IDEC in New York Before Record Attempt in 2011 (Photo by George Bekris)
Francis Joyon is leaving. In a few days, he will address the prestigious North Atlantic record. Success would make him the first skipper to win the incredible “Grand Slam” of records. Joyon will be on stand-by in New York from May 15. Yesterday evening the skipper was in Paris for a great evening presentation at Pershing Hall in the presence of three of the four solo Atlantic record holders Florence Arthaud, Thomas Coville and Bruno Peyron, current record holder. His record will be challenged shortly by the skipper of the Maxi-trimaran IDEC.
Florence Arthaud ,Francis Joyon,Patrice Lafargue, Thomas Coville and Bruno Peyron© Aurimages / Groupe IDEC
Hold 21 knots average for less than 5 days, 19 hours and 29 minutes. Alone. On the demanding North Atlantic. That’s the challenge with the high bar set by Thomas Coville in July 2008. Francis Joyon will sail between the Statue of Liberty and the English Cornwall. To be precise between Ambrose Light in New York and that the Lizard in the south of England . In that in-between are heavy waves, winds and icebergs to content with while sailing at breakneck speeds.
Francis Joyon on IDEC in New Your prior to record attempt in 2011 ( Photo by George Bekris)
Maserati's Bow (Photo by George Bekris)
Giovanni Soldini and Maserati set the new record of the Golden Route
New York-San Francisco in 47 days, 0 hours, 42 minutes and 29 seconds
Maserati crossed the finish line at h 18 31′ 59” GMT
It’s a record! 47 days, 0 hours, 42 minutes and 29 seconds to sail from New York to San Francisco crossing Cape Horn. Giovanni Soldini and Maserati’s team crossed the finish line under San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge at 18h 31′ 59” GMT (19h 31′ 59” Italian time, 10h 31′ 59” local time), establishing a new record time reference of the Golden Route, in the monohull category.
“We are happy! – says Soldini – The Golden Route is an historic record, a very important and challenging one. Now it will bear the colours of the Italian flag. Maserati proved to be a powerful boat, a technological and reliable one. The crew has been extraordinary, everyone was prepared to face even the hardest situation. I want to thank all my companions in this adventure and to thank also all my partners, Maserati, BSI and Generali who allowed all of us to make our dream come true”.
Giovanni Soldini and a crew of eight sailors left New York at 17h 49’ 30” GMT of December 31, 2012 aboard Maserati, to challenge the New York-San Francisco record.
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.
Suppliers for the attempt include Vodafone Italia, Bulgari, Official Time Keeper, Boero Bartolomeo S.p.A., Eataly e Great Circle.
At http://maserati.soldini.it you can follow Giovanni Soldini and his team’s navigation from New York to San Francisco almost live, 24 hours a day: videos and photos sent from aboard, news and comments form the crew members. At Cartography page, the position of Maserati is updated every hour to experience the challenge of Soldini and his team surfing from home.
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 8 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 majorItalian 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, 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.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Francis Joyon is poised to succeed his bet on the Discovery Route. On Thursday afternoon, he did more than 280 miles to cover to cut the finish line in San Salvador. After being slowed yesterday, IDEC found speeds of around 20 knots and should ultimately bring its own record below 9 days! Arrival tomorrow Friday!
Almost direct route or a little less than 300 miles to go, the maxi trimaran IDEC has found a few hours speeds of around 20 knots. After much maneuvering yesterday – as expected – to negotiate quiet areas south of an anticyclone, Francis Joyon has managed to preserve half of the advance he had known garner far, approximately 200 miles 400. This should be enough to raise that reaching the goal set at the beginning of Cadiz is exactly 8 days, ie “win ten hours.”
The final gain will probably nearly double that envisaged since IDEC should cut the finish line in the morning tomorrow, Friday, February 15. In any case well before the scheduled deadline to improve its own record on this course in 2008 (9 days and 20 h), knowing that to do IDEC must happen before Saturday 9:21 French time.
Below 9 days … without routing!
“If all goes well, I get in fact in the morning tomorrow, Friday,” confirms Francis Joyon phone Thursday, “even if it takes to negotiate the final calm. Having said that, I have a little more wind provided that the files “welcomes the driver of the maxi trimaran IDEC.
