Everything is ready in Antigua for the start of the 12th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600: the multihulls will set sail tomorrow at 11.30 local time (15.30 UTC, 16.30 Italian time) from Fort Charlotte, half an hour after the other classes.
Giovanni Soldini and Maserati Multi 70 will race against 7 other multihulls, among which are their direct competitors, the American Argo and the English PowerPlay. Aboard both MOD 70s will be two strong and experienced crews: Briand Thompson and Franck Cammas will sail aboard Argo, Loick Peyron on PowerPlay. On the starting line will be three more trimarans – the 80’ Ultim’Emotion 2, the 63’ Shockwave and the 60’ Ineffable – and two catamarans – the 53’ Fujin and the 78’ Allegra.
The weather expected for this edition of this race is not the most favourable: the models show an unstable trade wind, with light breeze especially for the first 12 hours of racing. Giovanni Soldini commented: “Maserati Multi 70 with the flying foils gives its best with around 15 knots of wind, so these conditions are not ideal, but we will fight tooth and nail as always!”
Aboard Maserati Multi 70, Giovanni Soldini is sailing with a crew of 7 men: the Team fresh from the recent Cape2Rio, formed by Guido Broggi (mainsail trimmer), Carlos Hernandez Robayna (trimmer), Oliver Herrera Perez (bowman), Nico Malingri and Matteo Soldini (both grinders and trimmers), is now joined for this race by Ronan Cointo (tactician).
The RORC Caribbean 600, organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, is now one of the most anticipated regattas of the year and attracts many high level entrants: this year on the starting line there will be a total of 74 boats from more than 20 different countries, divided in 8 classes.
The speed record was set in 2019 by Giovanni Soldini who, aboard Maserati Multi 70, crossed the finish line with an elapsed time of 1 day, 6 hours and 49 minutes.
The course of the race, 600 miles long, goes around 11 islands in the Lesser Antilles, in the Caribbean Sea, including Barbuda, Saint Barth, Guadeloupe and Saint Martin. The course is diverse, it requires many manoeuvres and it features variable winds and currents that make the regatta particularly interesting and challenging.
The RORC Caribbean 600 is the first challenge in which Maserati Multi 70 is participating with the new mainsail that has unveiled for the first time the logo of the MC20, the super sports Maserati that will be presented at the end of May in Modena.
