Home straight for Maserati

Breeze returns for Giovanni Soldini's Gold Route record attempt

On their 45th day at sea, some wind has finally arrived for Giovanni Soldini and Maserati just 380 miles from San Francisco, the finish port for the Gold Route course from New York. A northerly wind of 15-18 knots has put them on wind requiring them to sail 80 miles to the northwest, before tacking for the finish.

Maserati's crew, galvanised by the arrival of the wind, hopes to reach San Francisco in 48 hours time.

"If everything works out fine, we should arrive on Saturday 16th," says Soldini. "But it all depends on the last 120 miles that look rather difficult. The weather forecast predicts a wind 6/7 knots strong coming from north, but inthis particular case you never know how strong the wind will be until you get there. Just 2 knots less are enough to make the difference. Aboard everything is fine, even if we are hungry and we can't wait to arrive!"