Together with Alberto Bona and Pablo Santurde del Arco, Luca Rosetti boards the Class40 IBSA for the Québec Saint-Malo

Less than a month before the start of the Transat Québec Saint-Malo, Alberto Bona and the Class40 IBSA are entering the last preparation phase before the challenging regatta that will take them back to Europe. While the boat, entrusted to Boat Captain Pierrot, is approaching Quebec City (the Canadian city from where the regatta will start on June 30) our skipper – or rather, the crew – are focusing on their physical and mental training, in orderto get to the starting line in the best shape possible. Indeed, in the TransatQuébec Saint-Malo Bona will not be alone aboard the Class40 IBSA – as in the Transat CIC, which he just concluded – but will tackle the 2,897 miles from Canada to France within a crew of three: at his side, Pablo Santurde del Arco, last season’s mate with whom Alberto won the Class40 Championship, and Luca Rosetti, the new member of the IBSA team.

Promising sailor born in Bologna and raised in the waters of the Adriatic Sea, Luca is part of the “new generation” of Italian ocean sailors. Born in 1995, Luca has in fact participated in – and won – the 2023 edition of the Mini Transat, the same regatta that almost 10 years earlier had started Bona’s ocean career.

The many similarities between Alberto and Luca – from being born in cities far from the sea to the irresistible call of the waves; from the restoration of an old prototype for training in ocean waters to the realisation of the dream of participating in a Mini Transat – may be one of the reasons why, in addition to great respect, over the years also a beautiful friendship was born between them.

“Luca and I have known each other for some time now”, commented Alberto, “but until last year we had not yet sailed together. A few months ago he came to visit me in La Trinité-sur-Mer to see the boat, and finally we were able to sail a few miles aboard IBSA. Pablo and I know each other very well by now; we don’t need to talk much, we understand each other at once! Luca has a very similar approach to ours, in line with our ideas and our sailing style”.

The Transat Québec Saint-Malo will certainly represent a good opportunity to test the crew’s cohesion: it’s a regatta with a double soul – a first fluvial part, along the St. Lawrence River, and then the actual ocean crossing towards France – with harsh weather conditions and a route “in reverse”, from West to East at high latitudes, with cold waters, despite the time of year, and the danger of encountering icebergs and cetaceans.

“From a meteorological point of view, it’s a very challenging regatta, but sailing with Alberto and Pablo will be a great opportunity for me to learn new things and test myself”, stated Luca. “The lads, in fact, have already achieved wonderful feats with the Class40; I can’t wait to get to the heart of the competition and be on board with them, to push ourselves to the limit!”.

“I’m sure that, together, the crew will function well”, concluded Bona. “I have no doubt that we will be very belligerent”.