Tagesberichte siehe Menu unten
14.05.2012
The North Atlantic Record Fades Away for Giovanni Soldini and his Maserati Team
Following Three Days of Extreme Conditions and Intense Speed the Weather Fails
New York (May 14, 2012) - "We didn't make it; the barometer has started to rise."
With these words Giovanni Soldini, on board Maserati, said that the New York-Lizard
Point record attempt has definitely faded away. After blasting through the first
1,500 miles of the course, at speeds which averaged more than 20 knots and placed
Maserati ahead of the existing world record, the weather models changed and destroyed
their charge to the finish line.
The team ended up in a dead calm zone caused by the high pressure that suddenly
placed itself in the boat's route. The weather forecasts originally predicted just
after Newfoundland, a north- westerly wind of 20-25 knots would push Maserati toward
the finishing line. However, the weather models changed by the moment, and Maserati
was a mere 30 miles away from the north-westerly wind that would have let them escape
the high pressure. The high pressure moved faster than Maserati and the wind relentlessly
started decreasing.
There was nothing left to do for Giovanni Soldini and his team. Once they entered
the weak winds after rushing through Newfoundland's icebergs and fog, the "virtual"
advantage of 200 miles on Mari Cha IV (a 140 foot maxi yacht which set the North
Atlantic speed record in 2003 in 6 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes, 39 seconds) got
thinner and thinner.
Giovanni explains: "It's a pity. I am really upset about it. A great opportunity
missed in an instant, but as usual we were in the sea's hands and we couldn't command
it. I hope to have the opportunity to try again. The North Atlantic record falls
through and we have to wait for the southerly wind. We showed that Maserati can
break Mari Cha IV's record, it only needs a better weather situation, more settled
and steady than the one we faced."
Many boats have tried to break the challenging North Atlantic record. In 1999 Giovanni
Agnelli's Stealth had to abandon due to technical problems. Virgin Money, a 90 foot
monohull helmed by Richard Branson, abandoned in 2008 due to a huge storm with waves
40 feet tall that damaged the boat and hurt the crew. In 2010 ICAP Leopard 3 (skipper
Chris Sherlock, owner Mike Slade) ended up in a dead calm zone caused by high pressure
just 350 miles before the arrival at Lizard Point.
On board Maserati is an international crew of skilled sailors: Giovanni Soldini
(skipper), American Brad Van Liew (navigator and watch leader), Spaniard Javier
de la Plaza (helm, pit), Frenchmen Sebastien Audigane (helm, trimmer) and Ronan
Le Goff (helm, bowman), Italians Guido Broggi (boat captain), Corrado Rossignoli
(bowman), and Brit Tom Gall (second bowman).
The record attempt can be followed live on Giovanni Soldini and Maserati's website
(www.maserati.soldini.it
The site contains news, videos and photos of the lifestyle of crew members on board,
and provides continuous monitoring of the marine weather conditions, as well as
online tracking to check the position and speed of Maserati in real time. Continuous
updates are also available on Facebook (through Giovanni Soldini's official page)
and Twitter
Maserati Challenge | P.O. Box 1477 | Mt. Pleasant | SC | 29465
|
