Salty Diversions – Maserati Multi 70 and Giovanni Soldini Break Channel UK-to-France Sail Boat Racing Record

Cowes to Dinard is the second of three records sought in Maserati’s English Channel racing program.

Maserati Multi 70 and Giovanni Soldini won in a seagoing duel against Peter Cunningham’s MOD 70 PowerPlay and beat the Channel Record last week. They set sail off Cowes (UK) on 22 April at 9:13:40 GMT and they crossed the finish line off Dinard (FR) at 13:44:29 GMT, sailing 138 miles in 4 hours, 30 minutes and 49 seconds. With an average speed of 30.59 knots this was just under 4 minutes less than the competitor PowerPlay that finished the race with an elapsed time of 4 hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds.

The Italian Team’s time is 18 minutes better than the 2015 record set by Lloyd Thornburg and Brian Thompson aboard Phaedo. The elapsed times have been collected by the two competing teams; they will have to be ratified by the World Sailing Speed Racing Council. Aboard the trimaran, Soldini sailed with a six-man crew: Ambrogio Beccaria, Vittorio Bissaro, Guido Broggi, François Robert, Carlos Hernandez Robayna and Matteo Soldini.

“The first hour was quite slow, we had to gybe five or six times to get out of the Solent. Luckily, once we were in the Channel we took off and we sailed fast as lightning! We crossed the channel very quickly, with an average speed over 35 knots. However, that wasn’t enough to beat PowerPlay, who was also sailing incredibly fast, but what really made the difference was the route: we were extremely careful to the course, especially near the Channel Islands, and that is what made it possible for us to gain those few minutes of advantage. I want to thank not only my incredible Team, but also Peter Cunningham and PowerPlay’s crew, who made the challenge even more exciting.” Soldani gushed in decidedly un-British enthusiasm.

The Cowes to Dinard is the second of the three records in the English Channel in Maserati Multi 70’s racing program: on 16 April the Team conquered the Plymouth to La Rochelle record (12 hours, 15 minutes and 21 seconds). If the weather allows – beware of Neptune’s’ trident – in the next few weeks they will attempt a new challenge, to beat the Fastnet Original Course record (from Cowes to Plymouth, sailing around the Fastnet Lighthouse, south of Ireland), set just a few weeks ago by PowerPlay.

Between challenges, Maserati Multi 70’s Team work with the engineers from the Maserati Innovation Lab.  Soldini and his crew analyze the data collected at sea to study and develop new systems to optimize the trimaran’s performance. Soldini explains: “During the winter we installed new electronic components and more performing appendages, but we won’t stop here: Maserati Multi 70 is like a laboratory that’s constantly evolving and we’re always curious to discover new innovations.”