Not even the pandemic had managed to tame it, but where the virus had failed, bad weather had struck. Trieste's most beloved regatta had been canceled in 2020 under the threat of the bora, then wind gusts had struck in the next edition, putting the racers to the test, while the shadow of the Covid had decimated the visitors.

Yesterday, Oct. 9, 2022, the sea festival was reborn, with the shores again overflowing with people, different languages and dialects, smells and tastes of all kinds. The Barcolana is officially resurrected and its face is that of a woman. A women's victory this year, the first in the regatta's history, with an owner and helmswoman who comes from far away: the American Wendy Schmidt.

An 'enlightened' businesswoman and president of a billion-dollar foundation for environmental protection, wife of the former Google CEO, already someone has called her 'The Queen of the Sea' or 'The Woman Who Defeated the Bora,' her first words after the race were for Trieste and the women skippers of the world. From her 67-year-old height she said that "sailing has no gender or age, it is a sport for everyone, a lifelong passion."

Her presence made the race "even more international," said SVBG President Mitja Gialuz, who called this edition "the best ever." Now the trophy, handed back in recent days by the Benussi brothers, will go to the New York Yacht Club and return to Trieste next year.