Camper & Nicholsons Marinas catches up with Skipper Giovanni Soldini of the Italian MOD70 Maserati Multihull in an exclusive interview.
The stunning Italian multihull is berthed at Grand Harbour Marina for The Rolex Middle Sea Race starting Saturday 22nd October, before she heads off for the RORC Transatlantic Race next month ending in Port Louis Marina, Grenada in December.
Twenty five nations gather in Malta for the Rolex Middle Sea Race
Organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club, the 2016 Rolex Middle Sea Race will start at 11:00hrs (CET) on the 22nd October in the spectacular Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta.
The offshore yacht race takes place in the heart of the Mediterranean and covers one of the most beautiful courses in the world. Starting and finishing in Malta, the route includes the deep azure waters around Sicily including the Aeolian and Egadi Islands, as well as Pantelleria and Lampedusa. One of the most stunning vistas is Stromboli, the active volcano which is a race course turning mark.
Challenging, enchanting and historic, the annual Rolex Middle Sea Race is one of Europe’s most popular and respected offshore races. Supported by Rolex since 2002, the event’s fascination is largely drawn from its alluring, 608-nautical-mile race course – a rigorous and scenic anti-clockwise loop, which introduces numerous ‘corners’ that present changing and complex meteorological shifts.
Yachts from 25 different nations began arriving in Malta last week, 112 yachts are expected including eight teams flying the Maltese Flag.
Principal Race Officer, Peter Dimech commented:
“This is the 37th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race and we have seen just about every weather scenario possible. Whilst the decision to race is the ultimate responsibility of the person in charge of each boat. The Royal Malta Yacht Club take safety very seriously. Every yacht is inspected by the Club, to check that each boat has the necessary safety equipment, and spot checks are carried out right up to the race start. Any deficiencies are reported to the race committee.”
Among the participants are four of the world’s fastest ocean-going sailing yachts. George David’s American Maxi, Rambler. Giovanni Soldini’s Italian MOD70 Maserati Multihull, Lloyd Thornburg’s American MOD70 Phaedo3 and Peter Aschenbrenner’s multi hull, Paradox.
Grand Harbour Marina are hosting the two visiting multihulls including Maserati, plus the larger visiting yachts participating, namely: Green Dragon, Aegir, Egi 4, Laetitia and Black Betty along with the well-known Rambler who holds the RMSR record. There are also three Grand Harbour Marina berth holders participating in the race for yet another year Dinah, Juno and Lorriana of Ravenna.
Looking ahead
Grand Harbour Marina’s very own Caroline Navarro grabbed a quick interview with Maserati Skipper Soldini who has completed four Rolex Middle Sea Races on other yachts and is looking forward to this year on board Maserati for the first time.
This is his first stay at Grand Harbour Marina and he’s enjoying the ambience of this wonderful marina facility set against the historic backdrop of UNESCO World Heritage site – Fort St Angelo:
“Grand Harbour Marina is a great marina, it’s a great place to prepare the yacht for racing mode. All 7 crew have visited Malta before as part of the Rolex Middle Sea Race and with extra race crew arriving here we’ve found the connectivity has been brilliant, making it a very easy destination to organise our team logistics.”
Maserati is also competing in the RORC Transatlantic Race, which starts in Lanzarote and finishes in our Port Louis Marina, Grenada. In this year’s Rolex Middle Sea Race Maserati and Phaedo3 are the only two competing multihulls, whereas for the RORC Transatlantic it’s rumoured both will be competing alongside Concise 10, another MOD70:
“The 2 races are very different, one a much shorter Med classic with challenging weather patterns whereas the RORC offers more stable conditions and trade winds. The local ‘Race Spirit’ of the RMSR is incomparable to most other races, particularly because of its historic context, being well attended and a having good competitive focus!”
Soldini is very much looking forward to returning to the warm and welcoming island of Grenada and to experiencing Port Louis Marina for the first time:
“After receiving such great hospitality at Grand Harbour Marina in Malta I’m very much looking forward to experiencing more at C&N’s Port Louis Marina. I’ve been to Grenada before but never Port Louis – I’m very glad to know that our MOD70 will be travelling between two Camper & Nicholsons Marinas.”
Research mode for the RORC
This will be the first time the multihull in its new foiling set up has raced across the Atlantic, and it is something of a test bed for the international team.
Soldini has over 25 years of ocean racing experience and is probably the most decorated Italian offshore sailor of all time winning the Around Alone, Québec-Saint Malo, OSTAR and Transat Jacques Vabre. Soldini has completed over 40 ocean crossings and since 2011 has been the skipper of the VOR70 Maserati, setting records for the Cadiz-San Salvador route and the New York-San Francisco Gold Route. However, the MOD70 Maserati is a new project only conceived this year.
“We are studying how this new concept will work and we have made some progress, but we are in research mode.” explained Giovanni Soldini.
“Our goal will be to try to fly as much as possible, but there are some conditions where it will be impossible. We went around the world nearly two times with the VOR70 but it was time to change and to do something different. Personally for me, this is a bigger challenge and foiling in the middle of the Atlantic is certainly challenging. This race presents a great opportunity to try to understand more about the concept. On the tiller, when Maserati is flying, is just fantastic. It is very fast but you feel safe and in control and it is something very new; to fly with a big boat is something that is very special. During the race we will be studying and trying many different solutions to see where our performance is good or not so good, but it is not always black and white. This year we will be investing in the concept for the future. Our first step will be to achieve stable flight in the open sea with waves, so that will be a big job.”
Source: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/
For more information about the 37th Edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race please visit the official website – http://www.rolexmiddlesearace.com/ and for all the latest RORC Translatlantic news, please visit: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/
To make a berthing enquiry for Grand Harbour Marina or Port Louis Marina, please get in touch via www.CNMarinas.com