Circolo Velico La Spezia

History

Circolo Velico La Spezia was founded in La Spezia on 21 April 1931 and initially had its headquarters where the central customs office stands today. During the Second World War the club was destroyed and temporarily housed in the same area. In 1956 founding member Bertorello left the former INMA shipyard to the club free of charge – the present site at Molo Italia 1 with its distinctive industrial hall and the former office building as the clubhouse; the current gym was once the shipyard drawing office. After the war, a committed group of influential members made the relaunch possible: the first youth sailing school was set up, national and international regattas were organised, and the club developed into a full club with bar, restaurant, billiard room and meeting rooms. In the early 1970s a decline began, coinciding with the downturn in recreational boating in La Spezia; both local sailing clubs faced losing their premises due to port redevelopment and restrictions within the customs zone. From 1992 the situation gradually improved thanks to cooperative port authorities; the club left port isolation, built a separation wall from the harbour and resumed its full activity. Since then a coordination committee of Gulf clubs was established, the non-profit sailing school was rebuilt, cooperation with city schools was revived, and as the first Italian club it offered sailing courses for people with disabilities. Historical successes range from Giuseppe Fago, fifth at the 1936 Olympics in Kiel in the Jole Olimpionica, through national titles by Nino Carozzo in the 1950s and J. Peer, Bianchi, Fregoso, Taddei and Piva in later decades, to Dani Colapietro in the Dinghy class. Today young talents such as Attilio Borio in ILCA, the Optimist squad and the J/24 Argentovivo shape the club's sporting success.

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Opening hours