Boat test – Italia 12.98
Perhaps few things sum up the recent success of Italia Yachts as the sight of the Italia 15.98 ghosting into Port St Louis, Grenada one early December night in 2023. The significance of the arrival was that she was the first boat across the line in the 2023 ARC+. This transatlantic rally is ostensibly for cruisers but, as always, it has strong overtones of a race for those at the front of the fleet and, in a light weather run from the Cape Verde islands to Grenada, this monohull had fended off challenges from big, sporty catamarans such as Marsaudon’s ORC 50 and a number of Outremers, to cross the line first. In many ways the win was small beer given the triumphs of the Italia 11.98 and 9.98 on more conventional racing stages such as the IRC and ORC Worlds where both have dominated in recent years. It showcased how perfectly Italia has managed the crossover from cruiser to racer and the bluured lines between a rally and a race
