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THE CLASS TO BE
The success of these boats is down to several factors. They are simple, fun, fast, capable of crossing all the oceans of the world, and relatively affordable even if prices have risen recently, a trend seen with consumer products in general. This Pro/Am class attracts sailors from all walks of life, amateur sailors and professional sailors from other classes, from Olympic sailing, the Mini, the Figaro and the IRC circuits as well as the IMOCA class, not to mention those who are simply adventurers at heart. Another fundamental aspect of this development is that it allows these sailors of all stripes to participate in the greatest Offshore Racing events, such as the Route du Rhum, the Quebec Saint-Malo, The Transat CIC and the Transat Café L’Or, as well as those events that are exclusively dedicated to this fleet of boats, be they in northern Europe, the USA, the Caribbean or the Mediterranean, with reasonable and controlled budgets.
The rules governing the design of Class40s are simple and stable, and have allowed many innovative ideas to develop. To date, twenty or so naval architects have worked on projects, constantly improving the designs and performance of these boats. The past few years have seen the emergence of unusual and impressive new hull shapes, notably Ian Lipinski’s “scow”, designed by David Raison, which shook up the Class40 world by winning the 2019 Transat Jacques Vabre in magnificent style.
Since then, in the space of 6 years, over 50 boats of this type have been built in various boat yards around the world, significantly renewing the fleet. The potential of these boats is astonishing, with, for example, the 24 hour record, which, as of last summer now stands at 440.2 miles, at an average speed of 18 knots.
