Italian Seeks 40-foot Round the World Record
Published on October 13th, 2016
On October 15, Italian sailor Gaetano Mura will leave Cagliari in Sardinia for a 25,000 nm long circumnavigation on a Class40 called Italia, aiming to beat China’s Guo Chuan singlehanded around the world record (40ft Division) of 137d 20h 01m 57s set in April 2013.
The start, originally planned for October 12, has been delayed due to adverse weather conditions in southern Mediterranean. A powerful low-pressure forming over the Eastern Atlantic has been intensifying constantly and Mura’s weathermen forecast winds as strong as 50 knots on the area accompanied by violent rainstorms and high seas, up to 6 metres.
Once past Gibraltar and into the Atlantic Ocean, he will head south to the Cape of Good Hope and will then sail clockwise around Antarctica, leaving to port Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn to head back to the Mediterranean. The total distance on a theoretical, straight line is of 25,000 nautical miles.
Gaetano will sail non-stop, single-handed and with no outside assistance. To rest, efficiently Mura will use a technique called “micro-sleeping”, that is to say 2 hours wake periods alternated to 20 minutes’ long naps. His sleep, mental and health parameters will be constantly monitored by a medical team from the University of Cagliari.
The Italian sailor will also follow a special diet on board that includes organic food from Sardinia, the island being one of the few Blue Zones, which is a region with the highest longevity on the planet. Italia is a Class40 designed by French Sam Manuard and built by Bert Mauri that has been especially tested and equipped for the upcoming navigation.
Mura was born in July 1968 in Cala Gonone, on the eastern coast of Sardinia, Italy, where he’s been living ever since and developed his deep relationship with the nature and the sea. He started working as a ship’s boy on fishing boats, later becoming captain on small passenger ships. At twenty he bought a run down 23 metre long sailing vessel, restored and chartered it to make a living. This experience represents the foundation of his sailing career.
A self-taught sailor, Mura slowly turned his passion in commitment, through study and determination. He has crossed the ocean five times, twice single-handedly, and has taken part regularly to offshore races in the Mini 6.50 class first and later in the Class40.
Mura’s calling is for solo sailing, that he believes better fits with his physical abilities and psychological approach. He participated to the Mini Transat in 2009 and, shortly after launched his round-the-world project, building his Manuard’s Class40. The boat was launched in March 2012, with Mura grabbing his first win at the Palermo-Montecarlo race and a second place in the famous Rolex Middle Sea Race, debuting on the ocean one year later with the 2013 Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables.
In November, Mura together with the boat’s designed Sam Manuard, were on the starting line of the prestigious transatlantic Transat Jacques Vabre, from Le Havre in France to Itajaì in Brazil, where despite a dismasting the duo manages to bounce back, keep on racing and cross the finish line in tenth place overall.
After this experience, Mura started working on his round-the-world project that will become a reality when he leaves his homeport of Cagliari bound to sail all around the planet and back to Sardinia.