With the Class 40 IBSA, Alberto Bona qualifies for the Route du Rhum  

Talk about mission accomplished. Sunday, September 4, is a date to remember: after a week of solo sailing, Alberto Bona concluded his qualification for the Route du Rhum. To participate in the regatta, in fact, each competitor must sail for at least 1,200 miles in the open sea. Alberto Bona, with the Class 40 IBSA, did it in record time, even with an “unplanned” start, set with almost no forewarning, in order to take advantage of a weather window suitable for qualification.

Alone aboard the Class40 IBSA, Bona covered the Bay of Biscay between the operational base of La Trinité-sur-Mer, in France, and La Coruña, in Spain: “I spent wonderful days at sea; the first nights were a great emotion”, said Alberto Bona. “It’s been a very interesting experience, as well as an important test to get to know the reactions of the boat and create a feeling between us”. As for the weather conditions, he used a stable weather window, with winds up to 25 knots: “The wind was enough to complete the qualification and in some stretches quite strong, but what kept us busy the most was the sea, on some occasions fully grown, and therefore very challenging, also as a stress test for the boat”. 

Back ashore, the Class40 IBSA is now ready for its proper launch on September 9, the official ceremony that will formally “baptize” the boat and that will see the participation of IBSA President and CEO, Dr. Arturo Licenziati, Alberto Bona and all the team in the small Breton port of La Trinité-sur-Mer,where the project was born. Afterwards, the team will prepare the transfer to Saint-Malo, where at mid-month it will participate in the La Malouine Lamotte regatta, the first test bench between IBSA and other Class40 boats.