February 17, 2013

On Saturday morning, February 16, 2013, the Volvo Ocean Race 70 Maserati, ex-Ericsson 3, sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, having departed New York Harbor on New Year's Eve, and sailed around Cape Horn the 'wrong' way (against the current and wind). Italian skipper Giovanni Soldini and his crew of eight crossed under the bridge at 10:31:59 PST, establishing a new record time reference of the Golden Route (Route d'Or), in the monohull category. (Lionel Lemonchois's Gitana 13 set a multihull record of 43 days and change in 2008.)

Welcome to San Francisco, Maserati. ©2013 Sergei Zavarin/www.ultimate-yachtshots.smugmug.com

You can watch a video of Maserati's arrival at www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLiE31x8tXc. What follows are our updates from yesterday morning and Friday night.

"È Record!"
Maserati sailed from New York to San Francisco in 47 days, 0 hours, 42 minutes and 29 seconds. Congratulations to Giovanni Soldini and all the crew!

Update at 0910
The crew of Maserati has spotted the Golden Gate Bridge on the horizon. We'll continue updating our Facebook page, as we've been doing all morning, until it's time for us to leave for the Rob Moore Regatta.

Update at 0843
Guess it's time to upgrade our "supercomputer" from the Lisa to the Apple III. 0830 came and went and Maserati is still on approach. They have plenty of wind now though, and are 16 miles from San Francisco. They should be spotted on the horizon soon.

News Flash! Maserati on Final Approach
Using the norcalsailing supercomputer, we have determined that Maserati and her crew will arrive at the Golden Gate Bridge at 0830 Saturday morning. That gives all those crews racing in the Corinthian Midwinters time to go out and greet them and still make the 1200 start. Learn more and keep an eye on their progress at http://maserati.soldini.it/?lang=en.