Stefano Finco – Armare Ropes:
“I was firmly convinced that Andrea Mura would win another Ostar edition”
This was the first comment made by Stefano Finco, owner of Armare Ropes, the manufacturer that has provided all the ropes that compose the running rigging of the sailing boat of the multiple medal winner sailor from Sardinia.
Sailing from Plymouth on May 29th, Andrea Mura was the first to cross the finish line in Newport of the toughest transatlantic single-handed sailing race. With an overall travel time of just a little more than 17 days, Andrea Mura went for his 3rd straight win of the competition on the route across the Atlantic.
The first declaration Andrea Mura released, shortly after his arrival: “It was an extremely demanding Ostar, I’m happy to be here healthy and safe. I want to thank all those who followed me through the newspapers, the TV and the web as well as through the social networks; they made me feel their incredible affection and closeness and even in the middle of the ocean I never felt really lonely. I wished to be able to thank them all, one by one. I would also like to thank our technical sponsors, those real partners, thanks to whom this boat arrived practically without any damage. “
E dopo 17 giorni di oceano, Andrea si gode un meritatissimo sandwich!
Stefano Finco: “Andrea is a sailor with great skills and knowledge who gained experience in several classes. Also being born and raised in Sardinia is no small thing for a sailor! However what impressed me most about Andrea are his persistence and tenacity in pursuing a goal, the will to research continuously and to improve the details that make the difference. For this reason I have believed in his victory since the beginning, although of course everything could happen at sea. I’m happy and proud of him because he made his boat ready very carefully and was prepared for anything. “
For the Ostar, edition 2017 Andrea Mura has expressly applied for a fully renewed system, including the running rigging that would have been able to withstand the strongest storms and defy tough and extreme navigation for several days. It isn’t certainly a coincidence that he addressed himself directly to the manufacturer in order to evaluate the most suitable ropes for his “Vento di Sardegna”, the Open 50, which he knows every single detail about: each measure is stamped in his mind!
Vento di Sardegna, Open 50 vittorioso a Newport
The running rigging of “Vento di Sardegna”
There are dozens of maneuvers and several adjustments on board of this boat who continues to demonstrate her reliability over the years, even compared to much more recent boats; Sheets for each type of sail, halyards, barbers, tackles and all other settings have been carefully worked out to meet the high performance required by the Sardinian Skipper.
The ropes have been partially worked in the rigging department at the headquarter of Armare in San Giorgio di Nogaro (UD), and partially in Lavagna by Gabriele Bacigalupo of Soluzioni Tessili.
Vento di Sardegna Barber Rope by Armare Ropes
Stefano Finco concludes: “Andrea asked for extremely resistant covers, with a melt of fibers realized for this specific purpose, which we employed Black Technora® , Pbo-Zylon® , Dyneema® and Polyester® for. The cores which are the structural part of the ropes are composed of Dyneema® SK99 and SK78 fibers submitted to polyurethane coatings and pre-stretched (Armare HPS) treatment. Once again, Italy can enjoy an international success, completely Made in Italy thanks to Andrea Mura, to its boat “Vento di Sardegna” and – last but not least – to the ropes of Armare Ropes. Thanks Andrea!”
Vento di Sardegna J1 Sheets by Armare Ropes
Andrea Mura / Vento di Sardegna on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ventodisardegna159/
Ostar 2017: http://rwyc.org/ostar/
First published on Armare Ropes website.
Photos from “Vento di Sardegna” Channels.