L'Italo-Americano

" After the long but wonderful Mexican interlude, here I am i n S a n D i e g o , t h e penultimate stage of the Ocean to Ocean RIB Adventure." Sergio Davì announces his arrival at the port of San Diego with a message shared on his social media pages where almost 15,000 fans h a v e b e e n f o l l o w i n g h i s adventure, which began on D e c e m b e r 1 5 t h f r o m t h e Arenella port in Sicily. "It took me just 58.3 nautical miles and 2 hours and 30 m i n u t e s o f n a v i g a t i o n t o cross the border from Mexi- c o a n d e n t e r t h e U n i t e d States, " Davì commented. He began his journey five months ago aboard an 11- meter motorized dinghy, the A r e t u s a E x p l o r e r , w h i c h took him all the way to Los Angeles. "With a total of 9,201.80 nautical miles, 519 hours and 32 minutes, an average t o t a l c o n s u m p t i o n o f 3 . 5 liters/mile and sea condi- tions not always favorable, at 13.00 local time with the docking in Los Angeles in the port of San Pedro, I can final l y decl ar e the Ocean RiB Adventure is over!" Davì said. On Monday, May 23, he was welcomed by the Ital- ian consul general of Los A n g e l e s S i l v i a C h i a v e , a n d v i c e - c o n s u l P i e t r o Bellinghieri, as well as the whole San Pedro Communi- ty, who showed up with a d e l e g a t i o n o f f i s h e r m e n from Terrasin, a small fish- ing village near Palermo. President of Suzuki Motor of America, Yamamoto, and vice-presidents Wahira and Blakely were also present. "I extend an ample and heartfelt thanks to all those who, in various ways, made this ambitious dream possi- ble, despite the many diffi- culties encountered since its conception. But I also want to thank each of you, who followed me with all your a f f e c t i o n t h r o u g h o u t t h e experience, never making me feel alone." The ocean crossing made s e v e r a l s t o p s , i n S p a i n ( B a l e a r i c a n d C a n a r y I s l a n d s ) , G i b r a l t a r , C a p e V e r d e , F r e n c h G u i a n a , Trinidad & Tobago, Curaçao, C o l o m b i a , P a n a m a , G u a t e m a l a , M e x i c o a n d , finally, the United States. "Weather conditions were not always optimal. The pas- sion for navigation and the sea, however, is undoubtedly the main ingredient of this umpteenth enterprise," Ser- gio told us. "The Atlantic crossing from Cape Verde to F r e n c h G u i a n a w a s n o n - stop, and in general there was no shortage of unfore- seen events and difficulties t h r o u g h o u t t h e e n t i r e adventure: from the forced stop in the Canary Islands d u e t o C o v i d a n d t h e s e a conditions, which were often particularly adverse, and again the hijacking of the route in the Caribbean to escape pirates." It was10 thousand nauti- cal miles and about three months-long journey, which a l s o s a w s o m e g u e s t s o f honor onboard for a couple of trips, including Massimo Nalli (president of Suzuki Italy), Carlos Santaella Mar- tinez (aftersales manager at Movil Motors Importador Suzuki por España), Ruben Rabadan Gallardo (corpo- r a t e m a n a g e r o u t b o a r d marine division in Suzuki Motor de Mexico) and Ste- f a n o G e r m a n i ( F i n a n c i a l Manager of I-Tronik). D a v ì i s a p r o f e s s i o n a l s k i p p e r a n d p r e s i d e n t of CiuriCiuriMare, an ass o c i a t i o n d e d i c a t e d t o extreme adventures on rub- ber dinghies, recreational excursions as well as train- ing in the nautical field. An expert in ocean navigation, Davì is the creator and com- mander of no less than five world-class nautical enter- prises that have indelibly marked the nautical world, writing his name in history. D a v ì e m b a r k e d o n t h e first of his raft crossings in October 2010, when he car- ried out the mission From the flowers of Sicily to the flowers of Holland Palermo-Amsterdam. In the summer of 2012, Davì decided he wanted to sail the over 4,000 nautical miles between Palermo and the Arctic Circle: it is the Nord- k a p p R I B M i s s i o n . I n 2 0 1 5 , h e a t t e m p t e d t h e crossing from Palermo to Rio de Janeiro aboard a 9m d i n g h y , a m i s s i o n w h i c h , after almost a month of nav- igation and 1670 nautical miles traveled, ended due to an unexpected event. In June 2019 Sergio, Davì set sail from Palermo to New York. The Ice RIB Challenge was an almost 7,000 nauti- cal miles trip, carried out aboard an 11-meter motor- ized dinghy with two 350hp outboards. During the three months of challenging and r i s k y s o l o s a i l i n g , D a v ì endured prohibitive condi- t i o n s , f a c i n g i c e b e r g s wrapped in fog, as well as adverse weather and water c o n d i t i o n s , i n o n e o f t h e most treacherous seas in the world: the Labrador Sea. B u t D a v ì ' s j o u r n e y i s much more than an ocean c r o s s i n g : h e n a m e d it Ocean to Ocean RIB Adventure, and his jour- ney was also dedicated to ocean health issues. During the crossing, Davì collected seawater samples to detect the presence of microplas- tics and heavy metals, and will carry out the analysis of m e t a l t r a c e s , f o c u s i n g i n particular on little-studied or specific geographical ref- erence points. For this trip, Davì collaborated with the Experimental Zooprophylac- tic Institutes of Piedmont, Liguria, Valle d'Aosta, and Sicily to examine the dan- gers of ocean pollution on human health. "Together we will not only test the latest technologies available on the market, but we will promote a fundamental message for the life of all living beings: the sea is our source of life, without it we could not exist. The institutes gave me the opportunity to turn my own j o u r n e y i n t o a s t u d y a n d research experience, but also to warn the world we need t o p r o t e c t o u r s e a s a n d oceans," Davì concluded. From Palermo on a rib, skipper Sergio Davì arrives in Los Angeles SILVIA GIUDICI Sergio Davì with consul general Silvia Chiave and LA City Council Member Joe Buscaino (Photo: Sergio Davì) Sergio Davì is welcomed in San Pedro (Photo: Sergio Davì) THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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