The 39th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race starts tomorrow, 20th October 2018 at 11.00 (9.00 UTC). The historical regatta organized by the Royal Malta Yacht Club, is celebrating this year its 50th anniversary since the first edition in 1968.
Giovanni Soldini and Maserati Multi 70’s crew will face 3 other teams in the MOCRA category; among them the direct rival PowerPlay (former Concise 10), Peter Cunningham’s English MOD 70 skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield. The Italian trimaran, unlike the English rival, is equipped with flying foils and rudders – hydrodynamic appendixes on which the hulls rise out of the water. The other entrants in the category are two catamarans: Swiss Allegra and Polish R-SIX.
In the past days Maserati Multi 70’s Team has been working in order to make the trimaran as light as possible and to optimize the manoeuvres’ procedures. Aboard this sort of boat the number of appendixes and variables is high, making the operations aboard very challenging.
Among the many preparations, the Italian Team is busy monitoring the developments of the weather conditions. At the moment the models show a light wind for the first 24 hours of the regatta: between 8 and 10 knots blowing from North-East in the first segment towards Sicily, that will decrease to 3-4 knots in the Strait of Messina. These conditions are not optimal for Maserati Multi 70, that reaches its full potential with winds of 15 knots and up, rising above the water. When the Italian trimaran sails with light winds, the presence of foils and rudders increases the wet surface, affecting the speed.
During the trainings this week Maserati Multi 70 sailed alongside PowerPlay more than once. With a wind at around 22 knots, the Italian trimaran achieved great results. “We tested conditions with crossed sea that was quite steep,” explains Giovanni Soldini, “nevertheless we were able to fly very stably and to test the changes made on the rudders which seem to match our expectations.”
Soldini says: “In the past months the Team worked very hard. We made a great effort in order to fine tune the last changes and to arrive with the boat ready for this challenge, so I want to thank everyone for the dedication shown during these months”.
Photo ©Martina Orsini
