Picomole

Who: Aldo Fumagalli and his crew
Where: West coast of the Antarctic Peninsula
Multihull: Rapido 53XS
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mldJNuAYsiw 

The least we can say is that Picomole isn't afraid of records or extreme temperatures! In just a few months, this trimaran went from a race in the Aegean Sea (Greece) to the ARC (Gran Canaria/Saint Lucia), a transatlantic race in which it distinguished itself brilliantly, before continuing due south towards Antarctica… nothing can stop it!

This cruising trimaran indeed won the corrected time victory in the Multihull division in Class A and all classes of the ARC last December. Multihulls World followed this transatlantic rally for you, a race that has linked the Canary Islands to the Caribbean since 1986. Among the fleet of 145 sailboats ranging from 10 to 25 meters, we were naturally interested in the 32 multihulls that set sail for Rodney Bay, 2,700 nautical miles away as the crow flies from the marina of La Palmas. We clearly saw that Aldo Fumagalli and his crew protected the helm station with foam/composite panels before departure… but after their lightning-fast 11-day crossing, setting a new multihull record for the race, Picomole quickly left Saint Lucia… But where had the trimaran and its easygoing crew gone? To the ends of the earth, quite simply. After some well-deserved Caribbean revelry, Picomole continued its journey south along the coast of South America and even further, all the way to penguin territory. The images are striking: surrounded by glaciers - images that could be placed somewhere between Antwerp Island and Brabant Island - the Picomole crew savored their achievement! This environment of ice and snow is more often associated with steel or aluminum expedition sailboats than with high-performance cruising trimarans. It is indeed very rare for pleasure craft to venture into such territory. The commitment is therefore extremely significant for Aldo aboard his composite sailboat.

At the time of writing, the crew has not yet shared a travelogue or logbook. However, they have regularly posted beautiful images on social media; we even saw a video of them taking a dip – a freezing one – under the watchful eyes of penguins! Crossing from the tropical trade winds to the hostile cold of the Southern Ocean aboard a trimaran in a single season demonstrates considerable ambition; it is also a remarkable lesson in maritime expertise. Moreover, the Drake Passage is one of the most demanding ocean voyages imaginable. In this maritime zone located between Cape Horn in Chile, at the southernmost tip of the South American continent, and the South Shetland Islands in Antarctica, strong wind systems (the dreaded "Roaring Forties" and "Furious Fifties") associated with low pressure generate rough seas… which remain so even when the winds temporarily subside, because this is where the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the most powerful ocean current on the planet, is found.

Crossing these waters must therefore be carefully planned to choose the optimal weather window before the arrival of the next system. And when approaching Antarctica, as the ship nears the peninsula, it is the drifting icebergs and growlers (smaller pieces of ice) that must be watched, as some are not detected by radar.

Picomole successfully completed its crossing not once, but twice, because after reaching Antarctica, the Rapido 53XS #01 made a quick and safe return through the Drake Passage; the trimaran is now safely in South America.

On February 14th, Captain Aldo confirmed that he and his crew were doing well; he simply stated: “We are back. Very quick crossing: 42 hours and 39 minutes from Deception Island to Cape Horn (Editor's note: approximately 420 nautical miles, or an average speed of 9.84 knots).”

We eagerly await Picomole's next adventures. We'll keep you posted!