Melges 24 European Sailing Series 2026
TAKI 4 Wins the Trieste Event and the Historic Coppa Tito Nordio
Italy’s TAKI 4, helmed by Niccolò Bertola, claimed victory at the second event of the 2026 Melges 24 European Sailing Series, and the first Act of the Italian Melges 24 Tour Trofeo Gaudi, which concluded today at Yacht Club Adriaco in Trieste – the same venue that hosted one of the most memorable editions of the Melges 24 World Championship last September.
The Gulf of Trieste delivered excellent sailing conditions during the first two days of the regatta, allowing the fleet to complete seven races in light-to-moderate thermal winds. However, the final day brought no breeze, and after a long wait ashore under the AP flag, racing was officially abandoned for the day, confirming Saturday’s standings as the final overall results.
TAKI 4 team, including Niccolo Bertola, Giovanni Bannetta, Marco Zammarchi, Pietro Seghezza and Andrea Trani, secured the overall victory with an impressive series of consistent finishes and race wins, including a remarkable clean sweep of all three races sailed on Saturday. The Italian team discarded a tenth-place finish as its worst result, underlining the strength and consistency shown throughout the regatta.
That consistency ultimately proved decisive against the rest of the fleet, particularly Paolo Brescia’s MELGINA, which was racing as the Corinthian team, and finished second overall, ten points behind the winner. MELGINA team, including Paolo Brescia, Filippo Vulcanile, Alexander Harej, Carolina Vulcanile and Giancarlo Borghero, had dominated the opening day before TAKI 4 took control of the regatta during Saturday’s racing.
Hungary’s highly regarded CHINOOK, helmed by Ákos Csoltó with Balázs Tomai, Zsolt Büki and Gábor Büki, completed the podium in third place, just one point behind MELGINA.
The regatta also counted towards the historic Coppa Tito Nordio, one of the most prestigious trophies awarded by Yacht Club Adriaco and traditionally dedicated to some of the most important classes in sailing history. The trophy now remains in Italy, moving from the showcase of Yacht Club Italiano and Paolo Brescia – who won it during the Pre-Worlds regatta last September – to Circolo Nautico Ugo Costaguta, represented by Niccolò Bertola and TAKI 4.
In the Corinthian division, MELGINA claimed top honours among the all-amateur teams. MELGINA won the all-amateur ranking ahead of CHINOOK, while AKUA (ITA), with Sergio Caramel, Michele Meotto, Mirco Pittarello and Riccardo Gomiero, completed the Corinthian podium. The division also featured the reigning Melges 24 Corinthian World Champions, Britain’s ZHIK RACE TEAM led by Miles Quinton, which finished seventh overall in the highly competitive fleet.
“Obviously, not racing today worked in our favour,” said Niccolò Bertola, helmsman of TAKI 4. “We are very happy with how things went this weekend in the seven races we completed, where we demonstrated both our current competitiveness and excellent pace in these medium-to-light wind conditions. For our team, this has certainly been our best-ever performance at a single European Sailing Series event, which gives us great confidence and energy ahead of the European Championship in Tønsberg, Norway, at the end of August. That is the main goal of the season for both us and the entire fleet.”
Bertola also praised the host venue and organisers.
“A special thanks to Yacht Club Adriaco, which once again proved itself to be a great club capable of organising high-level regattas with hospitality that makes the entire Melges 24 fleet feel at home.”
The Under 25 division victory went to the Croatian team CRO-A-SAIL, led by Miroslav Reljanovic, with helmsman Roko Stipanović reflecting positively on the team’s experience in Trieste.
“Honestly, Trieste surprised us with excellent sailing conditions,” said Stipanović. “We also had a great experience with the Vakaros system, which was used for the first time in Italy. The races were a great experience. The wind was light, and while the result probably didn’t meet our expectations, I think we managed to get very good training, and overall it was a really, really valuable experience.”
Looking ahead, the Croatian youth team will now focus on future preparations. “Unfortunately, we can’t attend the Garda event or the European Championship because of work obligations in Croatia, but we are already preparing for next season, and hopefully we can do more training.”
The successful use of the Vakaros RaceSense system once again contributed to efficient race management and smooth starting procedures throughout the day, allowing the race committee to complete all scheduled races without delay.
The next events of the 2026 Melges 24 European Sailing Series will be on the same weekend in Austria and Norway, respectively: the Melges 24 Austrian Open on June 5-7 in Segelclub Kammersee on Attersee, and the Melges 24 Norwegian Open on June 6-8 in Trondheim.
Final Top 10 after 7 races (one discard) – Coppa Tito Nordio, Trieste
- TAKI 4, ITA 778, Marco Zammarchi, 9 pts (1-1-4-10-1-1-1)
- MELGINA (C), ITA 854, Paolo Brescia, 19 pts (5-3-1-4-3-7-3)
- CHINOOK (C), HUN 850, Akos Csolto, 20 pts (2-9-5-1-4-2-6)
- AKUA (C), ITA 767, Mirco Pittarello, 33 pts (9-2-3-11-16-6-2)
- WHITE ROOM (C), GER 677, Michael Tarabochia, 35 pts (3-4-10-3-8-12-7)
- DAITO NANO, ITA 748, Dino Orioli, 37 pts (8-7-12-2-2-9-9)
- ZHIK RACE TEAM (C), GBR 694, Miles Quinton, 37 pts (12-8-2-7-5-3-14)
- CRO-A-SAIL (U), CRO 782, Miroslav Reljanovic, 41 pts (6-6-9-5-11-4-11)
- ESSETIVI (C), ITA 392, Triestina della Vela ASD, 53 pts (15-5-15-6-7-17-5)
- NEVER 2 LATE (C), ITA 590, Enrico Michel, 57 pts (10-17-11-12-12-8-4)
Full results and Notice Board
Coppa Tito Nordio – Melges 24 Trofeo Gaudi – ESS 2026 Event 2
Photo gallery on Flickr
Yacht Club Adriaco website: ycadriaco.it
IM24CA website: melges24.com
ITA M24CA website: melges24.it