The Gentleman Magazine Issue 12 | December 2018 | Page 41

On Monday November 26th, the Italian Team finally reached
the Trade Winds, but they had to slow down for a problem
aboard: a bilge pump’s drain pipe detached and the trimaran
took on a ton of water. A few hours later the problem was
solved and the crew sets off again downwind sailing between
25 and 29 knots.
The ocean match race continued between the two trimarans,
who went on crossing their courses with a few miles of distance
between each other. During the night between Tuesday and
Wednesday, the Italian Team, after a few right gybes, gained
many miles towards South. Maserati Multi 70 continued on its
gallop towards Grenada, with the gennaker and full main and
gybing on the Trade Winds’ shift, and, on Tuesday evening,
Giovanni Soldini and his crew reached a 50 miles advantage
over PowerPlay where their routes crossed.
On Friday, the two multihulls started running on the
homestretch to the finish line: Maserati Multi 70, sailing
almost on a direct route to Grenada, and PowerPlay, 70 miles
further North, travelling head-to-head. Approaching Grenada,
PowerPlay found an unexpected wind in its favour: the wind
shifted 20 degrees further North, so they were able to sail on
a more direct route to the finish line and they gained many
miles.
The race, organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, now
at its 5th edition, started from Lanzarote, Canary Islands,
on Saturday November 24th, at 12.00 UTC, and finishes in
Grenada, Caribbean, 2995 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.
Maserati Multi 70 will now go into the shipyard, to get ready for
the next appointment: the RORC 600 Caribbean in February
2019.
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