Tomorrow the start of the RAN 630 Regata dell’Accademia Navale

The seventh edition of the RAN 630 – Regata dell’Accademia Navale, will start tomorrow, April 24, at 6 p.m. with a blank shot fired from the frigate Margottini, lined up on the starting line in front of the Italian Naval Academy, aboard which will also be Italy’s best-know sailor, Giovanni Soldini, who will greet the crews after giving a lecture on sea protection at the Naval Academy at 3 p.m.

The fleet comprises 15 boats, with six racing in double-handed while the others fully crewed, will set course for Porto Cervo in Sardinia, where the first mark of the 630-mile course is positioned, making the RAN 630 the longest offshore race in the Mediterranean.

Competitors will also receive a greeting from Stella Polare - a Sparkman & Stephens design launched in 165 as sail training ship for the Italian Navy - which, following the departure of the RAN 630, will embark on its training campaign with Naval Academy students, heading towards northern Europe.

Following are the weather forecast for the race from Commander Elisa Ricci: “The first few days will be characterized by instability over the entire race course, with winds from the southwestern sectors of 10-15 knots rotating to the southeast from Thursday, April 25. Starting April 26, weather conditions will improve, both in terms of wind and sea conditions. Starting April 29, the western Mediterranean may again experience some instability, but with favorable winds for the return phase to Livorno.”

RAN 630 is part of the Accademia Navale - Città di Livorno International Sailing Week and organized by the Yacht Club Livorno in partnership with the Italian Naval Academy. The planned course is Livorno, Porto Cervo, Faraglioni di Capri, Livorno however, if the prevailing wind direction is not favorable, the Race Committee may choose to reverse the course route. RAN 630 is held as always under the aegis of the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV) and is valid as a Grade 3 race in the Unione Italiana Vela d’Altura (UVAI) Italian Offshore Championship. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and the Yacht Club Capri will be in charge of checking competitors' passages at their respective course gates. Final rankings will be calculated using the ORC and IRC handicap systems for both, fully crewed and double handed. Thanks to the support of the Navy, the fleet will be able to count again in this edition on the monitoring of the entire race course by the Operations Center of the Naval Squadron Headquarters, thus ensuring the best safety conditions for competitors.

Rear Admiral Lorenzano Di Renzo, Naval Academy commander: “The RAN 630 - Regata dell'Accademia Navale - besides being one of the most relevant sporting events in the Mediterranean, plays a very important role in the ethical and personality training initiatives conducted at the institute and referred to the sailing sector. The sailing training for our students starts early, the very day they enter the Naval Academy, and is conducted through a highly articulated course, organized in stages of ever-increasing complexity, which precisely culminates in their attendance at the RAN 630. A big investment of energy and resources that we do willingly, because sailing represents the only real way to know the sea, to establish a direct and intimate contact with this mysterious and fascinating element. A very important factor for young people who will soon have to embark and spend a large part of their professional lives aboard ‘gray ships’.”

Tonight, April 23, the dinner for the owners will be held in the Forte di Bocca in the ancient de’ Medici harbor, home of the Livorno Yacht Club. Today, as registration was being finalized, owners were gifted with a welcome pack contained in a useful waterproof boat backpack offered by partner Ubi Maior. Tomorrow at 1 p.m. a crew party open to all competitors has been arranged. Afterwards, the crews will prepare to leave their moorings to take to the starting line.

Professor Gian Luca Conti, president of the Livorno Yacht Club: “Our warmest welcome to the competitors making their debut at the RAN 630 and welcome back to the veterans, but above all congratulations to Lunatika who returns with us to defend last year's victory after winning the Roma per Due race, I like to think that the image of their smile is that of our race.”

Among those present were Guido Baroni and Alessandro Miglietti, overall winners of the last edition who are racing Double Handed and return to defend their title as fresh winners of the Roma per Due, as they did last year.  Instead, one of the most eagerly awaited yachts, Franco Niggeler's Cookson 50 Kuka3, could not be on the starting line, forced to postpone its participation until next year: “We are very sorry not to be able to participate in the RAN 630 for reasons beyond our control. The delayed supply of data to Future Fibres from mast manufacturer Axxon Composites, necessary for the design of the new composite shrouds, has resulted in a more than one-month delay in the supply of these, which will arrive only at the end of April.”

Many among the competitors are veterans of the regatta, returning edition after edition calling it a unique experience and one to be repeated at all costs. These include Maglione-Villi's Grand Soleil 40' Blues, overall winner and Double Handed in 2021, and Alessio Bernabò's Class 40 Vaquita, a disabled skipper and member of the Livorno Yacht Club.

Military corps boats also compete in the Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare Capitano di Corvetta Saverio Marotta Trophy, reserved for them. Three Navy sailboats will be at the starting line on this occasion: the IMX 40 Antares, the First 36.7 Fomalhaut, and Gemini, a 1983 First Class IOR designed by Andrea Vallicelli.

Since the first edition in 2018, the RAN 630 has adhered to the ethical principles for the protection of the sea promoted by One Ocean Foundation's Charta Smeralda, the regatta's Sustainability partner. In the last edition, competitors were offered the OnBoard Ecological Officer (RECO) initiative, a new crew figure responsible for good practices in sustainability and sea protection, which this year became an integral part of the FIV Regulations for offshore racing.

The One Ocean Trophy will be the prerogative of the first yacht in elapsed time in Porto Cervo, while the Terra delle Sirene Trophy, offered by the Capri Green company and realized by the social inclusion project “Avventura di latta,” will go to the first in elapsed time to pass in front of the Faraglioni of Capri.

The winner in ORC handicap time will be awarded the Accademia Navale Perpetual Challenge Trophy, made of bronze, while the first to cross the finish line in real time will receive another Perpetual Challenge Prize, a painting by Pierre Hamon, a student of Picasso and unforgettable president of the Yacht Club Livorno in whose memory the prize is dedicated. Other prizes are planned for the IRC and Double Handed rankings.

Officine Gullo, Italian excellence in the production of high-end bespoke kitchens, continues its traditional partnership as main sponsor for the 2024 edition of the RAN 630.

Also confirmed as the Official Timekeeper, Elba island-based watchmaker Locman, which will offer some of its timepieces to the winners.

It will be possible to follow the progress of the RAN 630 on tracking through the following link https://yb.tl/ran630-2024

or with the Yellow Brick App (YB Races).

Written updates will be posted on the RAN 630 website https://ran630.it/ and on the race's Instagram and Facebook channels.