Defi Atlantique: what a battle among the Italians! Beccaria and Bona dominate the regatta

No-holds-barred battle at the Defi Atlantique between Ambrogio Beccaria on Allagrande Pirelli and Alberto Bona on IBSA, with their respective crews. The two Italians, the Coppi and Bartali of our ocean sailing, are practically dominating the race, an Atlantic crossing from Guadeloupe to La Rochelle with a stopover in Horta in the Azores, from the very first beat.

Defi Atlantique. Beccaria responds to Bona

The first part of Defi Atlantique belonged to IBSA, which proved to be faster in the wide upwind/traverse of the first phase of the race. When the light anticyclone wind arrived, however, Ambrogio Beccaria’s crew with Allagrande Pirelli placed the overtake, proving something more in the light breezes and managing to keep the lead even in these hours.

Now a second phase has begun. The Class 40 fleet circumvented the anticyclone from the north and has been sailing ahead of a depression front with winds of 25 to 30 knots, slack as of last night. Perfect conditions to unleash the horsepower of the scow bows , and in fact in these hours speeds have shot up: peaks are over 20 knots, the average is between 16 and 17 .

Beccaria and Allagrande retain a handful of miles of lead, but Bona seems to be in an attacking position behind them and is able to lean a couple of degrees more, an element that could prove to be an important strategic weapon in the gybe waltz that awaits them shortly.

With the finish line in Horta now just under 1,000 miles away, the initial sprint to go for the victory of this first stage has officially begun.

Mauro Giuffrè