Sailing Magazine
8 January 2014
Maserati continues her gallop across the South Atlantic well out in front of the rest of the fleet in the Cape2Rio Yacht Race. Maserati is now 2,000 miles off Rio de Janeiro. She is also pulling even clearer of her two main rivals: the Australian 53′ Scarlet Runner is now lagging 300 miles behind the Italian boat in second place while the South African Open 60 Explora is 600 miles in her wake.
“We are making 16 knots in an 18-knot wind,” said Giovanni Soldini. “We gybed north to try to find a bit more air. When we gybe south, however, we get nearer to the best possible route. It’s a constant compromise between following an efficient route and having wind. We’ve had a tear in the mainsail for a few days now and we’re keeping an eye on that. Pierre Casiraghi has proved himself a very good helmsman into the bargain. We have a very nice rhythm aboard now. The crew are working very well together and the boat is on form too.”
