Giovanni Soldini, a man who needs no presentation, is our guest on the latest episode of Daily Nautica’s podcast “Giro di Boa.”

From solitary world tours to achieving records with his team on board the trimaran Maserati Multi 70, his first experience sailing as a child on the lake with his father, and his recent work to help the environment: the Italian sailor talks to Daily Nautica in this all-encompassing interview.

A love for the water and for sailing that started as a child, when, on board a Flying Junior he sailed on the waters of the lake: “I was fascinated – he explains – by sail boats, that you could travel freely, with nothing. The idea that I could go far away with a vehicle I could drive.” Then Giovanni Soldini met the Malingri family and started on that path that led to him becoming one of the best sailors in the world.

SOLDINI: ‘THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING OBOUT TRAVELLING THE WORLD IN SOLITARY IS THE RELATIONSHIP THAT DEVELOPS WITH NATURE AND YOUR BOAT”

We asked the Italian skipper what the best and worst things were about crossing the ocean in solitary.

“The most beautiful thing – he reveals – is the relationship that develops with nature and your boat” I learned to understand what was happening through sounds: the sounds of the water and the boat. This closeness helps you manage everything that happens and to always stay alert. Even your relationship with nature is different Being alone, everything you meet, that you see, and that happens strikes you more deeply. What is difficult is making decisions, because when you are alone you don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of, so you are afraid of making silly mistakes.”

GIOVANNI SOLDINI: SACING ISABELLE AUTISSIER DURING THE THIRD LEG OF THE AROUND ALONE

Any world tour alone (and with a team) has confirmed the skills of the great navigator Soldini, but during the Around Alone in 1999, something happened that highlighted yet again, his ‘human’ qualities: the rescue of Isabelle Autissier, who was also in the race.

“I think that a part of every sailor – says the skipper – is this law that pushes you and forces you to help others if they are in trouble. When the accident happened to Isabelle, we were in a very difficult location because Isabelle was 60° south, in the middle of the Pacific, very far from the coast, in very cold water. I had no doubt, I immediately understood that that was my first duty. After that I was very lucky to have found her”.

MASERATI MULTI 70 AND ENVIRONMENTAL WORK

Nowadays Giovanni Soldini crossed the ocean with his crew on board the Maserati Multi 70, breaking records and helping the environment. The Maserati Multi 70 has an electric engine and is the first racing trimaran equipped with an Ocean Pack, a German-made machine that pumps ocean water in a circuit, filters it, extracts CO2 and collects data, before pumping the water back out.

The oceans are increasingly polluted and, to change this trend, everyone needs to pitch in. “Most of the things we see in the water – notes Soldini – are fishing waste, like buoys, nets, line and floats and lots of single use plastic. In the Pacific there are a lot of lanterns. We even saw a phone booth once.” So, why not take advantage of their “popularity” and become ambassadors for the environment, monitoring the oceans’ health and sharing it?  Stemming from this latest trip of the Maserati Multi 70 around the world, is a documentary which will (most likely) be released in 2024.

“The idea – Soldini explains – came to me because we installed (editor’s note: on the Maserati Multi 70) this equipment that analyses surface CO2, which is very complicated data acquire, because it needs to be measured on site, and then we pass it on to the scientific community. There are so many scientists who dedicate their whole lives to this phenomenon but all too often they are ignored and it is something that seems so strange to me. We are a modern society that lives on science. But, in the end, each time there is a problem, we don’t listen to science. Over these last few months, I’ve met plenty of incredible people who have passionately dedicated their lives to this.”

Listen to the full interview with Giovanni Soldini on the podcast!

The “Giro di Boa” podcast is broadcast with the support of Pantaneius, a leading European yacht insurance company.