Following victory for ’40 Degrees’ at her maiden event in September 2009, and a respectable 7th place finish in the Solidaire du Chocolat, transatlantic race from France to Mexico, the team is looking forward to a diverse 2010 season. Regular updates can be found here.

Class 40 World Championship

Date: 25/07/2010
The 2010 Class40 World Championship in Gijon, Spain, was a light airs regatta. There may have only been fourteen Class40s, but the standard in the fleet was definitely at the high end. While Class40s are generally designed for long distance short-handed racing, the worlds are a mixture of windward-leeward races and coastal races. The majority of boats raced with six people on board, but on 40 Degrees, we opted to race with only four people, which meant that everyone was kept busy. We were also racing with old sails, and without a Code 0, just to make it that more challenging for ourselves!
The first day’s race was a 42 mile coastal race – the coastline is stunning, and we had plenty of time to admire it as the race took some 7 hours. We finished a creditable 4th place. The second day of racing included two windward-leeward races and a coastal race. We struggled in the first two races with our reduced crew, finishing 10th, but came back strongly in the last race with a satisfying 2nd place finish.
The last day of racing was in drifting conditions, where a Code 0 was an essential weapon, and we didn’t have one… By the end of the race, there was a little more wind, and certainly enough to race in, but for some unknown reason, the race committee decided to stall and not start a second race until it was too late. With all races to count, 40 Degrees finished in 8th place.
The World Championship was won by the Spanish, with a French team in second place, and a British team in third place.

40 Degrees is now chartered out for a while.