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Pola, the principal urban center of Croatia’s Istrian peninsula, will serve as a new gateway to the Barcolana sailing regatta for the first time. On 9 October, the inaugural edition of “Go to Barcolana from Croatia” will depart from the port of Pola, linking the Croatian coast directly with Trieste and the Adriatic sailing festival.
The 150‑nautical‑mile course will begin at 9 a.m. from Molo Fiume in Pola and finish in the heart of Trieste, at Piazza Unità d’Italia. The event is part of a broader initiative to integrate Pola and Croatia into the circuit of events that accompany the Barcolana, the world’s largest sailing regatta recognized by the Guinness World Records for its 2,689 boats that raced in 2018.
The new regatta is the result of a collaboration between the sailing clubs Mandrač‑Tivoli and Vega di Pola, and the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. “The idea is simple: bring together Croatian crews already sailing to Trieste for the Barcolana and turn the trip into a spectacle,” explained Dejan Krizmanić, president of Mandrač‑Tivoli.
Vega di Pola, celebrating its 140th anniversary this year, added that the event is a “great honour” for the club. Refko Ganić, president of Vega, said the program will begin on Thursday, 8 October, with the arrival and welcome of the boats and crews in Pola, followed by a reception for the Italian community. The race will start the next day at 9 a.m., and all participating vessels will be equipped with GPS trackers to allow live monitoring of the navigation.
Participants will include crews from Slovenia and Italy, and the arrival in Trieste is scheduled for Saturday, 10 October. A prize‑giving ceremony will take place in the afternoon of that day.
Dean Bassi, vice‑president of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, said the new regatta fits into the Barcolana’s strategy of growth, which seeks to increase participation and expand the event’s spatial and temporal reach. “We aim to grow through collaboration and connect as many points as possible,” Bassi said. “The link between
