Ambrogio Beccaria : “Setting Off with More Questions Than Answers”

Where the Answers Do Not Yet Exist

Most sailors embarking on their first solo IMOCA season have already gained valuable experience during the 1000 Race held last month. Not Ambrogio Beccaria.

For the Milan-born skipper, the Vendée Arctique – Les Sables d’Olonne will be the first true full-scale solo test aboard his boat. And it is no ordinary challenge. The course heads towards the Arctic Circle, reaching 66° North before returning to Les Sables d’Olonne on a largely unrestricted route.

An immense, fascinating and sometimes bewildering playground.

“I studied the route before I even looked at the weather,” he explains. “Because the truth is, I don’t know this area at all. And I don’t think many people really do.”

The deeper he dives into the charts, the more questions emerge. Which choices should be made on the outbound leg without compromising the options for the return journey? Will it be worth seeking shelter along the Icelandic coast? How should the most exposed areas be managed? What will prove to be the real traps of this course?

“There are still a lot of grey areas,” he admits. “You have to gather a huge amount of information, understand how to deal with extreme temperatures, find out whether the sea behaves differently…”And among all these geographical and meteorological questions lies another, more personal one.

A Refit That Resets the Benchmarks

As if discovering the race itself were not enough, Ambrogio must also contend with a boat that is still evolving.

For several months, Allagrande Mapei has been undergoing significant development work. The foil cases, in particular, have been extensively modified in preparation for the installation of future-generation appendages. For now, however, the 60-foot monohull is still sailing with its previous foils.

A transitional, hybrid configuration that adds yet another layer of uncertainty.

“We’ve more or less revolutionised the boat,” he explains. “We have to relearn a lot of things.”

It is a little like getting your car back after a long stay in the workshop: you recognise it, but some of your instincts no longer work in quite the same way.

And he is perfectly candid about the situation.

“Today, my machine isn’t in its ideal configuration. In the end, it’s probably less powerful than it was before.”

Most importantly, some answers are still missing.

“There were phases where the boat was extremely easy to handle at very high speeds. We don’t know yet whether that’s still the case.”

The Vendée Arctique will therefore also serve as an open-air laboratory, offering a unique opportunity to understand how this new version of Allagrande Mapei behaves across a wide range of conditions.

“We still lack perspective at this stage,” he acknowledges.

The Excitement of Discovery

As the fleet makes its way north towards Iceland and then the Arctic Circle, other factors will come into play.

The cold, of course. Fatigue as well.

The sailor still remembers a previous passage through the Labrador Current, where water temperatures dropped to just a few degrees above freezing.

“When the water is at 4 or 5 degrees, you think twice before going forward for a manoeuvre. You can’t keep doing them one after another. You get exhausted much faster.”

Even if the harshest temperatures are expected to last only a day or two, they could still have a significant impact.

“If you don’t manage them properly, that’s already a lot.”

His objective is straightforward.

“The first goal will simply be to finish well, come home with an intact boat and not be too broken by the experience. That would already be a success.”

And yet beneath that cautious assessment, excitement constantly shines through.

“I’m incredibly enthusiastic, honestly.”

Because beyond rankings and performance, this Vendée Arctique embodies exactly what Ambrogio Beccaria loves most about offshore racing: the opportunity to learn.

To learn about a boat.

To learn about a region of the world.

And to learn a little more about himself.

“It’s going to be a huge discovery,” he says.

And perhaps, in the end, that is the real objective: to come back with the right answers.