Two More French Class 40s Brings Round Ireland Race Entry to 49 Boats So Far

2nd July 2020

Corum makes a great start in the 2018 Round Ireland Race; four French Class 40s have entered for August's 2020 edition of the race off Wicklow Credit: Afloat

Two more international entries into August's SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race brings the fleet total to just under 50 registered entries so far.

Franz Bouvet's Yoda from Caen, France and Greg Leonard's Mach 40.3, Kite brings to four the number of Class 40s now racing Round Ireland this summer.

Entered last week was the Lorient based Mach 40.3, Taras Boulba skippered by Charles-Louis Mourruau. The first Class 40 in was Antoine Magre's Palanad 3 from La Trinite sur Mer back in early June.

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

With six weeks still to go, the first gun at Wicklow Harbour, preparations are well underway for the 700-mile classic and it is unlikely the Class 40s will be the last of the international entries with half a dozen Welsh yachts from the ISORA fleet still expected to enter.

Round Ireland preparations get underway in earnest off Dun Laoghaire this Saturday as ISORA gets its first coastal race of the Viking Marine mini-series underway, an important shakedown on the way to August's biennial classic.

Published in Class40, Round Ireland

Published in Class40

Tagged under

Round Ireland Yacht Race

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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.