It was 18th June 1983 when Azzurra took part in her first race in the Challenger Series of the 25th America's Cup in Newport, Rhode Island. The opponent that day was France III and victory went to Azzurra, the first in a long series of wins that would take the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda's 12 Metre yacht all the way to the semi-finals of the qualification stage.
Forty years later, the protagonists of that adventure which won over the hearts of Italians, saw Azzurra adopted as the national sailing team, and paved the way for subsequent challenges for the America's Cup, gathered in Porto Cervo for a celebratory dinner at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
Perhaps the most moving moment of the 18th of June was the screening of a short film made specially to celebrate the anniversary and tracing the story of Azzurra.
Forty years on, the main protagonists recount the sporting adventure that made sailing widely popular for the first time in Italy, and brought the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda onto the international stage.
Contributors to the short film included Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Mauro Pelaschier, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Riccardo Bonadeo, Tiziano Nava, Nicolò Reggio, Nicola Sironi, Patrizia Ferri, Andrea Vallicelli, Enrico Isenburg, Carlo Borlenghi and Jacopo Marchi.
In addition to the short film, some "video clips" were also made, in which the main stakeholders delve into different aspects of Azzurra's historic adventure. These include the role of Commodore Gianfranco Alberini, the choice of the name 'Azzurra', the origin of the boat's colour, and other tidbits.
The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda once again extends its thanks to the entire Azzurra 83 team for their achievements.
