Alex Bennett and Malcolm Dickinson aboard Fujifilm
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Nine Class 40's along with forty seven other competing racing yachts took the start of this classic double handed yacht race.
Leaving all Islands and rocks to starboard with the exception of the Channel Islands in the English Channel and Rockall to the northwest of Scotland these intrepid sailors will be piting their wits against the wind, tidal currents and using all their navigational abilities to tackle this awesome race. Brief stopovers are mandatory at Kinsale in Southern Ireland, Castle Bay at Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Lerwick the capital of Shetland and the final stopover at Lowestoft on the East Coast UK mainland before the last sprint to the finish in Plymouth sound.
Of the nine Class 40 entrants five of these steads are from the Owen Clarke Design stable. Three Express 40's starting with the Norwegian entry 'Solo' of Rune Asberg, the Plymouth based 'Livewire' of Stuart Dodd, and Dr Andrew Dawson's 'Spliff' who recently competed in the Normandy Channel race. The two other Owen Clarke class 40 entrants are the semi custom designs of Andrew Magrath with 'Roaring Forty' and the lean green machine that is Alex Bennet's 'Fujifilm'. Not only will there be a battle amongst the Class 40 fleet but within the Owen Clarke design fleet I doubt any could predict the winner. |
