Imagine skimming across the Mediterranean at high speed, salt spray in your face, throttle wide open, and doing it without guzzling petrol like a powerboat from the 1980s. That’s exactly what Massimiliano Mordenti has just pulled off.
On Monday, September 15, the Monaco-based pilot and co-founder of the Offroad Club Monaco set a new long-distance jet ski world record, ratified by the Union Internationale Motonautique, on a machine running entirely on bioethanol. Yes, bioethanol. He blasted from the Yacht Club de Monaco to Italy’s Gallinara Island and back in just three hours, proving that going green doesn’t have to mean going slow.
It wasn’t exactly a calm Sunday cruise, either. The sea was lumpy, the conditions less than ideal, and yet Mordenti and his team decided: why not? And they were right. The jet ski — fitted with a pioneering refuelling system, developed by engineer Andrea Pezzini of Floating Life, using a 3D-printed, spill-proof cap made from recycled materials — ran clean, fast and without dumping a drop of fuel into the water.
This wasn’t just about breaking records for the sake of it. Backed by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Italian Embassy in Monaco, the challenge was designed to make a point: the thrill of motorsport can sit alongside environmental responsibility. You can have speed, power and drama — without the guilt.
Naturally, the Yacht Club de Monaco turned the whole occasion into an event, lending its prestige and technical support. The Fédération Monégasque Motonautique ensured the record was watertight, while academics, sponsors and partners piled in to support. And in true Monaco fashion, it all ended with applause, handshakes and a sense of history made.
For Mordenti, though, it’s simple. He set out from Monaco, conquered the Med, and came home again — leaving nothing behind but a green wake and a jet ski world record. “This was more than a sporting challenge,” Mordenti said, praising his team for their unity and passion. “It was about showing that adrenaline and environmental responsibility can ride the same wave.”
