Maserati is one of the few manufacturers that has a rich history in motorsports, having been involved in various forms of racing since before the World War I took place.
Fast forward to the present day, the Modena-based manufacturer has established itself as a true challenger in the competitive luxurious sports car segment after going through some tumultous times in the past.
As for top-flight racing, the brand is still very much involved in it but not just with cars – they’re also competing in offshore races with their own raceboat (a trimaran, to be exact) called the Multi 70 that was introduced in 2016.
Designed by Van Peteghem Lauriot-Prévost (VPLP) and a former member of the Team Gitana racing stable, the Multi 70 stretches 2.12 meters and 16.8 meters in beam and sports a 29-meter rotating wing mast. You can easily recognize the Multi 70 by the famous trident logo emblazoned across the sail.
While tipping the scales at 6.3 tonnes, the trimaran has the capability to rise up out of the water on her foils and rudders while maintaining utmost stability. This, according to Maserati, reduces her wetted surface area which in turn boosts performance. Due to its lighter weight, the Multi 70 is much faster than the average yacht with a top speed of over 40 knots (74 km/h).
Skippering the Multi 70 is Milan-born Giovanni Soldini, a sailor in the truest sense of the word. Soldini has been sailing since he was a small boy and has over 25 years of ocean racing under his belt, including two single-handed round the worlds. In one of the races in 1999, he made history by rescuing a fellow racer, Isabelle Autissier, before going on to win the race himself.
In February 2018, Soldini and his crew once again made headlines when they completed the 13,000-nautical mile Tea Route challenge between Hong Kong and London in 36 days, 2 hours, 37 minutes and 2 seconds. It was an impressive feat, taking into account that they managed to beat the previous record set in 2008 by 5 days and 19 hours.
Recently, after the Royal Hong Kong Nha Trang Rally, which was completed with an elapsed time of 1 day, 7 hours and 47 minutes, Soldini and his crew set sail towards Singapore for a few days stop before making their way to Cape Town through the Sunda Strait.
As part of the Maserati Drive & Sail Experience event, we were flown in from Kuala Lumpur for a unique experience to sail on board the Multi 70 with the man himself. That was the ‘Sail’ part of the event. The ‘Drive’ part was us getting behind the wheels of a Ghibli and a Levante, but we’ll save that for another article.
The sky was remarkably clear at Raffles Marina, Singapore’s very own megayacht club and nautical lifestyle centre, but there was one thing that concerned Soldini and that was the wind. It seemed that the wind was a tad weak in the morning but that would change later that day when we were onboard the Multi 70.
Before getting on the Multi 70, we first had to hop on a dinghy that took us to the trimaran which harboured not too far from the marina. There was no proper ladder, so we had to climb on to the boat while being careful not to grab any vital components. Making our way from the outrigger hull to the main hull was an experience in itself as the only thing stopping us from falling into the sea was just a netting system.
While the Multi 70 itself could accommodate more than 10 people at a time, things are kept basic on the trimaran with just one seat on each outrigger hull and a small cabin for the crews to rest in. Electrical items such as the computer and navigation system run on solar energy. The thought of spending a few weeks in this limited space immediately crept into our mind. But after all, the Multi 70 is a proper raceboat and not a luxurious yacht.
We spent a good hour on the Multi 70 and that was enough to show the kind of work that had to be put in to make sure everything is running smoothly. From our observation, there was little time to sit and take a breather as the crew members, under Soldini’s leadership, constantly had to make adjustments to the sail in order to catch wind. Honestly, it was tiring just to see them in action but a great learning experience nonetheless.
Maserati Multi 70 Specifications
Length overall: 21.2 mn
Draft: 4.5 m
Height above waterline: 29
Upwind sail area: 210 m²
Beam overall: 16.8 m
Mask Rake: 4°
Light displacement: 6.3 t
Downwind sail area: 409 m²
