Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour 2026 Taranto Day 2
by Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour 17 Jun 10:07 PDT
Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour 2026 Taranto Day 2 © Filippo Federici
The sea can be a generous ally, but also a harsh judge that demands the virtue of patience. The protagonists of the 2026 Giro d'Italia Vela know this well, having found themselves dealing with decidedly stingy Adriatic and Ionian seas in the third stage of the competition.
A long and exhausting tactical parade that linked Vieste and Taranto, transforming the more than 250 nautical miles of the route into a complex chess game against the calm.
The awakening of champions in the Mar Grande
The first light of dawn today, June 16th, provided the backdrop for a highly anticipated and spectacular finish in the waters of Taranto. It was around 6:30 a.m. when the first Figaro 3 crossed the finish line, sealing the triumph of the pair of Pierluigi Fornelli and Filippo Baldassarri.
The crew, competing under the Guardia di Finanza flag, managed to maximize every breath of wind along a crossing characterized by strenuous and intermittent winds. It was a true test of mental endurance, where sensitivity at the helm made the difference.
An all-Italian podium in a matter of minutes
While the Finanza crew took the lead, the battle behind them remained fierce until the final meter. Despite the adverse weather conditions, the rest of the fleet held firm, creating a breathtaking finale with rapid-fire finishes. The silver medal went to another Italian vessel, the Circolo Nautico Sambenedettese, led by Leonardo Scarpetti and Matteo Pincherle, who mounted a masterful comeback.
Completing an all-Italian podium were Alberto Branciforte and Francesco Picaro, representing the Italian Navy, who secured third place. The curtain fell on the Figaro 3 fleet at 12:45, when the last boat completed its effort, demonstrating a compact group that never gave in to fatigue.
The frustration of the "flying" classes and the postponement until tomorrow
In the afternoon, the spotlight should have shifted to the spectacular and futuristic InShore disciplines. From 2:00 PM, the Taranto waters prepared to welcome the Waszp and WindFoil performances, the latest-generation boards and dinghies capable of lifting on foils and "flying" over the water. However, the complete absence of thermal winds almost completely put the program on hold. Only the acrobatic Waszp dinghies, around 4:00 PM, managed to wrest a single useful race from the elements. Soon after, the wind dropped completely, forcing the race committee to opt for a wise and inevitable forced stoppage of the competition to preserve the regularity of the race.
The real spectacle is therefore postponed until tomorrow, with the crews looking to the skies, hoping that the weather will finally provide the gusts needed to fill the sails and get the foils flying.