Alberto Bona and the Class40 IBSA – Goal: optimisation

When the keel is in the dry dock, the keyword is optimisation. It might seem like an ancient Breton sea dog’s saying, but the copyright belongs to Alberto Bona, who has made it into a real mantra, these days. To optimise the boat, thirty days of shipyard time is the very minimum.

It’s a race against time for Alberto Bona, who – after carrying (or rather, towing with a tractor, in the best Breton tradition!) the Class40 IBSA to the shipyard on May 11, is now ready to go in the opposite direction e take the boat back to the sea in La Trinité-sur-Mer (Brittany).

Over thirty days, every aspect of the boat has been reviewed: “After two ocean crosses, this is a must”,explained Alberto, “on the one hand to be sure that everything is in order from a structural point of view, on the other to do justice to the amount of data available”. In fact, sailing in a regatta does not only mean giving your best to win, it also means gathering useful information to improve performance: many micro-optimisations that, added together, can make a difference.

“From a structural perspective, the boat is in perfect condition”, announced Alberto, “and – as far as improvements are concerned – we have worked even more than expected, because we wanted to make the most of the information we had acquired. Now it’s time to get back on the water and carry out the navigation tests”.

The Class40 IBSA returns to the sea “slimmed”: “We were already almost at the limit of regulation; therefore, we intervened as much as possible on the weight and on the arrangement of the masses, but we are talking about micro-actions”. Bona also acted on the sails: “We will have three new ones for the next races, and this is a strategic element, as they will introduce a huge upgrade”. The navigation test will take place between Brittany and Normandy by the end of the month, first through short navigations and then in an off-shore test, together with co-skipper Pablo Santurde del Arco. In short, everything is ready for the great adventure of the Normandy Channel Race, starting on June 4 from Caen (Normandy).