In mid July 2006, sixteen Atlantic Challenge gigs assembled at the port of Genoa for the biennial contest of seamanship. Some were trailed overland and others came in containers by sea. The Canadians had the misfortune of having their gig still trapped in customs at the start of events.

The Contest was sponsored and organised by the prestigious Yacht Club Italiano and thanks are due to Paolo Caffarena of YCI and Andrea Berlingieri, President of AC Italy, who masterminded the event. The teams were housed in Red Cross inflatable tents inside a large port-side warehouse that was normally used for boat shows. They were fed in a covered area beside the dock, on a lower level than the tents. The food was provided by outside caterers and was very good. The sixteen gigs were tied up in the dock alongside, bows out, and all the days’ activities started from this point.

Each day started with the usual coxswains’ meeting at 0845 and crews had to be in their gigs, ready to leave the dock by 0930. Then came the long three mile row out of the port and along the coast to the race area. This was necessary because of the very busy shipping lane in and out of Genoa itself. The container ships and ferries dwarfed the gigs.

L’Esprit on the first day was an enjoyable event, with mixed crews on the gigs. The teams worked in pairs through an ingenious set of tasks which ended up with some team members swimming from one gig to the other. The length of time out in the heat of the sun during the Rowing race and Navigation on the second day proved to be too much for several crews and from then on care was taken not to do two water-based events by day. The gigs were towed out to the race area and back again whenever possible. Sails and Oars I on the second day was a colourful event in a light breeze and the Sailing race on the third day was even more spectacular. Sails and Oars 2 took place on the fourth day in quite a choppy sea, followed by Jackstay transfer in the very confined space at the dock. The monkey’s fist had to be thrown on to the upper deck and this proved too high for some. Man overboard on the fifth day was a popular event followed by a major swim for all. The Captain’s Gig event was the hardest of all to stage, with local boats going in and out of the dock all the time through the area being used.

The Closing Ceremony took place beside the dock. The Atlantic Challenge Trophy was awarded to Ireland and the Spirit of Atlantic Challenge Trophy to Holland. The John Kerr Memorial Seamanship Trophy was won by Russia.

	Canada: Tenacité		Belgium: Carolus Quinto		Bretagne: Fille de Loire
	Bretagne: Volonté		Denmark: Solidarité		Finland: Equité
	France: J’aime Var		France: Profils pour l’Avenir		Holland: Audace
	Indonesia: Merdeka		International: An Seabhac Mara		Ireland: Unité
	Italy: Creuza de Ma		Russia: Zou Mai		UK: Harmonie
	U.S.A: Verité