Travel Journal
From the Régates Royales de Cannes to the SIBMA boatyard in Dolcedo: an international class Dragon returns to Liguria for winter storage works. One hundred and twenty kilometres from the French Riviera to the Imperia hinterland, where one of the most specialised boatyards in Italy takes care of classic boats.
The journey
The Régates Royales de Cannes are one of the most prestigious events in classic sailing in the Mediterranean. Every year the Yacht Club de Cannes gathers dozens of Dragons from across Europe for a week of racing in the Bay of La Croisette — an event that blends pure competition with a nautical tradition dating back to 1929. When the regatta ends, the boats need to go somewhere: some to storage, some to maintenance, some straight to the boatyard for winter works.
This Dragon needed to reach the SIBMA boatyard in Dolcedo, in the hinterland of Imperia. SIBMA Navale Italiana is a reference point for the Dragon class internationally: founded by the Quaranta family in 1962, now in its third generation, the yard specialises in the construction, restoration and maintenance of wooden racing boats.
The transport from the French Riviera to Dolcedo is short as the crow flies but demands care on the final stretch: after the Imperia Ovest motorway exit, the road climbs into the hinterland with tight bends and steep gradients. A trailer carrying a nine-metre Dragon is not exactly nimble on these provincial lanes. Knowing the route — knowing where you can get through and where you cannot, which bends require manoeuvring — makes the difference between a smooth transport and a problem.
Delivery at the boatyard took place in the SIBMA’s outer yard, where the gantry crane lifted the boat off the trailer and positioned it on the cradles inside the shed. From there the work passes to the hands of the master shipwrights.
For us it is a service we carry out regularly: the link between the ports of the French Riviera and the boatyards of the Ligurian hinterland is a route we know well.
A few photos from the journey
Need to take your boat to the boatyard?
From the harbour to the boatyard, from the French Riviera to the Ligurian hinterland. We handle the transport of your boat for storage, maintenance or restoration.