On Dec. 15, 2021, Sergio Davì motored away from his home port of Palermo, Sicily, on an inflatable boat. On May 20, a group of Italian Americans is spearheading a greeting for him when he arrives at 955 Harbor Island Drive in San Diego, his last layover before completing his nearly 10,000 nautical-mile voyage from Italy to Los Angeles with multiple planned stops along the way to refuel and rest.

“Sergio represents great pride for the Italian and Sicilian communities in San Diego, carrying on a great tradition of scientific discovery and nautical exploration,” says Tom Cesarini, San Diego’s honorary Italian consul and head of the Convivio Society, a Little Italy-based nonprofit focused on Italian history, heritage and culture. Cesarini translated for me as I spoke to Davì on Wednesday by phone. He had pulled into a marina in Ensenada, his final way station before entering the US.