History
Bona fide
Defying resistance and prejudice, the Englishman Charles Sibbick in 1899 designed and built, at his shipyard in Cowes, a yacht that—aimed at competing across the Channel—would comply with the Godinet formula, also known as the Jauge Nationale Française.
The yacht, Bona Fide, was taken to Normandy in the early months of 1900 and then to the French Riviera, where she began racing and collecting victories—15 wins and 6 second-place finishes.
In May of the same year, she was moved to Meulan, near Paris, where the sailing events of the second modern Olympic Games were to be held—the first edition in which sailing was officially included. Arriving late due to bureaucratic delays, Bona Fide was unable to compete in the first race, yet she still succeeded in winning the Olympic medal.
Later taken to the Italian lakes (first Lake Como, then Lake Maggiore), Bona Fide remained there for about thirty years, used increasingly for cruising and less for racing. In 1962 she underwent major alterations: her gaff rig was replaced with a Bermuda rig, and the long tiller was replaced with a wheel. The deterioration eventually turned into abandonment, in which she remained until 1999.
Taken to the shipyard and restored through three years of meticulous work, Bona Fide triumphantly returned to the sea on 19 June 2003, and in vintage yacht regattas she resumed her remarkable series of victories.
Specifications
| Tipo | Epoca |
| Progettista | Charles Sibbick |
| Costruttore | Charles Sibbick & Co |
| Tipo di Yacht | Cutter Aurico |
| Anno | 1899 |
| Lunghezza dello scaffo | 13.60 |
| Lunghezza dell’armamento | 16.10 |
| Lunghezza al galleggiamento | 8.84 |
| Larghezza | 2.50 |
| Pescaggio | 1.86 |
| Superficie velica | 110.00 |
| Dislocamento | 11.40 |
Come abbiamo lavorato con bona fide
During the restoration project of Bona Fide, carried out by the “Cantiere dell’Argentario,” we committed ourselves to reproducing the sail plan as faithfully as possible to the original design, and we built sails that would also reflect—visually and in their construction—the materials and craftsmanship of the era. The fabric, the cutting style (cross-cut for the jibs and vertical for the mainsail, with low panels and brown stitching), the eyelets (all strictly hand-sewn, as well as the leather finishes and the snap hooks) all contributed to creating sails that, beyond their performance, give the yacht a truly distinctive charm.
La voce dell’armatore
“Beppe è il Maitre Voilier di Cerida e Bona Fide dal 1999. Tanti anni di passione e entusiasmo con lui e con Andrea e Vittorio.
Sperimentazioni continue nella infaticabile ricerca del rigore storico. Una indimenticabile avventura.”
“Giuseppe Giordano”
