Class40s are 40-foot yachts grouped together under a common measurement, the Class40. Find here the latest news and investigations from Tip & Shaft.
They are historic Class40 builders dating back to when they launched the Pogo 40S (a Finot-Conq design) in 2005, the year the class was born. Since then Structures have continued to be a key player in the 40-footer fleet. One year later, at the start of the 2006 Route du Rhum, eleven boats lined up, including the first two finishers, skippered by Phil Sharp and Gildas Morvan.
After the Ultims the Mini 6.50s and the Figaros, Tip & Shaft continues its tour of the key classes by focusing on Class40 which continues to enjoy a great dynamic, with more than ten new boats expected to launch during the coming months.
Barely two months after his very first sail on his new Class40, Ambrogio Beccaria finished second in the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe. Speaking from Colombia, where he is taking a few days off, the Italian skipper of Allagrande Pirelli answered some questions posed by Tip & Shaft.
As in every major event, Tip & Shaft has mustered a panel of experts to analyse field in each class for the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe which starts this Sunday November 6. For this second part now looking at the Ultims and Class40s, we have coaches Tanguy Leglatin and Etienne Saïz, designer Vincent Lauriot Prévost, co-founder of VPLP, Gildas Morvan, ex Figarist who was race director this year for the Finistère Atlantique and the 24h Ultim, sailors Achille Nebout and Pascal Bidégorry, as well as Didier Ravon, journalist for Voiles & Voiliers and Liberation.
Five boats are still racing in the Globe40 race which left Tangier at the end of June whilst The Race Around due to go in 2023 has been cancelled. Both races were launched just over three years ago with the ambition of each bringing together at least 15 boats. And so in the end these races around the world in Class40s which seemed at the time to promise so much have not achieved the success which was expected by their respective organizers. Here we look more closely….
On Friday morning Yoann Richomme took the second place in the Lamotte Malouine 40 24-hour race, an event which mustered 31 Class40s in Saint-Malo and runs until Sunday. The 2018 Class40 Route du Rhum winner was just over two minutes behind the winner, Corentin Douguet. Two hours after his arrival, Tip & Shaft spoke with the skipper of Paprec Arkéa, who is very busy, between preparing for the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe and building his new Imoca.
The retirement last summer of long time supremo Christian Le Pape marked something of a turning point in the history of the Pôle Finistère at Port-la-Forêt, the famous race training centre that he founded in the early 1990s. For Jeanne Grégoire, the new director, and Erwan Tabarly, coach, they are really now having to step up the offering in the face of constantly increasing and improving race centres which are in competition with Pôle Finistère.
Seventy nine duos, that is a record entry for the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre which starts next Sunday, November 7. And as before every big race, Tip & Shaft has mustered a posse of experts to assess the fleets and predict who will be successful.
In the context of a real boom for most ocean racing fleets in France and even seemingly despite the health crisis, the demand for high level offshore race training is growing sharply, to the point that many centres are approaching full capacity. Tip & Shaft looks at the structures of France.
Between July 2022 and September 2023 it seems like as many as five round the globe races could set off in just about every conceivable format solo, double or crewed, mainly intended for amateur or semi pro sailors. Tip & Shaft look at the budgets, the contexts and the risks.
Competing on the Vendée Globe, the America’s Cup with Emirates Team New Zealand, The Ocean Race with the new Imoca for 11th Hour Racing and a Class40 with a new Pogo built at Structures, clearly Guillaume Verdier’s collective is busy at the moment. The designer took time to answer questions from Tip & Shaft.
It is a topic that continues to have increased importance within the sailboat racing world: sustainable development. Under pressure from the public, some sponsors and its own constituent sailors competitive sailing continues to focus on sustainability as a fundamental topic….
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