An exceptional crew for the Rolex Fastnet Race

In a week the Class40 IBSA will be on the starting line of one of the most famous and important regattas in the world sailing scene: the Rolex Fastnet Race, now in its 50^th edition.

The race will start Saturday, July 22, from the Isle of Wight (England); participants will cross the Celtic Sea to the iconic Fastnet Rock – from which the competition takes its name – to then go back across the English Channel to Cherbourg (France). Four hundred sixty-seven boats will challenge each other along this spectacular route, including crafts from the IMOCA 60, Ultim 32/23, Multihull, Ocean Fifty and Class40 classes.

For the occasion, Alberto Bona brought together an exceptional crew: on board with him will be the winner of the Ocean Race, Francesca Clapcich, navigator and friend Andrea Caracci and team leader Luca Bertacchi.

“We are a super crew for the Fastnet”, commented Alberto. “I am really happy to sail again with our team manager Luca Bertacchi and, for the first time, with Andrea Caracci and Francesca Clapcich. Francesca is a great sailor, we had already met before, but doing a regatta like the Fastnet together will certainly be very challenging for everyone. The spirit is to have a good regatta, but above all to share and exchange experiences”.

An exceptional crew, where the presence of a woman like Francesca stands out; indeed, she started from dinghies to go as far as sailing round the world in a crew, precisely with the Ocean Race, which rewards the presence of pink quotes on board. 

“Participating in the Fastnet this year with Alberto is a great opportunity”, said Francesca. “I have enormous respect for him as a navigator and I really like his boat, which was born from a very innovative project. It’s always exciting to race on new generation boats. In the last regattas we have already appreciated the performance of the Class40 IBSA. I’m happy to sail together, I’ll try to bring the experience of the last few months of the Ocean Race, and also my past experience in the Fastnet. It will certainly be a hard-fought race, but I am looking forward to it”.

The meeting between the four is scheduled for July 19 in Cherbourg, from where they will cross the Channel together and have a short run before setting off, so that all the crew can familiarise themselves with the boat.