Arc Plus stories: the Neel 47 Minimole that brought the fleet into line. PHOTOS

We told you about the beautiful story of Davide Zerbinati (read it HERE) but as we anticipated there was also another story about this ARC Plus that we wanted to tell you, that of the Neel 47 Aldo Fumagalli’s Minimole, the first multihull (it is a trimaran) to reach the finish line in Cape Verde, and the first boat in the fleet in this Atlantic rally (as we told you, it is not a real regatta). Here is the crew’s passionate account after the first leg. We wish them well in the second part that will kick off today.

ABOARD MINIMOLE

At the end of 850 miles from Las Palmas to Cape Verde Minimole, Aldo Fumagalli’s trimaran Neel 47 skippered by Marco Corno, arrives in four days and eight hours, virtually leading from start to finish. The crew, reinforced by Patrick Phelipon with his great experience in Atlantic crossings, Claudio Crudele and Carlo Pozzi celebrated noisily, a truly unexpected result given the very young age of the boat, launched on September 15 and with tuning not yet complete .

The weather conditions were the most varied. The first day with winds up to 35 knots and a very formed wave, forcing hands off and on to counteract the good going of the Lagoon 620 Pelki immediately proved to be very fast. The night, however, made a difference, and bringing Minimole up to maximum sustainable cloudiness by changing it frequently opened an important gap.

On the second day, the wind turned to a full stern and hoisted a 255 sq. m. Parasailor without a mainsail, which performed well on glides and was sufficiently stable even in waves and gusts.

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So Minimole’s choice was for the shortest route by increasing the gap from boats known to be very fast. On the third day the pressure gradually dropped to below 10 knots and with significant wave. Minimole tried various sail solutions and then again opted for a full stern swath and Parasailor with slightly freshened wind that accompanied the boat to the finish line.

After a start of acclimatization also due to the need to amalgamate a team together for the first time, life on board even with critical conditions was very pleasant, abundant and freshly prepared food, excellent wine, with alternating moments of fun and rest that allowed the crew to arrive still fresh and relaxed at the first destination.

During the crossing very few crossings with other ships and no visual contact from the second day onward with others in the fleet. In the last 12 hours, Aluaka, dgli Zerbinati’s Italian boat, always among the very first positions, has approached at twice the speed of Minimole’s despite the weak wind but seemingly resorting to the engine for a few hours.

Most surprising was the absence of major breaks to the equipment resulting in calmer sailing for the crew and effective sailing of the boat. The support of the rally organization was always really effective from the decision to communicate on the morning of the start a virtual buoy to avoid wind accelerations to the south of the island, to the management of the marina at the finish that was perfect.

This is what skipper Corno had to say at the finish, “We got off to a very good start with a small lead right from the shot in sustained winds above 30 knots. After the first 24 hours with lower wind pressure we were able to sail and helm in turns with peaks of 23 knots over formed waves of 3/4 meters take advantage of our opponents. As we approached Cape Verde, the wind dropped and so did the speed.”

Patrick Phelipon stated.: “despite the short time, we managed to technically prepare the boat to have no breakdowns and to make it perform in the conditions of the Atlantic crossing. I enjoyed the crew, the atmosphere on board and the cuisine. I was skeptical about the choice of the Parasailor, which instead proved to be a very suitable sail for sustained wind in a full stern. The boat has performed excellently from what I have seen so far.”

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Aldo Fumagalli stated: “delighted but the toughest part of the regatta lies ahead. Many doubted the performance of a medium-sized trimaran for an Atlantic rally and the ranking for the truth sees in the first places a variety of solutions from medium monohulls to large catamarans. Of course two Italians in the first two positions are a great pleasure. Despite the fact that it is not a real regatta there is a lot of competitive spirit and over a distance of 2300 miles we will see some great things.”

All the info on the ARC HERE

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