From Varazze, near Genoa, to Olympia, Greece, in an 8-meter dinghy. Sailors from the Milan Dinghy Club are returning to the scene for an adventure 55 years after the club was founded. It is called “Mission Olympia 2025” and will see various crews engaged for about 50 days of sailing (from the April 12 departure) and 3,850 miles along the Mediterranean’s most beautiful coastlines and islands.
In the beginning is the dinghy
Aboard an 8-meter Nuova Jolly 27 powered by a Suzuki DF300AP, seven crews will take turns on board this vessel.
“Our goal is to enhance the dinghy,” says Virginio Gandini, president of the Dinghy Club. as an outstanding, reliable and versatile nautical vehicle. The engine is also essential for fast and safe boating. We thank Suzuki, our technical partner since 2017, with whom we have covered more than 24,000 miles together.”
Mission Olympia 2025 : The stages of the raid
The raid will pass through various stops along its route: Palermo, Malta, Olympia, Corinth, Athens, the Sporades, the Dodecanese islands, arriving in Castellorizo, an island on the border with Turkey, made famous by Gabriele Salvatores’ film “Mediterraneo.” From there, the return trip will pass through Santorini, Otranto, Calabria and Naples, until returning to Varazze. There will be 31 different dinghymen taking turns on board this craft. They are all members of the club and FIM, Federation Motonautica, card-carrying members, and among them are also experienced relay sailors.
It is, in fact, not the first time the Dinghy Club has organized such an undertaking, quite the contrary. Most recently, in 2024, the destination was Paris after 3,158 miles of sailing between the Mediterranean, Atlantic and up the Seine.
European Raid 2022, by dinghy (6 mt) from Rome to Basel, via Amsterdam
The dinghy
The featured vessel is “Barbarossa,” a New Jolly Prince 27 equipped with electronics Simrad, Spot Global Star satellite tracker, ASN2 GSM anti-theft device and AIS visible on Traffic Marine. Powered by a Suzuki DF300AP (check out the full test here).
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