Sailing Regatta Agostino Straulino Memorial in Lošinj

The 7th edition of the cruise regatta on the route Pesaro - Susak - Mali Lošinj, with a total length of 120 Nm will be held in period of 1st to 4th of June in Mali Lošinj. This sailing regatta was named after the great admiral Straulin, who, as the greatest representative of the Lošinj maritime school, entrusted this area. Sailing Club Jugo continues the tradition and with the help of the Sailing Club from Pesaro recognized the value of this venture.

Up to 35 sailboats and supporting boats with around 200 participants are expected. In addition to the sports competition, the aim of the event is also the twinning of the port of Pesaro and the port of Mali Lošinj and the future cooperation of the two cities, their travel agencies and tour operators on mutual exchange of programs and projects.

The sailors start from Pesaro on June 1 at 9 a.m. and are expected in the port of Malosinj until 12 p.m. on June 2. After that, participants and guests, accompanied by a tourist guide, will visit Straulin's birthplace and tomb. Dinner and socializing follow, and on Sunday, June 6, the sailors leave Lošinj and return to their homes on the other side of the Adriatic.

Agostino Straulino was and remains an inspiration and role model for many sailors and sailors from Lošinj, whose spirit of adventure is felt even today, especially at the moment when the sails of the Lošinj regatta, initiated by Straulino himself, are unfurled in the Lošinj harbor. In addition to leaving an indelible mark in the world of sports, Straulino still today represents an indelible bond between the two nations that found a common coexistence on the island.

Let's remind: Agostimo Straulino (October 10, 1914, Mali Lošinj - December 14, 2004, Rome)

Together with his best friend and fellow citizen Nicola Roda, he was a two-time Olympic winner and a three-time world champion in sailing in the Star class. He was born into a family with a long maritime tradition. Father Pietro was a co-owner of four steamships, and uncle Giovanni also sailed on them. After the trip, the father would like to relax in his sailboat, where he was accompanied by little Tino, who absorbed his every word about sails and ships. At the age of five, he already knew how to swim and sail a boat under the watchful eye of his father. Soon, he received a small boat with a two-meter mast as a gift from his father and uncle. His uncle explained to him how to use the equipment and then told him: "Now you know everything, jump in, equip and go" which later Tino used for the title of his autobiographical book "(Equip and go! Arma e vai!").

After completing the nautical course at the Maritime School in Mali Lošinj, his father rewarded him with two years of freedom for his successful education. Tino used that time to sail on a five-meter boat with which he and his dog set off towards the Dalmatian islands, staying away from home for several weeks at a time. He spent his time catching fish, getting to know the moods of the sea and the wind, and sharpening his senses by testing his possibilities and limits.

He entered the Naval Academy in Livorno in 1934 and served in the Italian Navy until his retirement. As an underwater saboteur, he was almost blinded in 1946 in an explosion during the demining of the port of Taranto.

He was called the "Magician of the Wind" because he knew how to "smell" a change in the wind before it came. As the commander of the schooner ship "Amerigo Vespucci" he left the port of Taranto under full sail, without engines or tugs, through the narrow passage of the drawbridge in 1965, which to this day no one has repeated. In the same year, he sailed to London on the river Thames. He received 9 medals for his services in the Italian Navy.

From 1997 to 2002, he won the Italian regatta for veterans Over-60's for five years in a row. He won for the fifth time at the age of 88, two years before his death.

He lived in Rome with his wife and daughter, and whenever he could he liked to come to Lošinj on his boat "Kerkyra". In 2001, the President of the Republic of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, named him a Knight of the Grand Cross and awarded him the Order of Merit. After the last send-off in Rome, he was transferred to his native island by helicopter of the Italian Navy, according to his wishes, where he rests in the family tomb on Saint Martin.

He was declared an honorary citizen of Lošinj in 2000.