Since 1963, all the developments concerning the world of pleasure craft, sailboats and motor yachts, water sports, and related electronics, accessories, and clothing are presented at the Genoa International Boat Show organized by Fiera di Genova SpA and UCINA – Italy’s professional association of the yachting industry.
On top of presenting all these novelties, the 2018 edition of the Salone Nautico (SN), as it is called in Italian, takes a stand in actively promoting behaviors, processes, and materials that are ever more respectful of the environment and of the sea; and, thanks to its international media echo, it is an ideal stage from which to relaunch the theme of environmental sustainability. The objective of the organizers is to obtain for the fair the international ISO 2012 certification as a sustainable event from an environmental, social and economic point of view; becoming, in this way, the reference point of the entire sector in relation to environmental policies.
One of the strategies to reach this objective is to develop a protocol to raise awareness among all the subjects taking part in the SN, which will have to adopt a shared sustainability policy: from reduction of waste and plastic consumption to 100% recyclable sails, from awareness campaigns and initiatives to the cleaning of the coasts. Many of the participants are already on the same wavelength with the organizers of the SN, like One Sails, a leading company in the production of high-tech sails for racing boats, that has created the first sails to be certified ISO 14040 because produced with 66% fewer emissions compared with the one generally in use. Glues, resins, and solvents have also been replaced by a die-casting process using a 100% recyclable polymer. While Repower will present the first fully electric boat, with a capacity of 12 people plus the crew, maximum speed 11 knots, and battery recharging that can occur via the same fast charging systems used by e-cars. Among the initiatives planned, Ucina sponsors One Ocean Foundation, a project of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda that has former helmsman of Azzurra, Mauro Pelaschier, as ambassador, who is circumnavigating Italy to raise awareness on the problem of microplastics in the seas of the world.
The organizer also announced the visit of the Italian Head of State Sergio Mattarella. A gesture of attention towards Genova, a city wounded by the collapse of Ponte Morandi, but eager to show its great strength and its ability to stand up again.
Ilona Catani Scarlett