Mini Transat, Bona doesn’t break the boat, but his hand does

This time it is not a boat breakdown that is the cause of an Italian athlete’s forced stop at the Mini Transat. Alberto Bona, after five days of racing, had to stop in Ilha de Sao Vicente (Cape Verde) with his Onlinesim: what stopped the Yacht Club Italiano athlete was a hand injury.

Alberto would have intended to throw in the towel, but race director François Séruzier suggested that he think carefully about his choice before communicating it officially. Too bad, Bona was in 11th position but with a wide margin to catch up. Now the hopes of the Azzurri are kept alive among the protos by Michele Zambelli, currently sixth.

ALBERTO BONA, THE PRODIGY OF THE COURSE AU LARGE
Born in Turin, Italy on May 9, 1986, Alberto Bona discovered sailing at a very young age while sailing on the family boat. He began on dinghies but soon moved into cabin cruiser racing and offshore sailing. Alberto’s dream is not only to self-build his own boat (inspired by Moitessier), but it is also to perform a personal feat of his own: to tackle deep-sea sailing alone on his dinghy. The boat is a Dixie Dinghy, design by Dudley Dix bought on the Internet for 50 euros, VAT included. It is 2.50 meters long, 1.28 meters wide, weighs about 22 kilograms and has a sail area around 4.23 square meters. He built it in a garage, and once it was launched, he set off from La Spezia to go all the way to Corsica. It is about 70 miles of sailing.

Following him were his father, brother, and girlfriend in a support boat. Alberto’s personal equipment is a wetsuit and a oilskin. On board only a couple of flashlights, a thermos, a knife, energy bars, and a Gps. The departure took place on Saturday, April 26, 2007. The forecast gave a level high pressure, with thermal conditions near the coast. So ideal wind to tackle the crossing. Alberto arrived in Corsica, opposite the Giraglia, 32 hours later, completing the 70 miles at an average of about 2 knots. He did not lack for surprises, including the sighting of a group of whales…

In 2012 he was Italian Mini Champion and won the Mini Barcelona. In 2013 he was fifth among the series at the Mini Transat.