Maserati Multi 70 Sets the Bar for Caribbean 600: En Route to Honolulu for 2019 Transpac

benedetta pitscheider / maserati / info@pitsfoto.com

A Very Impressive Finish of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Caribbean 600

The Maserati Multi 70 Crosses the Finish Line First on Tuesday, Jan 19, 2019

The yacht set a new world record with a total race time of 1 day, 6 hours, 49 minutes and 0 seconds as well as winning line honors, in the RORC Caribbean 600. The race starts and finishes in Antiqua after circumnavigating around the 11 island Caribbean course. If you aren’t familiar with sailboats, these multihull yachts are some of the fastest in the world. With consistent foiling enhancements, adjustments and new designs to the rudder systems, the Maserati literally and figuratively flies over the ocean, reaching speeds up to 50 nautical miles per hour. With that being said, an extreme amount of focus, stamina, and attention is needed when sailing these nautical machines. Strategy, navigation, and weather are huge factors in flying the multihulls and overall racing them at top speed. It takes a very specific type of person to dedicate their lives to racing around on the ocean. But, for those who do, what a life it is!

Let me introduce you to the “brains” of this Italian operation: Skipper Giovanni Soldini & Captain Guido Broggi. Both born in Milano, reside in the countryside of Liguria, and have sailed all over the globe. They have been lifelong friends and sailing professionally on Maserati yacht and other yachts for over 24+ years. They have broken, and currently hold, multiple world records. Together, they are a dynamic duo expressing qualities of leadership, pure dedication, concentration, zeal, and utmost sportsmanship. They are fierce contenders, funny, love to cook and of course, eat pasta… and please, don’t forget the vino! They both are full of life and have huge hearts. When not sailing, the crew is constantly working in the shipyard to refit and maintain this beautiful racing vessel. In 2017, the Maserati Yacht was hauled out of the water and dry docked on the land next door to the Waikiki Prince Hotel. All the necessary work was completed on that parcel of state land and the “Aloha Dock” of the Hawaii Yacht Club. The crew got the yacht ready to depart to Hong Kong, where they set the world record: a 13,000 mile long, non-stop, Hong Kong to London Tea route finishing in late Feb 2018. 36 days, 2 hours, 37 minutes, and 2 seconds at sea. That’s a whole other story…

Land area in Waikiki where Maserati was hauled out and worked on in Fall of 2017. Located at the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor next door to the Prince Hotel. Photo: I took this from one of my favorite steak houses: The Signature Prime on the top of Ala Moana Hotel – great happy hour!

The Ala Wai Canal in Waikiki and Maserati going back into the water

benedetta pitscheider / maserati / info@pitsfoto.com

There are not many “do it all” racing teams that are so devoted to the program, the team, and boat. Usually, pro sailors fly into the race location and skip the shipyard work or deliveries. Not this crew. They spend countless hours in the yard making sure the proper work is done to maintain the boat and most importantly, maintain safety. They are so passionate about what they do, they work hard until the moment they arrive at the starting line. Then when the boat is ready, they go into “race mode” and push as hard as possible to win. Giovanni and Guido have great support from the other members of the crew, and all work efficiently together to get the jobs completed.

A few days before the Caribbean 600 race started, the competition Argo, a Mod 70 capsized after the wind came up unexpectedly during a training. Argo is an American yacht skippered by Jason Carroll and crossed the finish line only 7 minutes after Maserati in the Caribbean 600. Maserati yacht immediately turned on the engine, dropped the sails and assisted the Argo crew to ensure everyone was safe after seeing the boat go over, not far behind them. In 1999 Giovanni saved Isabelle Autissier, a famous French solo yacht racer off the coast of Cape Horn, South America in high seas and gail force winds during the USA based “Around Alone” race, that they were both competing in. Making these types of sportsmanship calls, are what sets Giovanni and Guido apart, and is a big reason why they are so respected worldwide and throughout the yachting community. Maserati agreed to start later on the race day at 2 pm instead of the original scheduled 11 am start time, in order to allow the crew of Argo to finish up the repair work that needed to be done. After a neck and neck race, Maserati crossed the finished first and Argo directly after.

benedetta pitscheider / maserati / info@pitsfoto.com

Earlier today, after an all day delivery back to Guadeloupe Island from Antiqua, Guido said, “We did a good job, the boat was ready, we had a good wind between 17 and 21 knots. It was a great stable wind and the sea state was very good because we didn’t get any high wave conditions, so we, and also the other boats, could sail in a very good condition for the whole race. The RORC 600 is one of the toughest races out of all the classic races around the world. You maneuver every single second. Imagine, in 30 hours and a half, we slept more or less, 2 hours each. And, we ate a lot of crackers.” I’m hoping they eat something delicious tonight, and get some sleep. They all deserve it!

Exciting News for Honolulu, HI

Maserati on the Aloha Dock at Hawaii Yacht Club

Maserati, Argo, and Powerplay an English Mod 70 skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield, have all entered the Transpac Race starting on July 10th 2019. There are already 102 yachts registered for this Pacific ocean crossing, more than Hawaii has ever seen since 1906. This will be the 50th annual Transpac race which starts in Los Angeles and ends in Honolulu, at the Hawaii Yacht Club. It’s going to be a very exciting event with some of the most beautiful and fastest sailing vessels from around the world. With limited space in the harbor (see my other blog — Yacht Life on Oahu: Where to Keep Your Boat?) HYC and WYC will be moving boats around and getting ready for the arrivals that can happen at any time of day or night.

Some examples of the volunteer work the yacht club community needs help with:

1. Being part of the Team for mooring arriving boats (harbor ops)
2. Communication/coordination with the Team(s) for organizing the mooring of arriving boats (harbor ops)
3. Boat Hosting -meeting the boats after they have arrived or putting together a Team to host a boat (hosting committee)
4. Doing shifts at the DH lighthouse finish line for finishing boats (lighthouse committee)

If you are interested in volunteering or visiting/joining the Hawaii Yacht Club, please reach out to me. I would love to hear from you, meet you and make new friends. There’s a ton to do, and we would love to have some extra hands and Aloha welcoming these yachts and tired crews into our home port in Honolulu this summer, 2019. Did I mention the Transpac parties are pretty fun too?

Me at the helm with the Maserati Crew on a light wind Friday Night Beer Can Race: Hawaii Yacht Club

Ciao & Aloha Ragazzi! Congratulazioni Maserati!

To learn more about the #Transpac2019 and registered boats, visit www.2019.transpacyc.com. For more information on the Hawaii Yacht Club, visit www.hawaiiyachtclub.org.

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