Maserati is overtaken by a cold front that proved faster than forecast but the record is still possible
Crucial hours aboard Maserati as she battles with constantly changing weather conditions in her attempt to break the North Atlantic record between New York and Lizard Point
After 48 hours during which she held an excellent average speed thanks to a strong south-westerly, Maserati was overtaken by the expected cold front which turned out to be much faster than predicted.
Despite the very challenging and continually-changing conditions, Soldini and his crew are refusing to give up: “I don’t think I’ve ever pushed Maserati so hard and fast as over the last two days. When the south-westerly we were expecting arrived we really got down to business and the boat gave a sparkling performance for 48 hours,” Giovanni told us by sat phone.
“Unfortunately, the forecasts were off. The cold front we were supposed to hook onto moved a lot faster than the weather models predicted until yesterday. So we ended up behind it rather than ahead of it. At this point we’re waiting on new weather models to decide how we should tackle this latest scenario. We hope to be able to sail in the north-westerly wind that has formed behind the cold front. Everything will depend on how strong that wind is and how long it will take to stabilise though. The new few hours will be pivotal in telling us what we need to do.” The current west-east Atlantic record is held by the 140’ maxi yacht Mari Cha IV (6 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds).
