Classic Boat Club: tide of historic boats at Cala De Medici

A good first for the Classic Boat Club’s Official Registry, which recorded ample results at the Vela Cup Toscana. On site, in fact, we inspected dozens of Classic Boats, which will soon join the more than 40 boats already in the Registry, while another 30 are in the approval process. After all, it was a matter of responding to a need, not of the Club itself, but a broader one: that of Valuing the history of sailing, as well as the boats that made it great. And thanks to you it is working. In fact, among the more than 70 boats on the water, the Vela Cup in Cala De Medici saw a sea of Classic Boats, not at all shy in sailing alongside their modern counterparts, who even struggled at times, and not a little, to keep the “old ladies” behind.

Classic Boat Club: tide of Classic Boats in Cala De Medici

From the Great GS52s and Swan 60s, to the Comet 910, Grand Soleil 34 and Impala 36, Tuscan waters this weekend offered us a unique opportunity, filling up with hulls that were nothing short of remarkable. Flanking the “brand new” ones, in fact, dozens and dozens of Classic Boats populated the race course, simultaneously offering incredible spectacle and crossovers. But the encounters were not limited to the water. On land, before and after the races, in fact, our team had the opportunity to inspect quite a few boats, getting to know the owners and pursuing a path of enhancing the history of sailing. Here are the great Classics present at the Tuscan Vela Cup.

Small masterpieces

Starting with lightweights, if at sea hulls such as the First Class 8 Caredonne or theX-332 Ultravox did in fact enrapture us, ashore it was the turn of two other goodies, which we viewed in light of their inclusion in the Official Register. On the one hand, Mon Chichi, Grand Soleil 34 from 1976, an emblematic first hull launched by Cantiere del Pardo and signed by the great pencil of Jean Marie Finot. On the other, Pickwick, specimen number #220 of Comet 910. Launched in 1977, now almost 50 years old, these participated in regattas, single-handed moreover, despite peaks of 20 knots recorded at the end of the trial… detail that may say a lot about the dough of these hulls.

Also in the 30-foot range, it was then the turn of Display, legendary A34 alpa signed by S&S and number #9 in the series. Launched in March 1979, Display is not only a participating hull in sailing history, however, but also an integral part of it, with her owner employing her to introduce young people and novices to sailing. In parallel, Maupiti, a 1988 Contest 36S, a Conyplex-branded gem signed by Dick Zaal, and Let the Motherfuckers Burn, a 1972 Vaurien that, not only is a well-deserving hull in the class, but has also been brought back to life through a restoration that is nothing short of philological. In fact, the two owners have entirely rebuilt it, piece by piece, using, in addition to purchased mahogany, pieces salvaged from the pews of an oratory. This too, small as it is, is a real piece of the sail.

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Old boat makes good board! The legendary Fraglia schooner has been “re-launched” after 50 years.

Big “Ladies”

Growing with the numbers, in addition to the incredible comeback of the GS Maxi One Ely J (opening photo), which made its presence felt at sea and made quite a few people fall in love (as well as tarring quite a few new hulls of the same size), there were not a few “big” Classic Boats inspected for the registry. First and foremost, going by feet, Clan, actually a 36-footer, but steeped in history. It is in fact a “74 Impala 36, a legendary hull signed by Doug Peterson for Shipyard 71 and which, not only boasts no small palmares, but has” blue blood “in her veins. The design, in fact, is descended from none other than Ganbare, the hull with which Peterson, in” 73, changed the design philosophy forever.

Keeping her company, a whole other genre, an all-Italian bluewater: Nos Dois, Franchini’s Atlantis 45, but not just any one, the very first in the series… Sin Sations, on the other hand, represents the latter’s counterpart, but from overseas. To enter the Official Register, in fact, also one of the cult bluewater