Our member Alessandro, aboard the ASPRA sailboat, departed from Auckland on January 11th to complete the Global Solo Challenge and arrived in Sanremo on April 30th flying the pennant of our sister club, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron .
We celebrated ASPRA’s entry into the Gulf of Sanremo together with our members, enthusiasts and journalists, on Molo Vesco, in front of the Port Authority, under the large Tricolour hoisted for the occasion.
The journey aboard ASPRA, ULDB ’65 studio Vallicelli from 2002, was not only a sporting challenge, but also an opportunity to strengthen relationships between different cultures and traditions, united by a passion for the sea and sailing. In fact, Alessandro, upon entering the Pacific Ocean, as a tribute to the RNZYS and the country that hosted ASPRA during the repairs, drew a butterfly on the sea with the route tracker, the Red Admiral symbol of New Zealand.
And with the passage of Cape Horn, Alessandro received the official welcome among the International Association of Cape Horners from Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, winner in 1969 of the first non-stop single-handed round-the-world race, The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race.
“ When I sail I am never alone, my creature accompanies me. When I smell the wind, I scan the waves, it is always her that I think of, the boat. Will it make it through that cape? Will it withstand the storm? Will it slide well on the water? I dedicate my attention to this, to the search for harmony between me, the people, the vehicle and the space that surrounds me” comments Alessandro.
“ We are thrilled with the arrival of our member Alessandro in Sanremo, and with the completion of the navigation under the YC Sanremo and Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron pennants – declared our president Beppe Zaoli – Ambassador of the values of sportsmanship, sailing instruction and respect for the sea common to the two clubs ”.
Alessandro Tosetti
Born in Vercelli, an architect from Turin and a passionate sailor, an honorary member of the Yacht Club Sanremo, Alessandro Tosetti loves solo sailing, which he combines with environmental and social sustainability projects aboard Aspra, a ULDB he designed in 2002 using the moulds of the Nastro Azzurro hull by the Vallicelli studio.
Alessandro has been sailing since he was ten years old, on a Fly Junior Galetti, a 470, then as a very young skipper without a license for various owners in the Mediterranean and in the ocean, and at 22 he obtained the qualification for the transport of passengers with boats up to 100 tons, issued by the US Coast Guard, Miami.
On ASPRA he has 80 thousand miles of navigation under his belt – some Atlantic crossings, in 2019 he set a reference time on the solo tour of Corsica, from Imperia to Imperia in 78 hours, in the winter of 2022 the qualification for the Global Solo Challenge regatta, GSC, solo from Imperia to Cascais in ten days, and the subsequent participation in the first edition of the GSC in 2023-’24.
ASPRA’s route tracking is accessible here: https://my.yb.tl/ASPRA