The first Croat in the transatlantic sailing race Jacques Vabre

Ivica Kostelic is one of the world’s best skiers and the best Croatian athletes of all time, and today he is also a passionate sailor. Nothing he does can be average, so he will become the first Croatian to take part in the Jacques Vabre transatlantic sailing race, in the popular Class 40. It is a race that is traditionally run during November from Europe to South America. Ivica will sail in the company of his French partner Calliste Antoine and with the always present cooperation and support of ACI.

He replaced the skis with sails

Ivica Kostelić replaced his skiing endeavours with sailing, and on the way to a new adventure, he is joined by ACI, who has long been a proud member of Ivica’s sailing family. “I am grateful to ACI for the support they continuously provide me,” said Ivica, describing the preparations for this race, which will last from 17 to 22 days, depending on the wind. “This whole project is conceived in stages: first I was in the Adriatic, then in the Mediterranean, and then I moved to the Atlantic and this is my first Transatlantic race. It is important that I come to the start in good physical condition, and I have also studied which routes have been sailed in previous editions of the race, which is held every other year. Of course, it is important that the ship is in shape “, Ivica tells us.

A challenge accepted only by the most skilled

After writing Croatian ski history, Ivica is starting to leave a growing mark in the sailing world. We are with him on this journey and we are extremely proud to be able to contribute to his first transatlantic endeavour, which begins on Sunday, November 7th. This venture is not only a great undertaking for Ivica, but also for the entire Croatian nautical community. Therefore, we wish him good luck on this more than 7100 km long journey, which we will closely monitor as Ivica deserves.