Giovanni Soldini and Maserati Multi 70 set sail from Pt. Fermin, Los Angeles, on July 13th at 12.30 local time (19.30 UTC, 21.30 Italian time) for the 50th edition of the Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac): the finish line is 2225 miles away, off Diamond Head, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Under a cloudy sky, with a south-westerly wind between 6 and 8 knots, Maserati Multi 70 crossed the starting line on the wake of its competitors, the American MOD 70 Argo and the English MOD 70 PowerPlay, followed by the American 63’ trimaran Paradox.
Three hours after the start (22.30 UTC, 00.30 Italian time), Giovanni Soldini says: «The first 24 hours of the race are challenging. We’re inside a bubble of light wind where we have to fight hard: with such little wind we’re disadvantaged compared to our competitors, who are lighter than us. The first trimaran to reach the trade wind will gain a significant advantage that will be hard to catch up with later. Right now the wind is between 3 and 6 knots and we spent the whole afternoon struggling with the algae sticking to the foils. We have to pass through a small depression standing in the way of the steady north-westerly wind, it’s going to be a challenging night».
This edition of the Transpac will be challenging for Giovanni Soldini and his crew: because of the unfavourable weather, and also because of the high concentration of debris in this area of the Pacific Ocean. To deal with this problem, Maserati Multi 70’s Team developed a fuse system for the rudders on the side hulls to limit damages in case of impact with floating objects.
Photo ©Tom Walker
