The Transat Jacques Vabre at the showdown, with two factions who made radical choices: anything is still possible. At the 3:00 pm check on Monday 20 November the Class40 IBSA,with Alberto Bona and Pablo Santurde onboard, is in fourth position overall – and in second within the “Southern faction”, the group that in this second stage has always aimed to search for the “deep trade wind” and is sailing with a wind between 14 and 18 knots.
The pace imposed by the trade winds tests all the patience and strength of Alberto and Pablo, because it’s a question of making the most of the potential of the boat in a context of a lighter than expected wind and the best vocation of the Class40 IBSA. It’s a demanding and tiring phase, but – as Alberto always says – here we don’t give up an inch, and therefore they continue to gybe and find the compromise between looking for the wind to the South and approaching Martinique to the West. The finish line is still about 650 miles away; they proceed at a speed between 12 and 15 knots, and the next few days will be very long and decisive, with the forecast of approaching Martinique with little wind.
The weather forecast currently seems to still favour the group that chose the North, in particular the boats that played the “wind lottery”, seeking greater pressure and giving in to the temptation to sail for many more miles just to find themselves running in the last two or three days of the race.
Meanwhile, MiniTransat winner Luca Rosetti –who after his historic feat is currently giving his voice to the Class40 IBSA,while Bona is very focused on navigation – joins Alberto Bona’s team: Rosetti will board IBSA and bring her back to Europe at the end of the regatta.