Recall that this genuine performance will be carried out in unprecedented conditions, since Francis Joyon road itself without outside help. And this road to discovery is yet more complex than the most prestigious record in the North Atlantic. Indeed, in this sense, the solo sailor is forced to deal with a series of weather systems which are linked, and therefore transition zones never easy to manage and time consuming. This is what largely explains why sailors always put more time in the west-east direction between New York and the Lizard, where – from east to west so – the game is to surf high speed trains transatlantic depressions. This record is also another program Francis Joyon this year. IDEC and is now on the right side of the Atlantic to put on stand-by in New York in the spring arrives. Another challenge … but not anticipate. For now, Joyon must complete its transatlantic journey there will be time tomorrow morning to get out the calculators!
Giovanni Soldini and Maserati Team head out of New York on their New York to San Francisco Record attempt. (Photo by Bjoern Kils)
At 5:22:56 pm Italian time (11:22:56 am local time), under a bright sun and clear blue skyes Giovanni Soldini and Maserati‘s team have crossed the starting line in front of New York’s North Cove Marina.
The challenge to the New York-San Francisco record starts today for the nine sailors. They must break the record of 57 days, 3 hours and 2 minutes set in 1998 by Yves Parlier aboard Aquitaine Innovations. A tough route of 13.225 nautical miles stands in front of them. In the next hours the sea should become stronger and NW gusts of winds up to 45 knots are expected.
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 crew’ life 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 and Twitter.
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 gold rush 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 the journey 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 and specialises 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.
New record holders Dan Flanigan and Max Kramers with their Hobie Tiger
New Record is Now 01:47:24
Attempt Made in 17 knot Northwesterly on an Ebb Tide,
October 31st is the final day to Attempt the Record in 2012
A new record was set for the Around Jamestown Record today. Dan Flanigan and Max Kramers sailed their 18 foot Hobie Tiger around Jamestown with an elapsed time of 1 hour 47 minutes and 24 seconds. The team chose to sail the course in a clockwise direction with 17 knots of wind in a northwesterly on an ebb tide.
In addition to setting the outright record, Flanigan and Kramers also now hold the record for the ‘All Other Sailing Craft Division’. If by October 31st, no other team in any division bests Flanigan and Kramer’s elapsed time, they will own the Around Jamestown Record and Skipper Dan Flanigan will win his weight in Mount Gay Rum.
The Around Jamestown Record, presented in association with Café Zelda, Mount Gay Rum and Doublecross Vodka is a perpetual all out record for sailing around Conanicut Island (also known as Jamestown) in lower Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.
Similar to other outright speed records, contenders will decide when they to make a record attempt and also the direction in which they will sail around Jamestown. This means contenders can choose the most advantageous weather conditions and tidal flow in which to attempt the record.
Four categories of sailing boats will be recognized to vie for divisional honors with the overall perpetual trophy going to the boat with the outright fastest time.
The four divisions recognized are:
· Monohull keel boats greater than or equal to 50 feet
· Monohull keel boats less than 50 feet
· Mulithull boats greater than 20 feet
· All other sailing craft
The record will be open during the summer months from Memorial Day, May 28th, 2012 until October 31st, 2012 during the hours of daylight. The yacht that wins the outright record will be awarded Mount Gay Rum equal to the Skipper’s weight.
Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss smashes Transatlantic Record
British solo sailor, Alex Thomson has smashed the single-handed monohull transatlantic record, by more than 24 hours, crossing the finish line at Lizard Point, off Falmouth in Cornwall, in time to get back for the London Olympic Opening ceremony.
The 38 year old sailor crossed the line at 17:17 GMT (18:17 BST) setting the new time at 8 days 22 hours 8 minutes, beating the previous record, subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council, which had been held for 10 years.
“It has been a long few days,” said Alex. “The first half from New York was great with weather conditions in our favour, but things started to slow down the closer I got. But the wind has held out this morning and it’s so fantastic to have broken this record.”
Alex set sail from New York on July 17th at 19.09GMT to cover 2800 nautical miles in a quest to break the record for what is officially known as the ‘West to East Ambrose Lighthouse to Lizard Point Under 60ft Single-Handed Monohull Record, Male’, which sat at 10 days, 55 minutes and 19 seconds, and was set by Swiss sailor Bernhard Stamm 10 years ago.
His secondary aim was to get home in time for the 2012 London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in order to support Chairman and good friend, Sir Keith Mills.
“When I set off I had no idea if I was going to be able to do it. And it has been hard. Lack of sleep, broken instruments on the boat and constant exposure to the elements has really taken it out of me. But it’s such a good feeling to have beaten it by such a great margin,” said Alex.
But the record breaking achievement is only half of the story. Alex is in fact lining up to attempt to be the first Brit ever to win the gruelling single-handed round-the-world race, the Vendee Globe, leaving from France in November on board his 60ft monohull, HUGO BOSS. And this record breaking achievement puts him in good stead.
