Alberto Bona: “A Difficult Regatta That Promises to Be Epic”
PARSIPPANY, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With the parade of the Class40s and the IMOCAs and the opening ceremony of the village, the 15th edition of the Transat CIC has been officially launched. Three days before the start, scheduled for 1:02 p.m. on Sunday, April 28, the third season of the project Sailing into the Future. Together, sponsored by IBSA, gets underway with a test that is already set to become epic, due to the many difficulties to overcome.
“We are ready for this new undertaking of the Class40 IBSA,” declared Giorgio Pisani, Vice President IBSA Group and Leader of the project Sailing into the Future. Together. “The third season of this project is that of maturity. Our skipper will participate in two great challenges that will engage him fully, as well as gain the attention of all of IBSA, both in Europe and in the United States. I am sure that the work done by Alberto in these months of preparation will bear fruit.”
The best are ready to start, in a regatta made even more complex by such a northern route and by the limits imposed by the organization. Indeed, the no navigation zones, announced in recent days, include a large area in the eastern North Atlantic that cannot be accessed, both to avoid the cetacean protection areas and for matters of safety related to pack ice and the presence of icebergs. In addition, skippers will have to declare in advance the sails they will have aboard: the most important choice was defined by each skipper last Sunday, as if to say that the die has been cast.
The buffer areas designed around the north coast of the United States and along Canada mean that the route that navigators will have to choose will be markedly westward, with the difficult task of being able to best manage the incoming depressions, which — due to the limits imposed by the organization — cannot be exploited to the fullest.
“A difficult and fascinating regatta,” commented Alberto Bona, “because it will require a lot of physical resistance and mental preparation in order to manage the expected depressions while sailing solo, and also a lot of strategic ability to find the best compromise between miles to cover and the right position to obtain speed and govern the current.” Indeed, ending up in the middle of the Gulf Stream is forbidden: should the route become too southerly, there would be — while approaching the American coast — a risk of running into an opposing current, which, in some conditions, could “work against” the boat, taking speed away from her.
Preparations are then underway, seeking the balance between finding the right wind pressure within the disturbances without going too far north; finding the best point of sailing to save miles; avoiding the Gulf Stream and any restricted areas; and keeping constantly alert for fishing boats, due to the unknown of the fog. All this while also fighting the cold, since the water in some of those areas has a temperature just above zero. And, as it always happens in this sport, the more difficult the race, the greater the determination for the 13 skippers competing in the Class40. “In this race, competition is hard,” added Bona. “In addition to the duel with Ambrogio Beccaria, there are many excellent skippers, including some surprises.” Among these is Vincent Riou’s boat, virtually built in secret and with some design innovations, starting from the single rudder, and also the new boats, such as the Mach 6, which is the next version of the Class40 IBSA, designed by Sam Manuard.
It may even be added that it’s the first time that the new generations of Class40s with scow bows, designed for long glides toward the Caribbean, tackle routes where close-hauling risks monopolize a large part of the race. Seeing the solidity and the speeds that the boats can reach while close-hauling or on a beam reach are the central themes of this regatta, which is setting itself up to be the scene of epic tales.
THE PROJECT: The three-year project Sailing into the Future. Together was launched in January 2022. The partnership between IBSA and skipper Alberto Bona was born on common bases and values, and aims to use sailing as a corporate communication vehicle towards the market and the nautical world. Ingenuity, courage, innovation, responsibility are elements that unites IBSA and Alberto, and the oceanic challenge, in addition to the sporting competition, also metaphorically represents the company’s history, philosophy and vision, which are always oriented towards and are part of a path that brings IBSA increasingly closer to the topic of environmental and social sustainability, with a particular focus on inclusive sailing projects for people with disabilities. In November 2022, the Route du Rhum was the first sporting stage of the project Sailing into the Future. Together. In 2023, Bona and the Class40 IBSA participated in six regattas, including the Rolex Fastnet Race and the Transat Jacques Vabre. With two victories and three podiums, the record for the highest number of miles covered in 24 hours and over 15,000 miles sailed, Bona won first place overall in the Class40 International Championship. In 2024, between April and July, he will face two of the toughest transatlantic races on the international scene: the Transat CIC from Lorient (France) to New York and the Quebec Saint-Malo (from Canada to France).
THE SKIPPER: Alberto Bona is from Turin, and has a degree in philosophy. As a university student, he won the Panerai trophy aboard Stormvogel, fast ULDB and historic boat with which he crossed the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, winning the ARC with a New Zealand crew. In 2012 he took part in the Minitransat, finishing 5th, one of the best Italian results ever in this category. In 2015, he switched to the prototype category Mini 6.50 with Promostudi La Spezia: he won the Italian championship and finished second in the ocean crossing Les Sables-Azores. In 2017 he discovered the Class40: on Giovanni Soldini’s former Telecom Italia, he participated in the Transat Jacques Vabre, where he was forced to withdraw when he was in sixth place. In 2019 he was aboard the Maserati Multi 70 trimaran, one of the world’s fastest boats, where he practiced on the foils before moving on to the Figaro Beneteau 3, aboard which he participated in the Solitaire; the only Italian registered, in 2020 he finished 7th among the rookies in the first year and 16th overall. In 2021 he won the Italian offshore team title and the Europeans in mixed doubles aboard the Figaro 3. In 2022 he started the new project in partnership with IBSA: after an eighth place in the Route du Rhum 2022, in 2023 Alberto won the Class40 International Championship, closing a season with three podiums and over 15,000 miles covered.
THE BOAT: Designed by French naval architect Sam Manuard and built by the JPS Production shipyard, Alberto Bona’s boat is a Class40 Mach 5 model. Its main characteristics are: scow bow – rounded and with a wider and flatter shape than standard bows – designed to stay high above the water and avoid being submerged; all-round hull, particularly performing in conditions of strong tailwinds; and a large, shielded cockpit, to face extreme conditions of navigation in as comfortable and safe as possible positions.
IBSA: IBSA (Institut Biochimique SA) is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical Company, founded in 1945 in Lugano. Today, its products are present in over 90 countries on 5 continents, through the Company’s 18 subsidiaries located in Europe, China, and the United States. The company has a consolidated turnover of 900 million CHF, and employs over 2,200 people between headquarters, subsidiaries and production sites. IBSA holds 90 families of approved patents, plus others under development, as well as a vast portfolio of products, covering 10 therapeutic areas: reproductive medicine, endocrinology, pain and inflammation, osteoarticular, aesthetic medicine, dermatology, uro-gynaecology, cardiometabolic, respiratory, consumer health. It is also one of the largest operators worldwide in the area of reproductive medicine, and one of the world’s leaders in hyaluronic acid-based products. IBSA has based its philosophy on four pillars: Person, Innovation, Quality and Responsibility.
For more information, visit www.ibsasailing.com
PM-06-24-0053
Contacts
FOR PRESS INFORMATION
Francesca Capodanno – francesca.capodanno@wordpower.srl – mob: +39 349 881 0482
Benedetta Salemme – benedetta.salemme@noesis.net – mob. +39 324 800 7570
