PATRIZIO BERTELLI AND RUGGERO TITA AWARDED AT FIV SAILOR OF THE YEAR EVENT

In the splendid setting of Palazzo Ducale in Genoa - in conjunction with the "Genoa - The Grand Finale" event for the arrival of the Ocean Race -, the 29^th edition of the FIV Sailor of the Year Award did not disappoint expectations, confirming itself the "grand gala" of Italian competitive sailing.

It was a great satisfaction for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli to witness the triumph of two of its team "protagonists":

the Banca Bper prize for the best owner-helmsman of 2023 went, in fact, to Patrizio Bertelli, President of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, for his work with the Bar Harbor 31 gaff cutter "Scud", designed in 1903 by the "Wizard of Bristol" Nat Herreshoff and multiple winner in the classic yacht regattas of the past year. The jury was motivated by his «timeless, absolute passion for boats and for sailing in all of its expressions, from the America's Cup to vintage boats».

Representing Bertelli was team skipper Max Sirena, who emphasized the significance of the outstanding number of young people in Italian sailing.

The coveted FIV Sailor of the Year Award went - for the fifth time - to Ruggero Tita (helmsman of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli) and Caterina Banti, for their countless successes in 2022. «In the sailing of the second millennium, champions no longer glide over water, but fly faster and faster», said the Jury.

«This is the fifth time we have won the Sailor of the Year award, and not consecutively, which means we have built and maintained this achievement over time», said Ruggero Tita. «The excitement is always great, but perhaps even more so this year: in 2022, in fact, we won all the events we participated in, including the Worlds and European Championships (the Worlds with a record score). We gave it our all and I am delighted with this award: I feel I really deserved it».

Taking advantage of the event in Genoa, Ruggero took part in a meeting at the stand dedicated to the Next Generation Foil Academy FIV Powered by Luna Rossa, where he met the young Italian sailing talents who are building their sporting future on "flying" boats.

Conceived by Acciari Consulting, the FIV Sailor of the Year is the event that, since 1991, has been rewarding the Italian sailor who has most distinguished himself internationally. Since 2022 the event has been organized by Confindustria Nautica, in partnership with the Italian Sailing Federation.

The event rewarding Italian sailing excellence for 2022 not only brought together the champions in our country, but also several personalities who, at an international level, have contributed to writing important pages of this sport: among these the legendary ocean sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnson, the Chinese Laser Radial Olympian Lilja Xu, and World Sailing President Quanhai Li. Also present were Genoa Mayor Marco Bucci, Liguria Region Governor Giovanni Toti, FIV President Francesco Ettorre, The Ocean Race CEO Richard Brisius, DT Michele Marchesini, and Youth DT Alessandra Sensini.