Francesca Vincenti (born July 1, 1965, in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

) is a former

windsurfer Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

. She held the National Championship title from 1983 to 1986. Vincenti has been decorated as Malta's Sportswoman of the Year for 1985 and 1986, and ranked among the top 10 at World, European and Pre-Olympic championships. Amongst her titles, Vincenti won the 1985 pre-Olympic International

SPA Regatta Allianz Regatta, formerly known as the SPA Regatta, the Holland Regatta, the Delta Lloyd Regatta, and the Medemblik Regatta, is an annual sailing regatta in Almere, the Netherlands, first held in 1985 in Medemblik. It hosts the Olympic and Paraly ...

in the Netherlands, which also made her Dutch National Champion. She was crowned Mistral Freestyle World Champion in 1986, placed 3rd in the international Bermuda Cup in 1984, was 6th in the Sailboard World Championship 1983, held 3rd place in the Giro d'Italia 1983 and 1984 (a two-week, point-to-point, long-distance race around Italy). She clinched 6th in the 1984 Mistral Worlds' in Tunisia, 6th at the Mistral Women's Worlds 1986 La Rochelle France, and won the Silver Medal at the Mistral Open Europeans in the Isle of Wight in 1995. In 1988, Vincenti participated in the Malta–Sicily windsurf race, a long-distance race across the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. During the years she resided in the US, she was considered one of the leading surfers on the East Coast in the Mistral Class, having held the number-one rank for that region for some time. She competed regularly in National qualifiers and events. Vincenti returned to Malta permanently in 1998 with her two daughters and retired from competitive surfing. She remains actively involved in this

extreme sport Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

for leisure only but still features in the promotion of Malta as an ideal destination for this activity and all outdoor sport such as climbing, kayaking, and trekking through her profession there. She is regularly invited to give her technical opinion on television, radio and interviews during high-profile events such as the infamous International Rolex Middle Sea Race. In 2014, Francesca Vincenti was inducted into the Malta Olympic Hall of Fame on the basis of her achievements and for having placed Malta at the top of the sailing/windsurfing spot internationally for several years. She remains an icon in the Maltese Islands as one of the best sports persons in the history of Sport there. Francesca is an active freediver and promoter of safeguarding the environment and campaigner of a plastic-free world, actively participating with NGO's in cleanups and campaigns. Vincenti has also worked as an actress and has been cast in several theatrical drama plays and comedies staged at the

Manoel Theatre ( Maltese for "Manoel Theatre"; it, Teatro Manoel) is a theatre and important performing arts venue in Malta. The theatre is often referred to as simply "The Manoel", and is named after Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller, Fr ...

St James Cavalier Saint James Cavalier ( mt, Kavallier ta' San Ġakbu) is a 16th-century cavalier in Valletta, Malta, which was built by the Order of St John. It overlooks St James' Bastion, a large obtuse-angled bastion forming part of the Valletta Land Front. S ...

, the Salesian Theatre and the Malta Drama Festival.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vincenti, Francesca 1965 births Living people Maltese windsurfers Female windsurfers Maltese female sailors (sport)