© Tommaso Ausili
Press release n. 1 – New York-San Francisco record
Milano, December 31, 2012
Giovanni Soldini and Maserati set sail today for the New York-San Francisco record attempt
- 13225 miles to sail in a crew in less than 57 days and 3 hours
- Winds blowing at 45 knots and waves 5 meters high are expected
The set off of Giovanni Soldini and Maserati’s team from New York to San Francisco – crossing Cape Horn – is confirmed for today at 6 pm (Italian time).
The VOR 70 Maserati must sail 13225 miles – a long and difficult route, widely travelled by clippers that were involved in the gold rush starting from thesecond half of 1800 – in less than 57 days, 3 hours and 2 minutes to break the record set by di Yves Parlier and Aquitaine Innovations in the monohull category.
An international crew of eight sailors will face both Oceans – Atlantic and Pacific – and the mythical Cape Horn (windward): Guido Broggi, Corrado Rossignoli and Michele Sighel (Italy), Sébastien Audigane (France), Boris Herrmann (Germany), Ryan Breymaier (United States), Jianghe Teng known as “Tiger” (China), Carlos Hernandez (Spain).
“We can’t wait to leave – explains Soldini – even if the weather conditions are really bad. It’s freezing cold, there’s ice and snow on Maserati’s hull. We will leave the dock tomorrow morning at 9 am local time, with a high tide.
We will probably cross the starting line (in front of the buoy of Ambrose Light) around 12 – that’s 6 pm Italian time.
In the next 30, 40 hours we will face tail winds blowing between 35 and 45 knots and waves more than 5 meters high. We should then approach the Bermuda high pressure – it’s a critical passage – and finally enter the trade winds. We are in high spirits, the boat is ready and we are ready too!”.
NEW YORK – SAN FRANCISCO RECORD STORY
The 13225 nautical miles that separate New York from San Francisco via Cape Horn, are an historic route, widely travelled by clippers that were involved in the goldrush starting from the second half of 1800.
The best result of the time was set in 1854 by Flying Cloud, exceptional vessel from the Boston shipyards, that reached San Francisco in 89 days and 21 hours, a record that stood for more than 130 years.
After several attempts by many boats, the 60-foot Thursday’s Child of Warren Luhrs arrived in San Francisco after 80 days and 20 hours in 1989. In 1994, Isabelle Autissier aboard Ecureuil Poitou took 62 days and 5 hours. Then, in 1998, Yves Parlier on board Aquitaine Innovations has dropped to 57 days, 3 hours, 2 minutes. This is the reference record for Giovanni Soldini and his crew who will try to beat it aboard the VOR70 Maserati, from the second half of December 2012.
The overall record in the multihull category belongs to Lionel Lemonchois that made thejourney in 43 days and 38 minutes aboard Gitana 13 in 2008.
The challenge is being sponsored by Maserati as main partner and inspiration for the boat’s name, by the Swiss bank BSI (Generali Group) and by Generali itself as co-sponsor.
MASERATI
Maserati’s support and participation in this major Italian challenge in sport and technology confirms the company’s role as a world ambassador for that level of excellence for which Italy is universally known. Maserati gives zealous expression to that excellence every day in 65 countries worldwide, through successful high-quality cars like the Quattroporte, GranTurismo and GranCabrio. The performance of Maserati cars on the road matches that of Giovanni Soldini and Maserati on water.
BSI and Generali
BSI is one of Switzerland’s oldest banks andspecialises in private wealth management through top flight global management. BSI is a fully controlled member of the Generali Group, and fields a presence on all major international financial markets, especially in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Generali is one of the world’s largest international insurance groups with offices in over 60 countries. The group boasts a robust footprint in Europe, EEC member states, Asia and Latin America, serving over 70 million customers. The Generali Group is a European leader in life insurance with assets of over 400 billion euros.
Suppliers for the attempt include Vodafone Italia, responsible for providing telecommunication services and developing the official website, the marine clothing brand Murphy&Nye, who have supplied the clothing for the entire Maserati team, official time keeper Bulgari, and Boero Bartolomeo S.p.A. producers of the special paints and enamels used on the hull.
Maserati is also sponsored by Eataly, suppliers to the boat’s galley, Beta Utensili, who have provided all the professional tools, Corderia Lancelin, supplier of the special ropes and cables, FPT Industrial for technical assistance with the engines, Jeppesen for the cartography, B&G Navico for technical assistance with on-board instrumentation, Cantiere Picchiotti of La Spezia, home of Maserati on dry land, and the Port of La Spezia, home of Maserati when at sea.
