Maserati sets sail to beat speed records at sea

conaero

conaero

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Well, this is news to me, cant say I have ever seen a Ferrari or Alfa racing yacht before.

webmaserati-sailboat.jpg


With Poseidon's trident on the nose and more chrome portals than a marina full of mega yachts, the link between Maserati and boats isn't imaginary. In fact, its engines have propelled racing boats to a number of powerboat championships in Italy and around the world. But now the Modenese automaker is embarking on a different kind of voyage with the sailboat you see here.

Rechristened under the name Maserati, this 70-foot VOR carbon-fiber mono-hull racing yacht previously competed in a round-the-world race in 2008-2009. Now unburdened by some 10% of its mass, Maserati will be sailed by world-renowned skipper Giovanni Soldini and his nine-man crew in an attempt to break the records for the three ocean routes: Cadiz to San Salvador, Miami to New York, and New York to Lizard Point, UK.

Maserati's participation doesn't appear to extend beyond lending its name, but it isn't the only automaker to have done so: the Volvo Ocean race is named by the Swedish automaker that sponsors it, much as Audi sponsors the MedCup sailing race and BMW once sponsored the USA-17 racing trimaran. Details in the press release after the jump with high-resolution images in the gallery for more.
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conaero

conaero

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Here is some more on it...

Italy’s most revered sailor Giovanni Soldini will attempt to break three important and historic North Atlantic sailing records in the new yacht Maserati, flying the pennant of the oldest sailing club in the Mediterranean Sea. Soldini seeks the Cadiz-San Salvador (Bahamas), Miami-New York and New York-Lizard Point (UK) records representing the Yacht Club Italiano, which dates back to 1879. Soldini has already earned his place in history, with his own flair and storied past on the waters, sailing along sand with a crew.

In 2000 the New York Times profiled Soldini: When Prada Challenge of Italy advanced to last spring’s America’s Cup finals, the team’s helmsman and leader, Francesco de Angelis, found himself at the center of a news media onslaught. Back home, the Prada crew members had become national heroes. But when asked how he handled the burden of his newfound celebrity, de Angelis shrugged and invoked the name of his country’s most famous sailor.”I’m more popular in Italy now,” he said. ”But I’m no Giovanni Soldini.”De Angelis was correct. Soldini — a single-handed offshore virtuoso whose training regimen includes beer, cigarettes and pool halls — is definitely one of a kind.

The article, authored by Herb McCormick, continues to detail some of the triumph and trauma in Soldini’s past:

In recent years, Soldini’s long-distance adventures have run the spectrum from joyous to tragic. In the last Around Alone race, Soldini shook off a disastrous opening leg to claim a stirring, come-from-behind victory. Along the way he captured the world’s attention by performing a stunning rescue of his fellow competitor Isabelle Autissier, who had capsized in the desolate reaches of the Southern Ocean. But in the prelude to that race, his best friend, the yacht designer Andrea Romanelli, was swept from Fila’s decks in a North Atlantic storm, and lost at sea. After winning Around Alone, Soldini’s first thoughts were of Romanelli. ”I wish he were here,” he said. ”This boat was his life, too.”

Soldini has continued to earn more prestigious titles including the Class 40 World Champion. The three ocean course attempts will be monitored by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.

Maserati returns to its legacy in sailing which began in the 1930s, when the Maserati brothers tested two paired 16-cylinder engines on the ocean waters.Iin 1955, a Maserati engine garnered five powerboat world championships. Maserati’s eight-cylinder engines earned 19 world, four European and 10 Italian titles through 1969. ”Maserati is lending its name to a boat which represents the synthesis of nautical technology and with which Soldini and his crew will attempt to break major ocean records,” said Harald Wester, CEO of Maserati S.p.A in a company statement. The challenge is co-sponsored by the Swiss bank BSI (Generali Group) and Generali.
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2b1ask1

2b1ask1

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Very interestin Matt, don't have much to do with yaughting but I do have a 'spinny' car!!!
 
BJL

BJL

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Absolutely brilliant, can't wait to see it on the water. So stylish.
Att. pic of my Offshore Class 1. Carbon hull, 60 foot tall mast, carbon sails and go like a scalded cat. We race with 10 crew so anyone fancy a different adrenalin rush???????????
 

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lozcb

lozcb

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BJL said:
Absolutely brilliant, can't wait to see it on the water. So stylish.
Att. pic of my Offshore Class 1. Carbon hull, 60 foot tall mast, carbon sails and go like a scalded cat. We race with 10 crew so anyone fancy a different adrenalin rush???????????
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She looks well sorted BJL , where do you keep her , if your ever shorthanded i'd be happy to oblige


regards loz
 
BJL

BJL

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She's at Poole Yacht Club. The season is over now for this year but starts in March so when she goes back in the water after having her bottom very tenderly dealt with I'll let you know some dates. Maybe a quick dash up to the Solent for a few glasses of laughing juice at one of the many watering holes.
 
lozcb

lozcb

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BJL said:
She's at Poole Yacht Club. The season is over now for this year but starts in March so when she goes back in the water after having her bottom very tenderly dealt with I'll let you know some dates. Maybe a quick dash up to the Solent for a few glasses of laughing juice at one of the many watering holes.
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Sounds excellent , i'll look forward to it , and pulling my weight of course

regards loz
 
Malcolm H

Malcolm H

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If my memory serves me .......................the Maxi yacht (90 footer!) Alfa Romeo won the Sydney Hobart race in 2009, if she didn't take the record for shortest time. I seem to remember she came up to the northern hemissphere to compete the Fastnet as well.....saw her at Cowes............aiming to win both races in the same year .....owned by a certain Mr Chrichton, big in Alfa down under.
 
Malcolm H

Malcolm H

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BJL said:
She's at Poole Yacht Club. The season is over now for this year but starts in March so when she goes back in the water after having her bottom very tenderly dealt with I'll let you know some dates. Maybe a quick dash up to the Solent for a few glasses of laughing juice at one of the many watering holes.
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Hey BJL.......Do you race out of Poole?

IF so perhaps you race against Jim Macgregor (Flair) or Neville Hodkin (Xtra Djinn)?

I am a Lymington Man was Main Trimmer on Zarafa, a Hod 35, for the last few years but stepped down at the beginning of this year to repair a hernia and focus on the business!........ although I do Navigate / Tactics for a Swan out of Cowes.......

See you out there sometime!
 
BJL

BJL

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Hi Malcolm H
Yes I know Jim well and raced against him for over 25 years. His daughters, Kate & Lucy, have been selected for the Olympics.
In 1986 I had a Half Tonner called 'Demolition' in which we enjoyed a good deal of success in the Solent. Then I had an MG RS34 called 'Street Legal' in which we took the Torbay Admirals cup team prize with Jim in FlairIII an MG 335.
On the water I think Jim and I are about 50/50 given all the times we raced and sometimes collided.
For the last 4 years we do most of our racing out of Cherbourg where we have a good French crew (they are even learning to wash now and then) and the fleets are much larger.

I'll keep an ear open for a call if you see me in the Spring and good luck with the hernia.
 
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