Crossing the Atlantic with Mr. Malingri – Fifth Episode

Enrico Malingri, brother of Vittorio and Francesco, a member of the most famous dynasty/family in Italian sailing, has prepared an X 562 (Magix) for the Atlantic crossing and has sailed just these days from Gran Canaria to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. A great sailor, with tens and tens of thousands of miles behind him, Enrico will tell us, episode after episode, about sailing on the one hand, and on the other, how to set up a cruiser so that it can take on the ocean smoothly.

TRUE ATLANTIC NAVIGATION!
It’s pitch dark I’m lying in the windward berth leaning against the anti-roll canvas, ddrin… drinn the alarm goes off: it’s 2:50 shortly my shift begins. I get up … get dressed and go outside, the moon is overcast, the sea formed, already in Andrea’s turn 21-24 and then 24-03 we went through some grooves with water and wind reinforcement. We travel with 2-handed rolled mainsail, rolled genoa type jib 4, wind gusting between 24 and 30 knots.

Marco on the radar signals us the movement of the clumps, (nicknamed “Shits” back in the first world tour in 1975-76) and the boys hemming and hawing tried to avoid them as much as possible. Andrea stayed until 1:30 to reinforce Ale and Marco’s upright shift. I take the helm noting Ale who has been helming practically his entire shift, the situation is challenging, in the pitch black you sail with an eye on the apparent wind which must be 135 degrees and reference to the compass. The waves come up behind you and you interpret them by feeling the movement of the boat.

THE GREAT GLIDE
First you raise the stern, then it starts and you have to keep it straight, the less you move the rudder, the straighter the boat goes. You travel between 9 and 13 knots depending on the size of the waves. At one point Marco, who stopped for an hour or so on my shift sees a very large wave behind me, the boat is at the right apparent angle of 135 degrees with the sails leading and …vran …splash … sets off on an endless glide…. the log touches 16…I throw a glance at the plotter which reads 18.4 knots. Everything suddenly begins to make sense, rain, wind, fatigue and waves, man’s spirit of adventure in discovering distant horizons is fulfilled in a few moments. Now a winter and spring of beastly work in the boatyard building boats that I hope will make their future owners dream is manageable.

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NIGHTTIME LUMPS
These last two nights have seen us deal with several nighttime grooves, no big deal, but a more advanced step in boat handling and focus on navigation. Two essential characteristics come up in these situations…. indispensables: boat and crew.

BOAT
Magix is a great boat, if anyone didn’t know it has shown us…. in all conditions … little wind … a lot of wind. First, it has a nice hull that doesn’t move as much water and runs straight as a spindle, planted on the rails, a great rudder very long and effective , with a little bit of craft, you carry it, on your fingertips, with less than a quarter rudder movement. The cockpit is safe and sheltered, the large canopy provides excellent shelter at the entrance, the wheelhouses comfortable, the compasses generously sized and accurate. Winch in profusion, and here in the Atlantic you use them all, retaining mainsail, barber, boom tiller, low tiller charge, high tiller charge…. a lot of tops, but everything is needed here. You also need stitches in the gunwale for the outer sheet for the genoa, you don’t do 2 weeks aft with the sheet on the inner rail.
We manage to average over 200 miles in the 24 hours: respectable, then.

EQUIPMENT
The night was also an end-of-course examination for the crew…..
1. It required all the expertise gained at the helm in wind reinforcements and in the rain.
2. Everyone demonstrated steady nerves and acceptance of the “duress” situation without whining and complaining.
3. The shipboard brotherhood (“brotherhood”) was triggered and the dismounting shift stopped to help the next one without even mentioning it.

Sophisticated financial traders and entrepreneurs have gone up, and “rough men of the sea,” people who have become accustomed to washing their dishes with seawater and washing every two to three days, will come down. Anything to get the phone that doesn’t ring! 2 weeks’ vacation from your life-that’s the reward for the hardship suffered.

CAMBUSA
I must say that the shipboard lunches were always of a high standard, thanks to the expert galley, the roasts and various vacuum-cooked meats, the fishing, and everyone’s fervent and voracious imagination. The galley for a crossing is critical for good morale on board and to make the most of the adventure, there are a few tips you can easily follow.

1. Fruits and vegetables , last outside the refrigerator, in aerated situations. We hung nets in dinettes from the handrails near the portholes and filled them with fruit. Wicker baskets or small houses stacked in appropriate places can be used for vegetables.
2. Carlo on my suggestion to bring some pre-packaged roasts had a brilliant intuition and bought a vacuum machine on Amazon. This allowed us, in addition to the 10 evening meals with meats, also to keep the 5 lampugas caught while sailing vacuum-packed in the refrigerator. So menu at Cordon Bleu.
3. We have Nicola from Parma on board and so salami, salami, parmesan and cheese galore. This also helps.
4. There is the bakery and so Ciro Mergellina (as I was nicknamed) opened x Pizza Night twice during the crossing. So equip yourself with sachets of dry brewer’s yeast and plenty of O flour.
5. Important to have ad hoc ingredients for pasta sauces so you can vary.
6. Pressure cooker and Arborio or Carnaroli rice for risotto.

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With the generator, the two refrigerators marched smoothly, thus the 70 bottles of wine shipped to Genoa, mostly white,
have found patrons every night.

In two days “everybody back on track” but I hope, with an extra something, inside, that no one can ever forget. Everyone has missed the loved ones left behind on the ground, about this you can have no doubt, and it will be exciting to hold them again.

THE SHERPA
I now reason about what Carlo asked me in April, the steps taken to determine what the boat needed as equipment, work, and upgrades. The preparation in the shipyard, the planning of the transfer of the boat up to the Canary Islands, organized with Andrea Bonini, with whom I collaborate, my presence on board. I conclude that as a good manager he put himself in a position to make this adventure in the best situation, without risk at every opportunity and enjoying it to the fullest. Also at a premium is a wealth of experience sailing in the ocean and with carrying gaits that perhaps even 20 years in the Mediterranean does not bring you.

Greetings to all
Enrico Malingri of Bagnolo

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE FOURTH EPISODE