“This record attempt was also a training exercise for the Vendee Globe,” said Alex. “We felt this record attempt would put me under real pressure and stimulate race conditions and I have felt a real value in it.”
He is one of three British competitors who will take part in the non-stop, solo, unassisted round-the-world yacht race starting in Les Sables d’Olonne in France, on November 10th. Currently only 50% of attempts to complete the race have been successful in the race known as the ‘Everest of sailing’
Maserati at North Cove, NYC (Photo by George Bekris)
After a one month long stand-by, Maserati is likely to set sail between 10:00 p.m. this evening and 3:00 a.m. tomorrow morning local time from the North Cove Marina in New York City. The goal is for Giovanni Soldini and his international team is to break the monohull sailing record from the Ambrose Lighthouse in New York to Lizard Point off the south west coast of England.
They are challenging a record set in 2003 by Robert Miller’s monohull Mary Cha IV – 6 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. The 140-foot Mary Cha IV covered the 2,925 miles of the route at an average speed of 18.5 knots with 24 crew on board. Maserati, measuring 70-feet and with 8 crew on board is facing the daunting task of beating the record time of a racing yacht twice as large with three times the manpower. The extensive offshore experience on board Maserati might trump the larger yacht and team if the weather cooperates.
Giovanni Soldini in NYC (Photo by George Bekris)
“The low pressure approaching finally seems to be the right one,” explains Giovanni Soldini. “This evening we will make the final decision, but I hope that the last weather forecasts will be confirmed. At the start we are expecting 25 – 30 knots of southerly winds and some thunderstorms. We will be departing just ahead of a cold front that will be coming through the New York area tomorrow morning.”
American crew member Brad Van Liew adds, “We are going to grab onto the eastern side of the front, and ride it as far as we can across the North Atlantic. The three major challenges will be the unpredictable thunderstorms out of New York, the large area of icebergs south and east of Nova Scotia with strong winds and a water temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius, and another area of uncertain weather near the finish line.”
There have been some changes in Maserati’s crew: French sailors Sebastien Audigane and Ronan Le Goff, Spanish Javier de la Plaza and British Tom Gall have joined the crew to replace some members of the team that are taking part in regattas in the Mediterranean. On board Maserati with the skipper Giovanni Soldini, are watch leader Brad Van Liew, Javier de la Plaza (helm, pit), Sebastien Audigane (helm, trimmer) Ronan Le Goff (helm, bowman), Guido Broggi (boat captain), Corrado Rossignoli (bowman), and 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 (@giovannisoldini and Brad Van Liew @BradVanLiew).
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 Generali (Photo courtesy of Maserati.Solidini.it)
24-Hour Record Attempt Aborted after Maserati Yacht Sustains Damage to Rudder
Giovanni Soldini and his team return to Charleston to make repairs
Last night, sailing toward Cape Hatteras, Maserati’s windward rudder was seriously damaged after hitting a chunk of wood in the Atlantic. The crew has returned to Charleston where Maserati’s rudder will be immediately replaced with a spare.
The boat set off yesterday at 1:30 a.m. local time for a 24-hour monohull record attempt. They were sailing offshore to place themselves in the perfect conditions of a cold front, which looked to be an excellent chance for high speeds. The record attempt has been postponed due to the rudder damage and missed opportunity to reach the best weather.
Giovanni Soldini, reached on the phone, explained: “It was night, we couldn’t see anything. We hit a chunk of wood with the windward rudder. Air bubbles formed along the side of the rudder: it doesn’t work any longer and suffers from cavitation. We are forced to return to Charleston as we have no possibility of attempting the record in this condition.”
The crew returned to the Seabreeze Marina in Charleston early this morning. A diver will inspect the hull and ensure there is no additional damage from the incident. The Maserati crew will analyze the weather once again to investigate another possible weather window for taking on this challenging record. This ambitious race against time is one of several records that Giovanni Soldini and his international crew aboard Maserati will attempt in the months ahead.
“We are all pretty disappointed,” said American crew member Brad Van Liew. “It is frustrating because the weather system looked like a good opportunity for the record and these ideal conditions don’t come along very often.”
The record attempt, monitored by the World Sailing Speed Record Council, is currently held by the VOR 70 Ericsson 4 for monohulls. Between October 28 and October 29 2008, during the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, Brazilian sailor Torben Grael and a crew of ten people on board of Ericsson 4 sailed 596.6 miles in 24 hours at an average speed of 24.85 knots.
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 crew life 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.
