From Genoa to Pavia, via Athens, with a “no license”

The Milan Dinghy Club ‘s wanderlust continues as it organizes the 2019 Athens raid with Suzuki and Marshall. The departure was two days ago from Genoa, where with a Marshall M2 dinghy propelled by Suzuki‘s DF40A, an engine that can be driven without a license, he left for Greece, destination the country’s capital.

2,700 miles and 45 days of tight sailing through rivers and seas of five different nations. Quite a test of strength for such a “small” engine as Suzuki’s 4-stroke outboard. Mythos, on the other hand, is the name of the Marshall M2, the inflatable boat on which the 12 crews of the Milan Inflatable Boat Club will venture.

From Palermo to New York on an 11-meter dinghy

The journey of Mythos

Athens, after which the raid is named, is not the final destination, but only the first “half” of the journey. After 1,665 miles of sailing, once he reaches the Greek capital, he will “turn around” to return to Pavia by sailing up the Po River. But let’s go step by step. After departing from Genoa and circumnavigating the coast more than halfway around Italy, Mythos will take to the open sea to reach Corfu from Otranto. Then from Piraeus they will head north to ascend to Italy, and Trieste, touching Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. From Trieste, 2,428 miles from the start, it will take another 272 miles to reach the finish line in Pavia, after reaching Venice and up the Po River. In short, it is a raid that lacks nothing to test the reliability of the Marshall M2 + Suzuki DF40A combination, while maintaining a non-competitive connotation, tackled without records to beat, just for the pure pleasure of going to sea in beautiful waters and places rich in history, maritime culture and art.

A small engine for big business

In the two previous raids organized by the Milan Dinghy Club, in 2017 and 2018, the same Suzuki DF40A, kept in shape by routine maintenance only, smoothly “drank” a total of 4,181 nautical miles, more than those needed for a theoretical Atlantic crossing. Another important data point concerns consumption. Thanks to Lean Burn, the lean burn system with which it is equipped and which Suzuki makes available on most of its range, its fuel consumption is cut by 16 percent and with it harmful emissions.

Speaking of the environmental theme, the raid organization announced its adherence to the campaign “Cetaceans, FAI beware! 2.0” by the Tethys Institute, in collaboration with FAI and the Coast Guard, for the census of cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea. On board Mythos, crews have cards and printouts for evaluating the cetaceans they will encounter along the route, which will be sent to the Institute at the end of the voyage.

Finally, the presence of three “pink quotas” among the crews should be noted: Ketty Colturi will be on board in the Fiumicino/ Sapri leg; Enrica Perego will be on board in the Athens/ Corfu leg; and Carla Gnemmi, already present at the 2018 “To Gibraltar in an inflatable boat” raid, will be on board in the Dubrovnik/Pula leg.