Italian explorer makes 10,000-mile trip on RIB
Captain Sergio Davi has arrived at Los Angeles Harbor, following a 10,000-mile journey aboard his Suzuki powered 38ft Nuova Jolly RIB, Aretusa Explorer.
Los Angeles was the final stop during Davi’s Ocean-to-Ocean voyage from Palermo, Italy, which encompassed both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, four continents (Europe, Africa, South America and North America), and more than a dozen countries along the way.
An avid environmentalist, Davi worked with several Italian zoological institutions during this voyage, collecting samples and data from remote regions to increase understanding of pollution and other issues facing the planet’s oceans. As is traditional for these voyages, Davi also used stops along the way to educate the public and raise awareness of the need to protect ocean ecosystems worldwide.
The vessel was powered by twin Suzuki DF300B outboard motors. Suzuki Marine USA president Max Yamamoto was joined by several top Suzuki Marine executives who traveled cross-country from the company’s Florida headquarters in order to welcome Davi to America.
“We applaud Sergio’s courage and the global attention he brings to environmental issues during his epic adventures,” says Yamamoto.
“Sergio’s focus on the health of our shared marine environment is in keeping with Suzuki’s global Clean Ocean Project initiative and our ongoing, company wide efforts to reduce plastics and plastic waste in our daily operations.”
Davi is no stranger to extreme ocean voyages aboard small boats, his previous journeys including covering 4,000 nautical miles from Palermo to North Cape; 6,000 nautical miles from Palermo to Recife, Brazil; and the Ice RIB Challenge in 2019 (7,000 nautical miles from Palermo to New York via ice-choked waters).
Davi’s encountered months away from home battling weather, rough waters and even Covid-19 in the Canary Islands.
Davi was also approached by pirates at night off the coast of Venezuela as a particularly scary moment of the ocean-to-ocean adventure. Davi says he hit the throttles on his twin DF300 outboards and managed to outrun what could have been a very dangerous situation.
Throughout his voyage, Davi relied on Simrad’s NSSevo3S display, networked together to have all the information available at any time of the crossing. He used the HALO24 radar and AIS technology, a system that identifies vessels around his boat and at the same time allows them to be identified by other boaters via the VHF signal.
The Simrad AP48 autopilot interfaced directly with SeaStar’s Optimus steering system, allowing Davi to be hands-free as needed during his solo navigation.
“All of us are very proud of Sergio and are thrilled to meet him at the finish line,” says George ‘Gus’ Blakely, Suzuki Marine USA executive vice president sales & service.
“When you think about the time and distance covered, the scope of Sergio’s achievement is amazing. Thousands of miles of ocean waters, countless days alone at sea, covering two oceans, and touching four continents and so many nations. And he did it all with one outboard motor, Suzuki. Okay, technically two outboard motors, since his boat was rigged with twins,” says Blakely.
