One mile and one position recovered during the last night of the regatta: Alberto Bona, his team and the Class40 IBSA are facing the last 60 miles of the Transat Québec Saint-Malo as “highlanders”, as the Italian nautical media have already nicknamed them.
The team – who managed to resist and to recover 230 miles in a week – is now in sixth place, ten miles from the leader and fighting the currents along the English Channel coast.
The entry into the Channel took place during the night between 14 and 15 July. An average wind is accompanying the crews along the beloved Breton coast, which in the next few hours has in store a drop in the wind, followed by another increase in intensity.
After just under 3,000 miles of racing, the first ten crews are crowded within a 20-mile stretch, aware of having to do their best despite being exhausted after a harsh and much longer than expected navigation. An exciting situation for sailing enthusiasts, one which also testifies to the quality of the boats and crews.
Silence from the Class40 IBSA, which means maximum concentration!
Since an arrival in the next few hours is becoming probable, Saint-Malo is preparing to welcome the worn out crews, who are well aware of having accomplished a real feat.
Meanwhile, updates arrive from the Azores, where Ambrogio Beccaria is repairing his boat and Alberto Riva is better defining the details of his shipwreck, which was due to the impact with the oil tanker which then rescued them. We also learn that the Class40 Acrobatica may have not sunk after all, and would currently be adrift in the ocean, where a recovery operation will soon be organised.
