It's October in Fiumicino, Italy, the breeze is blowing at 30 knots and the sky is clear. Three crew members are taking advantage of these heavy weather conditions to push their C-Cat 48 Orca to its limits. The catamaran leaves the river, the mainsail is hoisted to the first reef and the genoa is fully unfurled. With its featherweight - only 21,400 lbs (9.7 tonnes) - the catamaran quickly imposes a hellish pace on its crew, who cautiously get their bearings. The 48 is already averaging more than 15 knots, but they’re not done yet - after a tack, Amerigo Guardigli, Franco Manzoli, and Daniele Ricci, all still nice and dry, set about sailing on one hull, with the mainsheet in hand, of course. They manage to heel up to 20°, with 15° being the ideal angle. At this speed, Orca rears up slightly on its leeward hull and maintains excellent control at the helm. Admittedly, there is only one rudder in the water, but the high speed allows the blade to do its job - it still remains possible to bear away sharply passing through the most powerful gusts. The test fully confirmed the expectations of the Comar Yachts team: “A fast, stable, dry and, above all, safe catamaran, even in demanding offshore conditions.”
