After an electrifying head-to-head of almost 34 hours with the trimaran Phaedo3, Maserati Multi70 was second across the finish-line in the RORC Caribbean 600 Race, just 13 minutes behind the American boat
The high-speed battle with the race winner provided an invaluable opportunity to assess Maserati Multi70’s performance as, unlike Phaedo3, she is able to fly using leading-edge hydrofoils.
“Sailing against a rival taught us so much more than sailing alone, particularly regarding sail adjustments,” said Giovanni Soldini. “In part also because Phaedo3 has one of the tightest and most skilled crews in the world when it comes to multihull ocean sailing. The race confirmed we have the right ideas and that we’ve made the correct modifications over the last few months”.
Soldini’s ambition is to make Maserati Multi70 the first trimaran capable of stable, extended sailing on the open ocean. Thus far, she has only raced in development mode, using an L-foil on her left side and a traditional MOD foil on her right side. “We have done months of testing to assess how the foils and the rudder work best to tackle open sea,” continues Soldini. “We now feel we’ve got a lot of answers. That’s why the Transpacific Race – which starts from Los Angeles bound for Hawaii this summer – may be our first race with a symmetrical boat configured to fly on both sides. In the meantime though, we’ll keep working with an eye on the future.”
credit@Rachel Fallon-Langdon
