Griffin Team Head West!

The RORC Griffin Pathway teams competing in the Nastro Rosa Il Giro take part in numerous legs around Italy. For Toni Germershausen and Maxe Wentzel their Il Giro adventure came to an end in Brindisi. The pair are now racing on Robert Ziehm's Marten 49 Moana which started the West to East Transatlantic Race in Newport RI on Wednesday 19 June. Here is their report.

After a fantastic time in Venice and Cattolica, the third stop of the Il Giro tour brought us to Vieste, Apulia. Before setting off on the offshore leg to Brindisi, we took part in an Inshore "up-and-down" race – double-handed on the Figaros. The conditions were excellent, and the racing was tight, especially with the Italian military team from Aeronautica showing impressive upwind speed.

We rounded the windward mark in P3, but with a solid start and smart tactics, we managed to overtake and finish in second place in a thrilling photo finish against the Italian team. That result gave us a great boost of confidence ahead of the offshore leg.

Just two hours before the start of the Vieste–Brindisi leg, the course was unexpectedly changed from a direct 100nm route to a 160nm challenge. The new route included a 30nm loop around the small island of Pelagosa (Perinosa) before turning south. We quickly adapted – grabbing extra water and food, adjusting our routing, and revising the strategy.

At the start, conditions were brisk with 18–20 knots from the same direction as during the inshore. Our start wasn’t perfect, but we clawed back valuable meters by playing the shifts close to shore. We rounded Pelagosa in 4th position, while Joe and Charlie from RORC, who had opted for the offshore route right after the start, rounded first – nearly 3nm ahead.

From Pelagosa onwards, it was pure one-design drag racing: 150nm of intense downwind action, fighting for every puff of pressure. We stayed slightly offshore during the night and found stronger breeze, which allowed us to close the gap. With good VMG and some tactical positioning, we took the lead from the Aeronautica team by early morning.

But the battle was far from over. Around sunset, the fleet compressed again as the easterly and westerly groups converged. Just 25nm before the finish, a 30-degree right shift reshuffled the cards. After 28 hours of sailing, sun, and relentless trimming, we were thrilled to cross the finish line in 2nd place – once again just behind our Italian friends from Aeronautica. Huge congratulations to Joe and Charlie for a strong and strategic 3rd place.

Brindisi welcomed us with warmth and beauty. The race village was already set up, and the Il Giro crew made sure we felt right at home. A big thank you to RORC and Jim for making this incredible experience possible. This was our first ever doublehanded sailing, and we not only learned an incredible amount about this discipline – we also had a lot of fun doing it. Now, we are of to our next adventure: the Transatlantic Race with Team Moana.

Greetings,

Toni e Maxe

Marten 49 Moana at the start of the Transatlantic Race 2025 © Paul Todd/Outside Images To get involved with the RORC Griffin Pathway as a sailor or supporter visit our dedicated Griffin Pathway Information page. HERE