With a fleet of 71 boats divided into eight classes, the 14th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600, organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, got underway today, 20th February 2023.
With a fleet of 71 boats divided into eight classes, the 14th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600, organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, got underway today, 20th February 2023.
The race is 24 hours away and the teams of the 71-boat fleet are making their final preparations before the start of the 14th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600, promoted by the Royal Ocean Racing Club. The start sequence from Fort Charlotte, Antigua, will see the MOCRA class start last, half an hour behind the first group. The appointment on the line for the multihulls is therefore set for tomorrow, Monday 20 February, at 11:30 am local time (3:30 pm UTC, 4:30 pm Italian time).
Maserati Multi70 and Giovanni Soldini have landed in Antigua, where on Monday 20th February will start the 14th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600, the Caribbean sporting event promoted by the Royal Ocean Racing Club.
Just a few days after winning and setting the new speed record at the RORC Transatlantic Race, Giovanni Soldini and the crew of Maserati Multi70 will be back on the water for the 14th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600, the great Caribbean sporting event promoted by the Royal Ocean Racing Club that attracts an international fleet of over 70 boats for one of the most spectacular offshore races in the world.
“I am super happy it was a challenging regatta. With such strong opponents and such similar boats you know that if you make a mistake you pay for it all, we made one at the start, overestimating the thermal around Lanzarote, but then we didn’t make any more mistakes”.
Two extra tonnes of water on board, taken on board following damage to the drift compartments, were not enough to stop the breathtaking race of the Maserati Multi70, which crossed the Atlantic at averages of 22 knots, with peaks of 37, and at 19.45 UTC on Friday January 13th crossed the finish line of the RORC Transatlantic Race with a time of 5 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 26 seconds.
Maserati Multi70 is racing towards the finish line with tons of water on board, that the crew must keep under control constantly. “For the heavy loads, the jennaker loop has broken, and for now is on the deck. Fortunately, we are sailing well with the foresail. Oliver has already prepared a new loop, if the wind goes down we’ll send him to the masthead to replace the piece and put the jennaker back. I keep telling the crew to go slow, because the boat weighs 2/3 tons more and all the loads are much higher, but my guys don’t listen to me, they are pumped and they keep going a cannamorta!”
According the last positions received, at 16 UTC, Maserati Multi70 is still in the lead of the MOD70s fleet. The Italian trimaran has 635 miles ahead to reach the finish line. Soldini: “Everything is going well, we are getting close to the moment of the gybe that will put our bow towards Grenada, or almost there. We are expecting the wind to turn north east and to get gradually lighter. We will see how Maserati Multi70 does with 10 knots of wind and the belly full of water. Aboard the morale is high and we are all focused”
Water on board and problems with the centerboard on Maserati Multi70: “During the night last night, while jumping over the waves, the stopper of the drift puller exploded. The daggerboard popped out of its seat and fell back out of the guides, breaking all the backstays”.
