Giovanni Soldini and Maserati Multi 70’s Team are ready to attempt the 195-mile-long Monaco to Porto Cervo multihull record. On their way to Monte Carlo, the Team is monitoring the weather models to identify the best window frame to set sail: the time of departure, planned for Saturday, March 13th in the evening, depends on the wind conditions.
Soldini comments: «The forecasts are variable, this won’t be an easy challenge. The key lies in finding the right moment to set sail. We will have to wait for the wind to arrive in Monaco, so we can reach a nice 30-knots wind during the night. At the same time, we need to be careful: if we wait too long, we will find difficult conditions, with a violent wind up to 40 knots and big waves, which won’t let us sail at our best. The start will be the most critical moment: after that we should sail with a quick and strong wind to the Strait of Bonifacio, then down-wind for the last miles».
Aboard Maserati Multi 70 there will be 6 experienced sailors: racing with Giovanni Soldini for the first time, Ambrogio Beccaria, the first Italian sailor to win the Mini Transat in 2019. With them also Guido Broggi, Carlos Hernandez Robayna, Oliver Herrera Perez and Matteo Soldini. Beccaria commented: «Being able to sail aboard this kind of boat with Giovanni is a wonderful chance. Compared to what I’m used to aboard Minis – 6,50-meter-long monohulls – everything is different, even how you check the weather forecasts, since the trimaran sails faster than they are updated: you immediately understand that you can’t make mistakes, it’s very impressive!»
The current Monaco to Porto Cervo multihulls record belongs to English skipper Brian Thompson: in 2016, MOD70 Phaedo3’s crew set the first multihull record with an elapsed time of 7 hours, 53 minutes and 31 seconds and an average speed of 24,71 knots, calculated on the direct route. The monohulls record was set in 2012 by Esimit Europa 2: 10 hours, 13 minutes and 42 seconds.
