A Milanese at the Mini Transat: Ambrogio Beccaria wants to go…Big!
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The Mini Transat will start on October 1, 2017, with several Italian sailors on the start line again this year out of 84 starters: Andrea Fornaro, Matteo Rusticali, Luca Sabiu, Emanuele Grassi, Andrea Pendibene and Ambrogio Beccaria. We heard from the latter, the young Milanese skipper fresh from an excellent result at the Mini Fastnet with his Alla Grande Ambeco, to find out more about his preparation and to learn about the “pains” of miners approaching the mythical transatlantic.
Where is your preparation and what are you working on?
The boat is in France in Lorient, we are doing all the regattas in Brittany to prepare it as well as possible, the Transgascone will be the last one scheduled before the Transat. We are doing well, except in the first race where I had some problems with the pilot, I got a 14-13-8 in the three races held there, we are growing. With Giovanni Sanfelice of North Sails we are working a lot on sails. After the game I played with the first season we rethought the project, the boat was going very strong in the Mediterranean but for Atlantic conditions it was always too powerful, a bolted horse. Now we have a focused game on the Atlantic, it is going very well and we are satisfied. The last part of preparation I will do in La Rochelle with the ministries’ pole.
What is a typical day like for the minist preparing for the Mini Transat?
Now it is time to close the necessary budget, and the days also move with this in mind. Then of course there is one thing that “haunts” the minist, the to-do list. On the list is everything from sponsors to technical work, sail studies, deck equipment improvements, and weight optimization that must be done to the gram if you want to be competitive. This is a continuous update, output after output. Then I’m lucky enough to share the days with other minists, you get a lot of teamwork.
What differences do you notice for the sailing movement between France and Italy?
In France they are helped by the numbers, in regattas there are always about 70 boats, this attracts sponsors creates movement. Let’s say that the world of minis in France is perhaps more understood taken into consideration. I also train in Italy and here if organized well in a center we can get good results.
What goal do you give yourself for this 2017 Transat?
Objective, I have a problem with this word (laughs ed.). Of course, one tries to win, but one should not delude oneself. This year, the latest generation of boats have improved so much even in light wind, so the weapons at our disposal decrease. The unofficial Pogo 2 ranking honestly doesn’t interest me much, I hope to break the boxes for the new boats, if I get into the top 12 I will be really overjoyed. The top 10 in addition to having budgets are strong.
We read that your boat is for sale and the next step is called Pogo 3
Yes, the idea is to make a new competitive design for the 2019 Transat with the goal of winning it. I am moving forward because the longest and most difficult part is finding the necessary budget. Probably a used Pogo 3, because you can save something in terms of investment and setup time.
What budget do you need to do the Mini Transat?
Determination matters a lot to be competitive, but the budget helps you take care of the details and stay competitive in the long run. A simple participation with a Pogo 2 type boat requires about 90 thousand euros. To aim to win with a new boat requires no less than 200,000 euros.
What is your idea of the evolution of the Protos? Foil, rigid wings…
I think doing well with prototypes takes some patience and time. Arkema is the most revolutionary one, but perhaps they wanted to overdo it a bit and the results at the moment are not great. Yes, in the perfect conditions that mini will fly, but it is a really difficult boat. To develop such a prototype takes a real team, almost alone as I am doing is impossible.
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Mauro Giuffrè
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