Giovanni Soldini and his international crew aboard the high-tech offshore trimaran, Maserati Multi70, are facing uncharacteristically light wind conditions in Antigua for the start of the RORC Caribbean 600 Race on Monday February 20.
Forecasts have been calling for 48 hours of dead calm on the 600-mile race. The light air forecast is not good news for the Italian ocean racing trimaran which is designed for much stronger winds.
Soldini will be flanked by a close-knit international crew for the RORC Caribbean 600: boat captain Guido Broggi, pitman and data collector François Robert, bowmen Oliver Herrera and Carlos Hernandez, helmsman and trimmer John Elkann and media man Francesco Malingri. The newest member of the team is Italian Olympic sailor, Vittorio Bissaro, who joins the crew as tactician fresh from a fifth place in the Nacra 17 catamaran class at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Soldini’s crew is at the very forefront of offshore multihull racing and aims to be the first team to master the art of offshore foiling. Currently, the boat is configured asymmetrically with one conventional MOD 70 daggerboard and one L-shaped development foil. The crew plan to have the boat fully foiling in time for the Transpacific Yacht Race.
The multihull start for the RORC Caribbean 600 is scheduled for 11.40 local time in Antigua on Monday morning (16.40 in Europe).
credit@Guilain Grenier
