Log book

Patrizio arrives at the Old Harbour where there are still two very important dry docks. At one time, it is explained, they were the seadromes. Hydroplanes landed here and they were pulled onto land on these rails. There is a yard here now that can also receive important ships.

Arriving at the Old Harbour we meet the president of the yacht club Beppe Zaoli. Here the casual sailor – like Patrizio – meets the sporting sailor, the organizer of events that never stops moving and it uses the sailboat as an instrument for sport and socialization. On the boat, indeed, relationships are created and this yacht club is rich in initiatives. They organize even 15-16 events a year, among them Giraglia and other international ones: the European star Championship, the Grimaldi cup, etc. From the optimist to cruise boats.

Here sailors can also do sports, above all in winter, when they are not engaged in holidays, they can participate in winter championships!

Zaoli explains to us that Sanremo harbour was born for the town and on the town, and has always been a source of wealth. All trade and the town’s life came about through the harbour, still today for tourism and other situations it has remained the pulsating heart of Sanremo.

We pass on to technical matters: entering the quay we find a free part for transit, then there is the part for fishermen and small fishing, there are different sporting clubs, from oarsmen to the Yacht Club. There are no problems of draught, at the entrance of the harbour the draught is even 9 metres, while inside opposite the harbourmaster’s office it is 7 and a half metres. Admission is totally free, once you have entered you just call the harbourmaster’s office and ask where to put your boat. In the free space all services work: water, electricity, without limitations. The rule of the harbour says you can stay anchored free for up to three days, after which you have to leave the mooring to others.

Patrizio is curious about the comings and goings of the globetrotter sailors, those that live on their boats ... He asks the president of the Yacht Club how long they stay in Sanremo and discovers that ... there are always some of them! And indeed that often they appreciate the place so much as to fall in love with it and not go away any more. Perhaps it’s because this is a more traditional harbour, for fishing, not exactly a tourist harbour ...

It’s the heart of maritime life in Sanremo, it really has everything!