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Italian Class40 Sailor Andrea Fornaro Enters Wicklow's Round Ireland Race

7th February 2022
The first international Class40 yacht has entered June's Round Ireland race
The first international Class40 yacht has entered June's Round Ireland race Credit: Jean-Marie Liot/Class40

 The hard work of Wicklow Sailing Club's 2022 Round Ireland Race committee is bearing fruit with the early entry for this summer's race of the new Class40 yacht Influence by Italian skipper Andrea Fornaro.

The VPLP design is the first such Class40 into the race since the 700-miler Irish ocean classic was added to the Class40 International calendar, just one of 25 world-class offshore fixtures on the list.

It's a feather in the cap for organiser Kyran O'Grady who has added the former Irish Volvo 70 Green Dragon last week for the Wicklow startline on June 18. 

It may well be that O'Grady's pioneering efforts at the Paris Boat Show in December 2018 and again earlier last month are finding favour on the continent.

Class40 Italian skipper Andrea Fornado will race round IrelandClass40 Italian skipper Andrea Fornaro will race round Ireland

It brings the entry to 12 so far in a race where O'Grady expects over 60 boats given the cancellation of the 2020 edition due to COVID.

The accomplished Fornaro will have competed in April's RORC's Caribbean 600, and May's Normandy Channel Race before coming to Irish waters.

Fornaro is not the first Class40 to have completed the Irish course. As regular Afloat readers will recall, top Figaro sailor Nicolas Troussel in the Mach 40 Corum made a blistering start to the 2018 race

Class 40 is a monohull sailboat primarily used for short-handed offshore and coastal racing.

In other Round Ireland race entry news, French skipper Laurent Charmy has signed up the J111, SL Energies Groupe Fast Wave.

Published in Class40, Round Ireland
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About the Class 40

The Class40 is a kind of monohull sailboat primarily used for short-handed offshore and coastal racing. It is dedicated to offshore racing and has been around since 2004, serving as an intermediate oceanic boat between the Mini 650 (6.50m) and the 60-foot IMOCA (18.24m). The boat is strictly regulated, with a maximum length of 12.19 m. These boats are designed to sail in all weather conditions, and their performance has recently improved significantly. It is not uncommon to reach speeds of up to 26 knots (according to GPS), and planing up to 15 knots is normal.