench, tailored to his stature. Then he leaves us all satisfied to go and collect his cup. The first of what promises to be a long career as a “legend.”

Daniela Tortella
Photo by Blue Passion Photo

All awardees:

Winner: Marcello De Gaspari with Irene
First coxswain Lady: Maria Elena Balestrieri with Out of the Blue
First Super Master Over 75: Sandro Ugolini with Epoxy Shark
First Legend Over 80: Attilio Carmagnani
Student Cup to youngest helmsman: Andrea de Santis with Lunatica
Corrado Choen Style & Elegance Award: Andreas Fuhrop with Obi Wan Kenobi
Giovanni Falck Award (to the team with the best placings): “Quelli dei Venti” composed of Andrea Falciola, Filippo Jannello and Vittorio d’Albertas.
Silver Bombola, first Dinghy Classico: Alberto Patrone with Damina.
Winner of the first edition of the Roberto Sestini Cup, a red gold cylinder, reserved for the first without considering the discard: Filippo Jannello with Cicci

• All the rankings of the SIAD Trophy.