Andrea Mura makes history . The skipper from Cagliari, one of the seven sailors still competing in the solo round-the-world race of the Global Solo Challenge , after nine of the 16 initial participants were forced to withdraw due to various problems, arrived in La Coruna, Galicia: with the His Vento di Sardegna was the third to cross the finish line in Spain after Philippe Delamare and Cole Brauer.
«Love and respect», were the key words to his success, the dream of a lifetime. «He managed to maintain a good pace», wrote the Global Solo Challenge team yesterday: «The exact moment of arrival will depend a lot on the final approach and on the possibility of the wind decreasing substantially in the last 20-30 miles. All in all, an early afternoon arrival seems plausible." And so it was.
Mura, 59 years old, already a protagonist in the America's Cup aboard the Moro di Venezia and the first Italian to win the legendary Route du Rhum solo regatta, said goodbye to Cagliari last October 14th to set sail for Galicia. From there, the Global Solo Challenge began on November 18th, a solo trip around the world, without stopovers and without assistance. The route included 26,000 nautical miles around the world heading east passing the three great capes, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn. After four months the return to Spain.
(Unioneonline/D)
