EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Gaetano Mura: “Am I pissed off? Yes, but I’ll try again!”

“So first there is pissed off, it’s human.” That’s how Gaetano Mura begins when reporting from Fremantle, Australia, where he stopped last Dec. 30 due to serious technical problems, abandoning the record-breaking nonstop solo round-the-world voyage on the Class 40 Italia. “But let there be no talk of bad luck. This is all experience, other than bad luck. Fading from anger, I came to my senses as I sailed toward Fremantle. There is no point in piling on something you have no control over. I had done my duty as a navigator, I had left with a clear conscience, knowing that I had given my all in terms of boat preparation, physical and mental. I repeat: all experience. Think Coville managed to break the round-the-world record on his sixth attempt; Joyon went through a lot before making history. Navigators proceed by trial and error; failure is an almost necessary step“.

“I WILL TRY AGAIN.”
Gaetano had a chance to get back in the game right away, for the solo round-the-world trip with stopover: “But it wouldn’t have made sense. I had damage to the rudders, the autopilot to the watermaker. It would have taken a month and a half of work to get Italy back on track; I lacked motivation. Now the boat will be taken via cargo to Cagliari.” We know that Pirate Mura, being the good stubborn man that he is, will not leave the matter unresolved: “Will I try again? Of course I will. I told myself that as soon as I set my bow on Fremantle. And I hope to do it as soon as possible.”

ANDREA AND GAETANO MURA TOGETHER? IT’S NOT UTOPIA.
Meanwhile, in Australia Gaetano had a nice surprise: a visit from his colleague, countryman and even namesake Andrea Mura. There was bad blood between the two but “it was a wonderful opportunity to clarify, I was very pleased to meet Andrea, who came especially to give me support.” Then he lets slip a “who knows, maybe in the future we’ll do something together.”. The Mura-Mura pair? It sounds like a Polynesian name, so it fits like a glove: will we see them together at a Jacques Vabre? Let’s hope so!!!

SAILING IN THE HOMES OF ITALIANS
In any case, it is time for the first balance sheets: “Absolutely positive,” Ugo Bertelli, the team manager of 1Off-Italia (the company that was responsible for organizing and supporting Gaetano in his venture) assures us, “from the media point of view. Sailing has entered the homes of Italians, thanks to Gaetano’s simple and emotionally capable communication skills and the work we have done. Mura has been followed not only by insiders but by a more than diverse audience, from the housewife to the high school student. Should he try again – and he will try again, stubborn as he is – we will be back in the game. Given the media appeal of this endeavor, I think it will be easier to find sponsors.”