Founded in Genoa in November 2021 by Edoardo Bianchi – a “sailor above all else”, in the words of the man who competed in the Athens and Beijing Games in a Tornado – Sangiorgio Marine immediately made a name for itself with the launch of its first Class40, the Musa 40. A project conceived in collaboration with the sailor Ambrogio Beccaria and the naval architect Gianluca Guelfi, whom the founder met on the benches of Genoa University, where he was training to become naval engineer.
“I was looking for a project to launch myself, Ambrogio for a new boat and Gianluca for a skipper,” recalls Edoardo Bianchi. “I asked Gianluca to design the best possible hull, without any construction constraints. We came up with a truly revolutionary boat.” Launched in August 2022, Alla Grande Pirelli quickly became a reference boat: second in the Route du Rhum in 2022, before winning the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2023 and The Transat CIC last May. Three sisterships will follow: Influence 2 for Andrea Fornaro, Acrobatica for Alberto Riva and Dekuple for William Mathelin-Moreaux, with customized deck plans and fittings.
After this successful first attempt, the Italian trio decided to go one step further by designing a V2 of the Musa 40, christened Musa Evolution. “The idea wasn’t to change the hull,” explains Ambrogio Beccaria. “I thought it would be interesting to start with a super-successful boat and go on to work on lots of little details. We can achieve a level of precision that those who start with a new hull won’t have.”
Details presented by architect Gianluca Guelfi: “For the first boat, we carried out a major CFD research campaign, which enabled us to design a very versatile hull. For the V2, we chose to improve everything around it: new rudders, new keel, optimization of the helm system to make it easier, evolution of the structure to adapt to the new mast step.” The designer also emphasizes his eco-responsible approach: “Making molds is a big investment and very polluting. I’m proud to make at least seven boats from the same mold.”
Three orders have already been received for this Musa Evolution, the first for former Mini sailor Benoît Sineau, whose boat should arrive in Lorient by the end of December. Two more will follow within the year, and a fourth may yet be delivered in time for the Transat Jacques Vabre 2025. Although he has other projects in mind, Ambrogio Beccaria makes no secret of his “impatience to go sailing on the new boat, because if the Musa 40 was already the reference in many points of sail, when you manage to reduce drag, you improve performance in all conditions”.
For the Sangiorgio Marine shipyard, which has now proven its know-how, it’s time to move on to the next stage, as confirmed by founder Edoardo Bianchi: “The Class40 was an opportunity to prove ourselves at the same time as a marketing investment to make us known in the world of ocean racing. We’re now ready to move up to Imoca, with a dedicated 100% functional pre-preg carbon area, where we built the two hydrogen foiling catamarans for American Magic and Orient Express Racing Team for the America’s Cup. We also have a 9-meter by 3-meter autoclave where parts for Ineos Britannia were manufactured.”
These are impressive credentials for a shipyard that also refitted the Imoca 11th Hour Racing Team after The Ocean Race 2023, before it was sold to Sébastien Simon. With a covered surface area of 4,400 m2 (57 meters in length) and a 1,500 m2 dock alongside a quay with an 8-meter draught, Sangiorgio Marine is now in the starting-blocks, able to accommodate projects of up to 100 feet.
Photo: Martina Orsini / Alberto Riva
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