Centomiglia’s 50 Years of Sailing: Legacy, Challenges, and Future
The first registrant of the half-century edition comes from the distant Copenhagen, land of Denmark. It is skipper Hans Rainer Komp with a 10-meter monotype, the «BB 10». His presence is significant. He arrives in Gargnano thirty years after the first Dane at the Centomiglia: the legendary Paul Elvstrom, an athlete who made history in Olympic sailing. Winner in four editions, his last participation was in Los Angeles, California, in 1984, when his boat crew included his daughter Trine.
They finished only fifth and narrowly missed his fifth medal. He arrived on Garda in 1970, invited by the then-president, Andrea Castellani. He competed with the Soling, then an emerging Olympic class. He had just won yet another world championship. Elvstrom did not win the Centomiglia. His battle was a David versus Goliath story.
He offered lessons in starting tactics and throughout the beat up the lake. The history of sailing crosses with the story of the Garda regatta. Giorgio Falck who won in 1971 with a maxi cabin cruiser that would lead to the first crewed circumnavigation race of the Vuelta al Mundo.
The challenges of the past and the latest generations
In the 1980s, the Swiss arrived, the Fehlmann brothers, who would later excel in the ocean marathon. The boats in advanced composites, the carbon masts, ten years before the America’s Cup. The first live TV broadcast in Rai history, during the «Lotteria Cento Cup 1991», the Match-Race duels (head-to-head challenges) of Pedrini, and the success, twelve months ago, of a young New Zealander, Dean Barker, the «phenomenon» who competed on «Black Magic» against our «Luna Rossa». This year, the hope lies with «Young Australia», James Spithill. These are other important chapters.
The previews, insights, and stories of the «Circolo Vela Gargnano» youth will be narrated in the volume «Centomiglia, 50 years of sailing», 220 pages of old black-and-white images and stories written about the race, its protagonists, and enthusiasts. The exhibition will be open from August 25 in the rooms of the old Town Hall in Piazza Gargnano, the starting point of the first editions.
Half a century of challenges is a record for a sailing race in Italy, Europe, and worldwide. The big milestone will be this achievement. The maxi boats that will arrive after navigating the great lakes of Europe, from Chiemsee to Bodensee, Swiss and Hungarian skippers, with names like «Raffi.Ca», «Principessa», «Zeta Line», «Carondimonio», especially those from Lake Garda.
It is an ongoing test that continued last weekend in Malcesine, and will be in Salò and Desenzano. The «Cento Week» program is now well-established, full of competitive significance. On Sunday, August 27, the 34th Riccardo Gorla Trophy will be raced, the Cento of upper Garda, the heart of the Park, extending to the Reamol cape border at Limone, under the Tremalzo peaks, the Veneto border crossing at Malcesine and Acquafresca, where every year enthusiasts set up stands for the audience.
The groups remain unchanged, three for each race as will happen in the Grande Centomiglia (Libera, Asso, and faster cabin boats), the «Cento-Media», where UFOs are among the favorites, and the «Cento-Piccola», featuring Protagonist, Surprise, the unbeatable «Sausalito», and UFOs.
On September 2, as has been happening for two years, the race will go «South», starting in Sirmione and Desenzano, with collaborations with the Fraglia, the Club Velico dei Diavoli Rossi, the same thermal baths, and local administrations.
Choosing to go «Counterclockwise» will continue to generate discussion, as is part of the lake legend and history. It appeals to those who love sailing when sailing aft, colorful spinnakers, and speed. The race starts at 8:30 a.m., with cameras from «Teletutto», broadcast «on air» throughout Italy on «Radio 24», worldwide via the internet, with images distributed by «Ntv Germania», «Sky Sport Inghilterra», and «Fox Tv» in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
During the week, the Asso 99, the largest fleet with crowned heads like Luitpold di Baviera, will train for the European Championship, an event that alone is worth an intense season.
Around, there will be «Vela evento» with music, international guests, the crews of «Luna Rossa», and «Barcolana». Not only sailing for the sailing festival, increasingly also celebrating the lake, its people, and all its shores.