Sergio Davi Finishes RIB Voyage

The Italian Job

Capt. Sergio Davi steamed into Los Angeles Harbor May 23, completing a 10,000-mile journey aboard his 38-foot Nuova Jolly Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) Aretusa Explorer, powered by twin Suzuki DF300B outboard motors.

Los Angeles was the final stop during Davi’s Ocean-to-Ocean voyage from Palermo, Italy, which encompassed both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, four continents (Europe, Africa, South America and North America), and more than a dozen countries along the way. An avid environmentalist, Davi worked with several Italian zoological institutions during this voyage, collecting samples and data from remote regions to increase understanding of pollution and other issues facing our planet’s oceans. As is traditional for these voyages, Davi also used stops along the way to educate the public and raise awareness of the need to protect ocean ecosystems worldwide.

“We applaud Sergio’s courage and the global attention he brings to environmental issues during his epic adventures,” said Suzuki Marine USA president, Max Yamamoto. “Sergio’s focus on the health of our shared marine environment is in keeping with Suzuki’s global CLEAN OCEAN PROJECT initiative and our ongoing, company wide efforts to reduce plastics and plastic waste in our daily operations,” he added. Mr. Yamamoto was joined by several top Suzuki Marine executives who traveled cross-country from the company’s Florida headquarters in order to welcome Capt. Davi to America and help him celebrate the end of this long voyage.

Davi is no stranger to extreme ocean voyages aboard small boats, his previous journeys including covering 4,000 nautical miles from Palermo to North Cape; 6,000 nautical miles from Palermo to Recife, Brazil; and the Ice Rib Challenge in 2019 (7,000 nautical miles from Palermo to New York via icy waters). Still, this was by far Davi’s most ambitious and longest trip, encompassing two oceans, four continents, a dozen nations and months away from home, battling weather, rough waters and even a bout with Covid-19 in the Canary Islands.

Davi recounted his experience of being approached by pirates at night off the coast of Venezuela as a particularly scary moment of the Ocean-to-Ocean Adventure. Fortunately, his seafaring experience and trust in his equipment allowed him to quickly discern the situation and punch the throttles on his twin DF300 outboards to outrun what could have been a very dangerous situation.

“All of us are very proud of Sergio and are thrilled to meet him at the finish line,” said George “Gus” Blakely, Suzuki Marine USA executive vice president, sales and service. “When you think about the time and distance covered, the scope of Sergio’s achievement is amazing. Thousands of miles of ocean waters, countless days alone at sea, covering two oceans, and touching four continents and so many nations. And he did it all with one outboard motor, Suzuki. Okay, technically two outboard motors, since his boat was rigged with twins,” quipped Blakely.