Ambrogio Beccaria wins the Vendée Arctique with Allagrande Mapei: first victory with the new boat
An extreme race marked by risks, luck and breathtaking scenery, which confirms Beccaria’s talent
The Milanese sailor Ambrogio Beccaria won on his first attempt at a solo race with the boat Allagrande. The race was the Vendée Arctique, a challenge for sailors who will soon be competing in the Vendée Globe, a solo round-the-world race. He covered a total of 3,190 miles in eight days, 14 hours and five minutes at an average speed of 15.5 knots. The race was also a first for the route, which took the fleet from Les Sables-d’Olonne beyond the Arctic Circle to a virtual mark, before returning to France. To win, Ambrogio went through all sorts of trials, including having to jump into the cold sea with a knife in hand to free the keel from a fishing net that had stopped him. The images of his five ‘dives’ are impressive. And then, of course, he had to race like mad to catch up with and overtake his rivals. In the process, a bit of luck in finding the right wind corridor took him into the lead and then to the finish line.
Before the race, Ambrogio had made significant modifications to the boat to make it more competitive, by repositioning the foils and altering the volume of the bow; the result is also down to these changes. Indeed, after crossing the Arctic Circle, the boat really came into its own on the downwind legs, staging a spectacular comeback.
One of the decisive moments of the second half of the race came as the fleet approached the British Isles. Whilst the leaders chose the most direct route between Ireland and Great Britain, Ambrogio opted to sail around Ireland from the west. A deliberate, more cautious choice, made to limit the risks, which proved decisive for the final outcome of the race.
The final day was full of suspense. Following the penalty imposed on Élodie Bonafous aboard Association Petits Princes – Quéguiner for entering a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) and thanks to a favourable change in the weather, Allagrande Mapei relentlessly closed the gap on Sam Goodchild aboard MACIF. The two IMOCAs tacked side by side right up to the approach to Les Sables-d’Olonne, with Ambrogio controlling his lead as if in a match race.
After sailing over 3,100 miles between the Bay of Biscay and the high latitudes of the North Atlantic, Ambrogio Beccaria has demonstrated the potential of the Allagrande Mapei Racing project and established himself as one of the leading figures on the solo sailing circuit.
