The boys are out and about: Beccaria and Fantini at Les Sables-Horta

The “boys are out and about,” said a song, and that is indeed the case because in the Ocean, in the Bay of Biscay, racing the Class 40s participating in Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables are two Italians, Ambrogio Beccaria and Andrea Fantini. The former is paired with Ian Lipinski on Credit Mutuel, the latter with Charles Mourruau on Guidi.

The regatta, held every two years, normally takes place in two legs and without assistance-the first from France to the Azores islands, the second from the Azores back to France. This year it will be held exceptionally, due to Covid-19 restrictions, in a single 2450-mile leg. The competing Class 40s, 24 boats, will simply have to turn the buoy in front of Horta (Fajal Island), free to do so in the direction they prefer, and then head back out to sea toward Les Sables. Arrival is expected around July 10.

For Fantini, it is a return to racing after a period in which he tried to build a new ocean project, and he does so side by side with an Italian company, Guidi SRL, a historic company in the Novara area that is a true excellence in the world of nautical accessories and machining of bronze, brass, aluminum, and stainless steel.

Ambrogio Beccaria, on the other hand, faces his first regatta paired with Lipinski, a friend-adversary in the past but above all the Frenchman is the skipper of “destiny” for Beccaria, the one from whom Ambrogio bought his first Mini 650, the “wrecked” Pogo 2 that would become Alla Grande Ambeco. The two sail on the Class 40 semi scow that Sam Manuard designed for Lipinski.

“What is Ian Lipinski like?” says Beccaria, “He is someone who doesn’t give an inch and always gives his all. I can say that my nautical story begins with him, because from him I bought the Pogo2, my first boat, the one with which I started sailing in the ocean. When I went to Brittany for the first time, Ian hosted me in his house, he was very kind and even spoke a little Italian.”

“I am really happy to say that Guidi srl will be my sponsor in 2021,” Andrea Fantini announced on Facebook instead, “thanks to this company, which has been producing boating accessories since 1968, I will take part in three beautiful regattas, the Horta Les Sables, the Fastnet and the Transat Jacques Vabre! I will be sharing this beautiful project with Charles Louis Mourruau, a French skipper who has sailed in many different parts of the world and created his own experience by sailing on many different types of boats… A Guidi crew not to be missed!!!”

At the moment the Lipinski-Beccaria pair is in tenth place nine miles behind leader Saint Yves Service, Fantini-Mourruau are in twentieth place about 20 miles behind the leader when there are still more than 2,400 race miles to go.

Tracking HERE

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