Adelasia Torres sharpening the sails for Saudi Sailing The Tour

The crew from Renato Azara's Adelasia di Torres Sailing Team, the first italian team racing in the Sailing Arabia The Tour, the event organized by Oman Sail on a 745 nm course with stopovers in four Middle East countries, is leaving for Muscat, where the race will start on February 13th.

The team co-ordinated by skipper and navigator Renato Azara will also include project manager and sailor Caterina Nitto; helmsmen/tacticians Duccio Colombi and Enrico Zennaro; mainsail trimmer Evero Nicolini; bowman Alessandro Santangelo and tailer Maurizio Loberto.

“Hotel Cala di Volpe a Luxury Collection Hotel, one of the best icons of Costa Smeralda, the area where our team first saw the light, is supporting us for this important challenge. We are very proud to represent the company and also very conscious the responsibility this involves.” Declared Sardinian entrepreneur  Renato Azara.

Enrico Zennaro, who in his career has won no less than 8 world, 4 europeans,1 mediterranean and 9 national titles, plus countless victories in the most prestigious national and international regattas, is not stranger to the Mumm 30 class. "I have great memories of racing with Tommaso Chieffi, when we won Montecarlo's Primo Cup, the Europeans and the World Cup in Porto Cervo in 2007, against 39 strong competitors. Those were around the cans, technical races while Sailing Arabian The Tour is more offshore. But the competition is equally hard.”

Alessandro Santangelo's contribution will also be key. Over the years he scored an impressive series of podium finishes in the major international races, won the Mumm 30 Italians in 2002 and was part of the +39 Challenge crew in the 2007 America's Cup. 

The Adelasia di Torres Sailing Team has been working for months, studying the local weather and sea conditions, training to better tackle offshore navigation - the legs will be  from 105 to 240 miles long- on such a small boat where you will have to sail on long shifts, as fast as possible and check out on competitors.

"Racing will need maximum concentration and physical fitness” noted helmsman Duccio Colombi, while Caterina Nitto and Renato Azara have been working out with the help of a personal trainer. "We are aware that it is imperative to have muscles and resistance to withstand physical stress for extended periods of time in tough conditions, that we are probably going to sail in more often than we think.” Concluded female sailor Caterina Nitto.

The italian team will be opposed to strong competitors such as Team Renaissance, at its seventh participation that scored a fourth in the last edition fourth; Averda Team that also has a long history in the race and is at its sixth participation and whose skipper Marcel Herrera will be chasing a win after last year's second place. On the line also veteran UK's female skipper Dee Caffari, leading an all women team and possessing a vast experience offshore.