LAST CALL | The cloud man

by Francesca Molteni


Hello? Hello? The call drops. Milan to Guadeloupe, French West Indies. He isn’t out sailing. I try again, on WhatsApp. It works. He’s in the shipyard, getting the boat back in shape after all those miles—3,542 nautical ones (6,560 km)—on the Route du Rhum, the queen of all single-handed transatlantic yacht races. The endeavour that 32-year-old Ambrogio Beccaria has set out on is a unique one. For his ‘rum route’ debut and his first regatta aboard the cutting-edge Class40 named Alla Grande-Pirelli, he crossed the finish line on 23 November 2022 in second place in his category. The first Italian skipper to do so, ever. But the Atlantic Ocean in 14 days, 7 hours and 23 minutes wasn’t enough for him: he’s just getting started.
     2023 will be a year of discovery for Beccaria. Discovery of his boat, the first completely Italian modern ocean-sailing yacht, which he got to know extremely quickly during this race. He wanted a vessel that was easy going, when the going got tough. ‘Sailing is a sport that’s not too far off from witchcraft, especially at the start, when you still haven’t figured out the invisible forces. We move with the wind, which is invisible, with chaotic waves… You can have all the technique and technology in the world, but sailing will always be a sport that’s all about sensitivity. When learning to sail, the yachtsman gradually refines his sense of balance, behaviour, and distribution of the boat. So, when we train, we seek out the best balance possible. To move forward, we have three keels in the water and three sails in the air, a complex sort of movement, as each of these parts has to be understood and optimised. The character of the boat is what has to be discovered.’ Out there alone, Beccaria has learned to do everything solo. ‘It’s about listening to yourself and your body deep down; you can’t count on anyone else, there’s no letting up, everything you do requires your full attention’. And the solitude? ‘I’ve had some really deep discussions with the clouds, moments of contemplation, study, observation. I’m a cloud man.’
     At night? ‘The regatta continues, you can’t see much, we rely on auto pilot, as with almost all sailing, and we spend our time listening to the boat and adjusting the sails. At night, you really have to trust your boat, blindly. Plus, the competition keeps me company, even if the others aren’t that close to you, you know they are in spirit.’ The next challenge will be discovering the true potential of Alla Grande as a crew, with others. The goal is the Transat Jacques Vabre in November, the two-handed transatlantic race from Normandy to the Caribbean, via Cape Verde. ‘The game, when it comes to sailing, is trying to understand the sea. The challenge is against yourself, to adapt to an environment that’s mainly inhospitable, such as the ocean.’ And where does witchcraft come into play? ‘In this sport, you really have to be instinctually connected to nature, to the animal world. If you’re good, you see wind with your eyes, like a migrating bird sees north and south in its field of vision.’ For his part, Beccaria needs the ocean winds to see the ultimate destination. Alla Grande, big time.