Not many skippers participating in next week's Sydney to Hobart boast the kind of resume Giovanni Soldini does.
The legendary Italian is one of the sport's most successful solo sailors, headed by an around-the-world triumph in 1999.
This year alone, Soldini slashed record times in Cape Town-Rio as well as San Francisco-Shanghai.
All that remains is an appearance in the famed Tasmania dash, so it was a good thing the 49-year-old yachtsman was relatively close to town.
"We went to Japan and so we was not far," Soldini quipped on Sunday.
"I never do this race because Italy is on the other side of the world. To come here to do the Sydney to Hobart is very expensive. It's not easy."
Soldini however isn't exactly a stranger to the Bass Strait.
The first time he travelled down under was with David Adams, the first Australian yachtsman to sail around the globe on his own in 1995.
"I was very lucky that time because we come from the Indian Ocean and it was very good weather," he recalled.
But the second, and most recent, visit 17 years ago wasn't as accommodating.
"That can be a really bad place on the wrong day," he said.
"I was coming from Cape Town to New Zealand in December `98 - the same time as the Sydney to Hobart - and had so many problems."
The 70-foot Maserati is one of a record 28 international boats featuring in the annual Boxing Day event and is considered a contender for overall winner.
The previous record was 24 yachts in the 50th edition of the race.
American heavyweights Comanche and Rambler 88 are the two overseas boats expected to battle Wild Oats XI for line honours, while Chinese boat Ark 323, also on debut, is an outside chance.
Soldini said Maserati was unlikely to challenge the supermaxis to be first past the post, but was confident of a strong race against last year's handicap winner, Wild Rose.
"Maserati is only 70 foot so I don't think it can compete with a 100-footer, with a boat so big," he said.
"But it's a very nice boat. We are a very strong crew. We know each other from a lot of time in training together.
"We have around 17,000 miles in the last two years. So we are ready and we will try to do the best."
