The Italian sailor Andrea Mura has taken a press conference today at the Sardinia Military Headquarters in Cagliari to present his next sailing season. His first goal is the 2017 edition of Ostar, the oldest and most popular solo sailing race which takes place every four years on the Plymouth (UK) – Newporr R.I. (USA) course. A ride of 2,850 miles against main winds and streams, made particularly hard by polar temperatures, where both water and air are about 5 degrees, and icy storms that hit the fleet sailing up to 59° of north latitude.
To join the competition, Andrea Mura will sail off from Cagliari next April 22nd to stop in Trinitè Sur Mer, in Brittany, before getting Plymouth. In the US, the 53-year-old sailor will get New York, then Bermuda for the final steps of the America’s Cup and, finally, he will come back to Cagliari at the end of July. At the end of his 3-month experience, he will have sailed about 9,000 miles in total.
After he won the last edition, Mura swore he’d never join the Ostar again. He was happy that he made it home despite the five terrible storms he had faced and he thought that what he had done was enough. But as they say, life is what happens to us while we are involved in other plans; thus, the many-time medal-winning sailor retraced his steps and decided to face the challenge with a view to his real goal: the 2020 Vendée Globe, the round-the-world non-stop solo race. All this results into a new Imoca 60 ad the need for new sponsorships.
For the next Ostar 2017, the two-time “sailor of the year” is refitting his Vento di Sardegna, the many-time-winning Open 50, according to a specific project started last October. For the first time in the world, the boat has been equipped with new sails made of a new Dynema fibre called “sk99 low crimp“, an innovative material which ensures much lighter and stronger membranes than the previous kevlar and carbon ones. To improve comfort in the cockpit, the sailor has also added a steel-strataglass dodger while an Eberspaecher Aitronic heater has been installed inside.
The prestigious names involved in this adventure include that of Lamborghini: the CEO Stefano Domenicali has, in fact, heavily supported the project of Vento di Sardegna. In particular, the House of the Bull is currently adjusting rudder blades, which will feature new aerofoils.
Electronic equipment will be supplied by Raymarine (as usual) ); Osculati has already provided boat supplies while Exit has supplied a specific carbon gangway. For his 20-day cruise, Andrea Mura has also involved Argotec, a company specialized in the production of thermostabilized food specifically prepared by Italian chefs for space missions.
” For the first time, I have only technical sponsors“, the skipper explained ” other costs are part of a self-financed project“.
The launch of the new Vento di Sardegna is scheduled for next Saturday April 18th. From April 20th, all supporters can meet Andrea during a 3-day event organized in Cagliari to promote sailing and its values.
On April 21st, Vento di Sardegna will celebrate her 10th birthday with a great party just the day before Andrea’s departure.
