Maserati Sets Sail for Honolulu from Los Angeles in Yacht Regatta

Led by Giovanni Soldini, ‘Maserati Multi 70’ trimaran will go up against 89 others in the 50th edition of the Transpac from July 13.

Maserati is usually known for its fine collection of luxury performance machines, including the Quattroporte, the Ghibli, and the GranTurismo. There’s not a high street or nightclub somewhere in the world where you won’t find some sort of Maserati parked nearby.

But what about the marina? After all, the Maserati is to tridents as Neptune is to the sea, right? Well, they haven’t made a boat for those living the life of luxury yet, but they have lent their name to a racing trimaran dubbed Maserati Multi 70. The trimaran, helmed by Giovanni Soldini, will have already set out from Los Angeles to Honolulu against 89 other competitors in the 50th anniversary edition of the Transpacific Yacht Race, Transpac for short.

“The first hours after the start will be the hardest,” Soldini said. “There will be a wind hole but we will try to make our stand. Later, for around 12 hours, we will sail broad reach with a nice 20-25 [knot] wind. After that, the wind will start to get lighter and turn to tailwind. We will have to try to stay in the best wind possible and, at the same time, sail around the high pressure.”

The Maserati Multi 70, which took part in the 2017 edition of the Transpac, will be facing stiff competition, including fellow 70-foot multihulls Argo and PowerPlay, plus the 63-foot Paradox. The Mult 70 aims to not only smash the multihull record during the 2019 Transpac (four days, six hours, 32 minutes and 30 seconds, set in 2017), but also win the Rudy Choi Perpetual Trophy for the fastest elapsed time in a multihull yacht.

“During the last race, the CA 500, we carried out some tests that helped us further improve the rudders’ system,” Soldini said. “We already tried it out on the water and it seems to work really well. Maserati Multi 70 is in good shape and we’re excited.”

The Maserati Multi 70 and the rest of the Transpac competitors in the third wave of launches will have left Point Fermin in Los Angeles at 12:30 p.m. local time July 13. The finish line is 2,225 miles west in Diamond Head, Honolulu, with the first wave of boats expected to arrive July 17.

Photos: Mikel Prieto, Tom Walker, and Erik Simonsen/Maserati

Cameron Aubernon

Cameron Aubernon's path to automotive journalism began in the early New '10s. Back then, a friend of hers thought she was an independent fashion blogger.

Aubernon wasn't, so she became one, covering fashion in her own way for the next few years.

From there, she's written for: Louisville.com/Louisville Magazine, Insider Louisville, The Voice-Tribune/The Voice, TOPS Louisville, Jeffersontown Magazine, Dispatches Europe, The Truth About Cars, Automotive News, Yahoo Autos, RideApart, Hagerty, and Street Trucks.

Aubernon also served as the editor-in-chief of a short-lived online society publication in Louisville, Kentucky, interned at the city's NPR affiliate, WFPL-FM, and was the de facto publicist-in-residence for a communal art space near the University of Louisville.

Aubernon is a member of the International Motor Press Association, and the Washington Automotive Press Association.

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