After 11 days, 16 hours, 17 minutes and 55 seconds of solo navigation across the Atlantic Ocean with an average actual speed of 11.70 knots, Ambrogio Beccaria landed in New York City. Competing in The Transat CIC transatlantic sailing race, Beccaria crossed the finish line first in the Class40 category with his Alla Grande-Pirelli, of which MAPEI is Global Sponsor.

Since his start from Lorient in western France, Beccaria always maintained the top positions of the fleet and took the lead halfway through the race. Despite a close duel with his opponent Ian Lipinski, Beccaria managed to maintain the lead position, except for a few short stretches, until the end.

Battling adverse weather and frigid temperatures that are typical of the North Atlantic, as well as waves, 40-knot winds and contrary currents, Beccaria proved to be solid from a strategic point of view. The Italian skipper’s boat Alla Grande-Pirelli, a latest-Class40-generation vessel that was designed by Gianluca Guelfi, was fast and high-performing even in extremely challenging conditions.

“I did exactly the regatta I dreamed of. I hoped it would really go like this... I knew it would be full of pitfalls and I wanted to do it in the right spirit. I never lost heart and gave everything I had,” Beccaria said while still aboard Alla Grande-Pirelli. “It was a tough race, the hardest I’ve done, but it’s also the one I perhaps managed best. The Transat was a completely new race for me; sailing outside the trade winds is actually wonderful because the weather changes all the time.”

The finish line of The Transat CIC is located 100 miles from New York City. “Crossing the line in the middle of nowhere was a psychedelic experience; between the fog and the lack of sleep, it was truly strange!” Beccaria said.

Having already won the Transat Jacques Vabre last November, as well as the CIC Normandy Channel Race 2023 and the 40' Malouine LAMOTTE, Beccaria brings home his fourth victory in a row and the first solo aboard Alla Grande-Pirelli. He thus confirms himself as the undisputed champion of Italian ocean sailing and one of the strongest ocean sailors of his generation.

The nominations for two awards testify to Beccaria’s success: “Sailor of the Year,” awarded by Italian sailing magazine Il Giornale della Vela on May 25, 2024, and “FIV Sailor of the Year,” awarded by the Italian Sailing Federation on May 27, 2024, in Genoa, Italy. 

Photo credits: polaRYSE©