Arc Plus stories and tales: Italians do the ocean better

Them again. We had told you about it( HERE and HERE) after the stop in Cape Verde, the finishing site of the first stage of the ARC Plus. And things have not changed for Aluaka, Davide Zerbinati’s Stadtship 54 AC and Aldo Fumagalli’s Neel 47 Minimole . Minimole was the first to arrive in Saint Lucia (Caribbean), the finishing site of the Atlantic rally, followed shortly after by Aluaka. Still excellent Atlantic sailing for them, Minimole was the first of the multihulls and the first boat in the fleet, while Aluaka was the first of the monohulls.

Looking forward to telling you about Minimole’s crossing, we start with the passionate account of Davide Zerbinati, the proud owner and builder of his boat, a great expert and professional who has shown in the Ocean how passion combined with expertise and knowledge of the boat can create a winning mix for sailing at its best.

ABOARD ALUAKA

Aluaka repeated the success of the first stage. After 2100 miles we are first in cruise category and second over all behind the Neel Minimole, as well led as last time. The boat is okay, no breakage or problems, we can leave tomorrow. Navigation was linear with 3 days of 20-30kn winds at the beginning and then a navigation made of Tails,Gennaker and tangon sails. In the end lots of wave and tense wind at night.

Starting off well, I then decided to make a downward edge to having more wind, but actually going better north of the ideal course. It cost me as many as 4 positions in 24h and then we started the comeback by also taking advantage of the windy night squalls and beating many boats carried with spinnakers and by more experienced crews. Big mistake to have followed toopp Predict Wind and not one’s own nose. In the end the result is still an Italian tricolor. Satisfaction to have overtaken bigger boats, cat included. A set of photos and notes soon. Many thanks to those who cheered or sent me nice messages , especially Antonio Casciello and Francesco Bianciardi. But also to Mariano Berlendis who told me: let’s see if you will do better than me…. My special thanks go to Tiziana improvised meteowoman and position report, but especially to Serena our host who always got up to give me a hand to unfurl and furl the sails, at all hours, in all weather, brightening the nights ( long) and the palate with her excellent focaccia. Thank you

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The Stadtship 54 AC

But what kind of boat is Davide Zerbinati’s? As the name also suggests, the design is by Van De Stadt, who conceived the sail plan, water lines and appendages. The interiors, on the other hand, were made by Cantiere Zuanelli; the construction, on the other hand, is the very work of the Zerbinati brothers and the family shipyard, Vallescrivia. It is a boat, 16.45 m long and 4.5o wide (find out HERE all its features) aluminum cruising boat, with a 7 mm hull, launched in 2014. No special arrangements were needed for the Atlantic crossing, as the boat was already designed for long sailing. “It is designed for ocean sailing and equipped with the products we have been handling and testing on the sea for years. The boat features a comfortable Pilot House that protects against splashes and cold and from which the boat is controlled. The rigging includes a 107% jib , zero tails or gennaker on mainsail and foresail. All maneuvers are deferred to the cockpit, but can also be operated from the mast.” Zerbinati himself explained.

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