Together with K-Way, we portrayed the essence and listened to the story of ocean sailor Ambrogio Beccaria. ‘Routes’ is the third chapter of our journey into his aquatic universe, and the third stage of the documentary ‘How Far You Can Go’: a narrative regatta that we will accompany with special editorial focuses.

The sea is an ever-changing map, a checkerboard dominated by forces that can either unleash the full power of ALLAGRANDE or cripple it. Science and intuition. Technology and inspiration. Between towering waves and motionless blue prairies, rationality and irrationality seem synonymous, interpenetrating data that punctuate choices in the form of routes. They are objective and subjective radars, says Ambrogio Beccaria. There are irrefutable statistics and hunches, antithetical factors that only a navigator in total symbiosis with the marine environment can effectively weigh situation to situation. They are the definition of ocean navigation: an enthralling scientific art, a cruel artistic science where every decision amounts to an unpredictable point of no return. For better or for worse.

“If you ask a child to draw a picture, they often sketch a sailboat. But that doesn’t mean it’s a simple means of transportation. In fact, it is highly complex and constantly subject to a series of invisible forces. Imagine controlling three to four wings in the water and five to six wings in the air: everything has to balance on the waves, and there are an infinite number of possible balances. Choice and intuition are, in my opinion, the foundation of the sport. Technology is essential; it has incredible utility, but it’s not the only answer to the desire to go fast. The sailors who most impress and inspire me are those who don’t get weighed down by numbers: talented sailors listen, interpret and process the sensations through their bodies and through their boats. That’s why I say that intuition plays a huge role in this discipline.”

Anticipation. There is no more essential component in an ocean crossing than forecasting the future. It is like creating modern prophecy with the help of the most advanced meteorological technologies. Ambrogio Beccaria is not only an augur or only a scientist. The 31-year-old from Milan plies his routes by listening as much to his mind as his eyes and impulses. He alternates between absolute knowledge and a sixth sense, sailing ALLAGRANDE toward certain directions solely on the basis of personal parameters, accepting both the fallacy and primordial aid of the aquatic cosmos and its signs. Amidst this oceanic vastness, each element gives directions, Beccaria explains. It is up to the individual to make them their own, challenging or relying on them, following a daily ritual of permeation between human perception and natural intimacy.

“From a strategic point of view, knowing how to read the sea is essential for this sport. Especially when sailing solo, I know the weather is faster than me, so I have to anticipate it. I have to be aware of the wind I’ll find on a given day; I need to understand whether the situation will be favorable or risk becoming dangerous, flat, counterproductive. Satellite connection helps a lot; thanks to science, navigators have an incredible amount of data at their disposal. But cloud observation and wave study are also essential. For example, I can analyze the height, distance, and direction of clouds; a cloud works like a chimney or a waterfall, it can suck in or blow out a lot of wind. If it develops vertically, it tends to change the wind around it. But it’s not always easy to figure out whether a cloud is rainy, or to predict whether it’ll pass in front of, over, or behind the boat. As for the waves, they can reveal the type of wind that’ll arrive shortly after. A single error of judgment related to this intersection of objective and subjective data can determine the success or failure of a race.”

Follow us to discover the fourth chapter of ‘How Far You Can Go.’