NY-IBSA
On Friday, May 10, 2024, at 6:05:37 pm Italian time (12:05:37 in New York) – after 12 days, 4 hours, 35 minutes and 37 seconds of navigation – Alberto Bona aboard the Class40 IBSA crossed in fifth position the finish line of the Transat CIC, 130 nautical miles from New York, thus closing this challenging transatlantic race which had started from Lorient last April 28. With the arrival in New York of the Class40 IBSA, the project Sailing into the Future. Together lands in the United States, also directly involving IBSA USA, the American subsidiary of the multinational pharmaceutical Company.
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The Class40 IBSA in New York - © IBSA | Beppe Raso
After crossing the finish line, the real prize was the entry into the Upper Bay of New York, which took place on May 11: a perfect dawn welcomed Alberto Bona passing under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, where the shore team and the IBSA team were waiting for him, and getting past the Statue of Liberty, crossing one of the world’s most beautiful waterfronts along the New York skyline.
“It’s been a very tough race”, commented Alberto. “A real feat: at times I sailed in conditions I had never experienced before. I had to react to many difficulties linked to a series of small failures, which put me to the test. I am proud of this result: crossing the finish line of the Transat CIC means a lot to me. We found difficult conditions, sailing for many days with very strong tailwinds, on the thin line between pushing to the speed limit and a mere survival pace. I learned a lot. For us who were sailing a little further back, the second low was very strong, there was really a lot of swell: a beautiful sight”.
Precisely these weather conditions put the boat to the test: in fact, she suffered a series of damages to the sails and to one of the rudders, which the skipper managed directly at sea. A damage to the hull forced the Class40 IBSA to go slower in some phases of the race, somehow limiting her performance: this delamination issue – that is, the “weakening” of a small portion of the hull due to the failure of the fibres with which the boat is built – will now require a series of restoration works.
“When we inaugurated the third season of the project Sailing into the Future. Together”, stated Giorgio Pisani, IBSA Group Vice President and Project Leader, “we emphasised that one of the key words would have been “courage”. And so it was! Bona had to overcome many difficulties, finding the inner strength to always be concentrated, to cope with breakdowns in extreme weather conditions. From Alberto’s exploits we can draw profound inspiration for our work: knowing how to respond effectively to difficulties, without ever giving up”.
The American flag tied to the stay and the Manhattan skyscrapers in the background: the arrival in port was unforgettable for Alberto, at his very first transoceanic race on a route so far North.
The skipper – who turned 38 on May 9, while still racing – was celebrated by IBSA USA collaborators, who subsequently visited the Class40 IBSA. On Sunday, the regatta awards ceremony was held on the Wavetree ship, moored in front of the South Street Seaport Museum in New York, a few steps from the Brooklyn Bridge. After some work on the hull, the Class40 IBSA will move to Canada, to participate in the Québec Saint-Malo, starting on June 30 from Québec City.
THE PROJECT: The three-year project Sailing into the Future. Together was launched in January 2022. The partnership between IBSA and skipper Alberto Bona was born on common bases and values, and aims to use sailing as a corporate communication vehicle towards the market and the nautical world. Ingenuity, courage, innovation, responsibility are elements that unites IBSA and Alberto, and the oceanic challenge, in addition to the sporting competition, also metaphorically represents the company’s history, philosophy and vision, which are always oriented towards and are part of a path that brings IBSA increasingly closer to the topic of environmental and social sustainability, with a particular focus on inclusive sailing projects for people with disabilities. In November 2022, the Route du Rhum was the first sporting stage of the project Sailing into the Future. Together. In 2023, Bona and the Class40 IBSA participated in six regattas, including the Rolex Fastnet Race and the Transat Jacques Vabre. With two victories and three podiums, the record for the highest number of miles covered in 24 hours and over 15,000 miles sailed, Bona won first place overall in the Class40 International Championship. In 2024, between April and July, he will face two of the toughest transatlantic races on the international scene: the Transat CIC from Lorient (France) to New York and the Quebec Saint-Malo (from Canada to France). |
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THE SKIPPER: Alberto Bona is from Turin, and has a degree in philosophy. As a university student, he won the Panerai trophy aboard Stormvogel, fast ULDB and historic boat with which he crossed the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, winning the ARC with a New Zealand crew. In 2012 he took part in the Minitransat, finishing 5th, one of the best Italian results ever in this category. In 2015, he switched to the prototype category Mini 6.50 with Promostudi La Spezia: he won the Italian championship and finished second in the ocean crossing Les Sables-Azores. In 2017 he discovered the Class40: on Giovanni Soldini’s former Telecom Italia, he participated in the Transat Jacques Vabre, where he was forced to withdraw when he was in sixth place. In 2019 he was aboard the Maserati Multi 70 trimaran, one of the world’s fastest boats, where he practiced on the foils before moving on to the Figaro Beneteau 3, aboard which he participated in the Solitaire; the only Italian registered, in 2020 he finished 7th among the rookies in the first year and 16th overall. In 2021 he won the Italian offshore team title and the Europeans in mixed doubles aboard the Figaro 3. In 2022 he started the new project in partnership with IBSA: after an eighth place in the Route du Rhum 2022, in 2023 Alberto won the Class40 International Championship, closing a season with three podiums and over 15,000 miles covered. |
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THE BOAT: Designed by French naval architect Sam Manuard and built by the JPS Production shipyard, Alberto Bona’s boat is a Class40 Mach 5 model. Its main characteristics are: scow bow – rounded and with a wider and flatter shape than standard bows – designed to stay high above the water and avoid being submerged; all-round hull, particularly performing in conditions of strong tailwinds; and a large, shielded cockpit, to face extreme conditions of navigation in as comfortable and safe as possible positions. |
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IBSA: IBSA (Institut Biochimique SA) is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical Company, founded in 1945 in Lugano. Today, its products are present in over 90 countries on 5 continents, through the Company’s 18 subsidiaries located in Europe, China, and the United States. The company has a consolidated turnover of 900 million CHF, and employs over 2,200 people between headquarters, subsidiaries and production sites. IBSA holds 90 families of approved patents, plus others under development, as well as a vast portfolio of products, covering 10 therapeutic areas: reproductive medicine, endocrinology, pain and inflammation, osteoarticular, aesthetic medicine, dermatology, uro-gynaecology, cardiometabolic, respiratory, consumer health. It is also one of the largest operators worldwide in the area of reproductive medicine, and one of the world’s leaders in hyaluronic acid-based products. IBSA has based its philosophy on four pillars: Person, Innovation, Quality and Responsibility. |
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