On Sunday April 26 the final of the first MILLE PER UNA VELA virtual sailing regatta took place, an event organised by the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV) during the quarantine period. The competition counted over 1,700 participants, only 10 of whom reached the final, through a series of qualifying tests (heats, repêchage and semi-finals).
Four athletes from the Italian Sailing Team and five from the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team reached the finals. Max Sirena, Checco Bruni, Umberto Molineris, Matteo Celon and Davide Cannata represented the team in the final, composed of five races.
Only Umberto qualified for the Medal Race, competing against e-sailing champions such as Filippo Lanfranchi, world champion, and Luca Coslovich, bronze medalist in the last world championships, and on this occasion winner of the title.
Max Sirena, team director, commented: "Great fun and a great initiative. Of course virtual sailing and actual sailing are different, on a real boat you can't simply press a button to stop or manoeuvre, but some of the dynamics on the race course are very similar. It's great training for the brain, you have to make quick decisions."
The team was happy to participate in this event, together with other activities that the FIV and sailing clubs are organising during the lockdown period, including webinars and e-talks with athletes and coaches.
