ARC Rally, Italians on a roll under the ‘Trade Wind: Picomole and GG in the lead

Day four of sailing at the ARC, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, which this year celebrates a special birthday, that of 40 years, and sees 146 boats competing, including nine with Italian flags or crews. There were no major snags from a weather standpoint, a somewhat erratic trade wind, perhaps less steady than expected, with many storm clumps to dodge or exploit.

All in all, fairly smooth sailing for the bulk of the fleet, with the Italian boats holding good averages.

How the Italians are doing

All boats with Italian flags or crews are generally performing well, starting with the overall Cruising ranking, which sees Niccolo Maisto’s Solaris 74RS GG in the lead at the moment (find out what boat it is), also with our own Tommaso Oriani on board, who sends us the “oceanic” shots you see in this article.

Leading the list of multihulls, and second among all boats, is the Rapido 53 XS trimaran Picomole owned by Aldo Fumagalli, one of the most experienced owners of this regatta, having done it several times in recent years even with his old Neel. Picomole among others has already won the ARC Europe, the crossing from the Caribbean to Europe that took place in May. Leading the Racing category, and first of the entire fleet, is the Dutch VOR 65 Nextgen by Jajo.

leggi anche

ARC Rally 2025 speaks Italian: here are all the winners

Italian boats racing: Hanse 540 Ahinamà by Massimo Peschiulli, Ita Catamarans 14.99 Edenj by Daniele Sottile, First 40.7 Free Spirit by Daniel Aksenov, Sun Odyssey 419 Mira by Alberto Cavagnini, Rapido 53XS Picomole by Alberto Fumagalli, Swan 48 MKII Whimsea by Simone Pallesi, Solaris 74 RS GG by Niccolo Maisto, Baltic 65 ReMax One by Dario Castiglia, Trilli, Nautitech 44 Open by Emilio Amati.

ARC tracking

What boat is the Rapido 53 XS

The Rapido 53 XS echoes the design of Morrelli & Melvin’s signature 50-foot hull, using a fixed (i.e., non-folding) structure with the addition of 800 kg of additional superstructure. The goal of offering a large salon, three comfortable cabins and two bathrooms was perfectly achieved: the difference in volume between the 50 and the 53 XS (which stands for eXtra Space) is impressive. The builder could have kept the main lines identical between the two hulls, but everything has been revised and improved on the 53: even the appendages have been completely revised.

Their draft, in fact, was calculated not to exceed that of the center hull. No centerboard drift, but two pre-impregnated C-curved carbon drifts, one for each hull; and this also applies to the rudder, which has no single center blade, but two carbon blades on the outer hulls and extending to the lowest point of the center hull, to facilitate access to shallow water.

TECHNICAL DATA SHEET – Rapido 53 XS
Length overall: 16.10 m
Width: 10.36 m
Displacement: 9,350 kg
Draft: 0.67 m to 3.94 m
https://rapidotrimarans.com/

leggi anche

Gitana 18, the Ultim trimaran born to rewrite the rules of the game in the ocean