Giovanni Soldini will fly in the Atlantic: go Maserati!

There is a renewed challenge between Giovanni Soldini, on the Multi70 Maserati, and Lloyd Thornburg, on the MOD70 Phaedo3. We’ll say it right away: we’re rooting for Soldini, but we hope the guys on Phaedo won’t repeat the shabby figure they made at the Rolex Middle Sea Race(when they even got the wrong island to turn!). This time we’re out of the Mediterranean, and Maserati starting tomorrow will be racing in the 2016 RORC Transatlantic Race, which kicks off from Lanzarote on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 12 noon with 15 superboats starting (among the monohulls, Mike Slade’s 100-foot Leopard III stands out).

THIS TIME MASERATI FLIES
Unlike the Middle Sea, at which Maserati had shown up without foils (a rudder had been damaged during the transfer, blowing up the configuration), this time Soldini will have the appendages, coupled with inverted “T” rudders: to be precise, the left-hand foil is “traditional,” C-shaped, of the kind we have already seen aboard MOD70s. It has good stability but in terms of friction it is not the best. When sailing starboard tack, we say we are in “normal” mode. The game gets interesting on port tack: the starboard foil – made in Italy – has an “L” profile, which can provide much greater lift (vertical force) and thus lift the hull completely out of the water. There is almost no friction and the speed increases dramatically.

SOLDINI’S LOYALISTS
The route, in favor of Trade Winds, is 2,865 miles and the finish line in the Grenadines on the island of Grenada. Aboard Maserati Multi70, in addition to Soldini, six will race: Guido Broggi, Francesco Malingri, Jean-Baptiste Vaillant, François Robert, Oliver Herrera and Carlos Hernandez. The U.S. and European weather models agree and give a rather unusual picture of the situation compared to what is expected from the Atlantic at this time, with the trade wind regime not yet established and a large depression system associated with extended fronts that will impose delicate tactical choices. The time to beat for multihulls (set in 2015 by Pahedo3) is 5 days, 22 hours, 46′ and 03″.

“IN FRONT OF US AN UNRECOGNIZABLE ATLANTIC.”
“This is going to be a very tough regatta. We came here to run a transat in favor of Trade Winds and instead we are facing an unrecognizable Atlantic,” explains Giovanni Soldini. “The situation this year is complex: the Trade Wind is disturbed by a series of tropical depressions, and the regatta will be played on tactics to avoid ending up in the middle of the course where the Trade Wind will blow hard. We will see if those who will go for the wind between the northern fronts or those who will point south will be right. With our foils if we sail with at least 15 knots of air we are in ideal conditions to confront Phaedo3.” Here is the link to the RORC Transatlantic Race website