All is ready at the Yacht Club Sanremo for the start of the first act of the Rolex Giraglia 2022. Competitors will cover 60 miles in the opening race to Saint-Tropez, before coastal competitions begin on Sunday, 12 June.

The Sanremo-St Tropez coastal race celebrates its 13th edition this year, with 56 boats enrolled from 16 different nations. Scrolling through the entry list shows yachts flying the flags of Uruguay, Argentina, Turkey and the Cayman Islands.

The course record for the Sanremo-St Tropez is held by the maxi yacht Esimit Europa, which in 2015 took only 4 hours and 52 minutes to cover the 63-mile distance.

The weather forecast for the midnight departure indicates a light westerly wind, rotating towards the north during the night. The navigators have the task of choosing the best route, whether to keep close to the coast, lengthening the distance a little, but picking up more wind, or take the direct route to Saint-Tropez - where the biggest boats could arrive as early as first light tomorrow, Saturday 11 June.

"It will be a complex race, but one that we will try to tackle with the aim of arriving in France for tomorrow at one o'clock" commented Tommaso Chieffi, tactician and skipper of Elo II, the vessel flying the Yacht Club Italiano colours. "We are a new crew, with a lot of young sailors on board, but we're highly motivated. The main thing is to make good use of the coastal breezes and avoid any windless holes on the obligatory part of the course to Saint-Tropez."

Speaking of Elo II, the Rolex Giraglia is the first race of the offshore season for the 45-foot prototype from the YCI, which is set to take part in the top regattas on the 2022 sporting calendar. The project aims to give young athletes from the Club the opportunity to gain experience alongside a team of professional sailors who will alternate on board Elo as coaches. On this occasion, Tommaso Chieffi will be on board for the inshore races, while Ambrogio Beccaria and Mauro Pelaschier takes the reins for the long race.

During the offshore race, the President of the Barcolana/SVBG Mitja Gialuz and Sports Director Dean Bassi will also be on board, thanks to the twinning agreement with the YCI.

In Saint-Tropez, meanwhile, the remainder of the extensive fleet has arrived ahead of the start of the coastal races, with the cannon ready and primed for 11 a.m. on Sunday 12 June.