Miranda Merron reports

On 40 Degrees' performance among the Class 40s at the Grand Prix Petit Navire

It was definitely time to get out on the water and go racing, so we did just that. The first event of the Class40 season is the Grand Prix Petit Navire in Douarnenez, Brittany – an excellent venue and a fun event. As the new boat is not expected until August, the team have decided to try something different, and are sailing Simon Clarke’s Akilaria for a few weeks, temporarily re-named 40 Degrees. With very little time on the boat, this event was going to be an interesting learning experience. Some of the best-sailed Class40s had come along for the fun.

The first two days of racing were speed runs over a 3 mile course, open for 6 ½ hours. Boats can have as many goes as they like on the course, and this year, it was open in both directions, so depending on the wind direction, it was sometimes worth turning around straight away and going for it again, rather than relaxing on the way back to the other end. It can pay to stay on the water right to the end of the day, just in case the wind increases. 40 Degrees posted results of 5th and 4th out of 12 boats.

The final two days were the traditional coastal races around the stunning bay. Saturday was light and difficult, and involved some thick fog. We started well, but eventually parked in a windless zone for a little longer than anticipated. On the long run back to the finish line, we managed to overtake two boats, match racing to the finish with Groupe Partouche, giving us 7th place.

Sunday turned into a beautiful day with 20 knots of wind. Despite a couple of technical hitches, we had a good race, and narrowly missed 2nd place while match-racing for the finish line with fellow British boat Keysource.

40 Degrees finished 4th overall, and top British boat. The team is delighted with the result, given the fact that we were not familiar with the boat beforehand.

The team was: Peter Harding, Miranda Merron, Alex Sizer, Halvard Mabire, Fred Hall