Michel Kleinjans new Kiwi 40FC passes the Class40 test
by Oliver Dewar 16 May 2011 12:34 BST
Global Ocean Race entry Michel Kleinjans' new Kiwi 40FC passes the Class40 test © Michel Kleinjans
Just four days after arriving as deck cargo in Zeebrugge, Belgium, the new BT Boats Kiwi 40FC, Roaring Forty 2, of Belgian offshore yachtsman and Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR) entry, Michel Kleinjans, successfully completed the Class40 measurement requirements last week, including the 90 degree test, and is now officially registered as Class40 #107.
In early April, Kleinjans’ Farr Yacht Design Class40 left the Cookson Boats yard in Auckland as deck cargo bound for Europe with a tight schedule for Class40 Association registration and test sailing prior to Roaring Forty 2 competing in the double-handed Normandy Channel Race starting in Caen, Normandy, next Sunday.
Lapo Ancillotti, Director of BT Boats Ltd – the company that identified the potential of New Zealand-based Class40 production – was in Belgium for the 90 degree test. “We’re really happy that the tests were passed and now sail testing and racing is the next step,” he commented shortly after Roaring Forty 2 was manoeuvred back to the dock. “The boat looks impressive, very aggressive, and definitely we took the Class40 concept to the next level with a more Open 60-style. However, we need to prove the boat in the water and against the competition first!”
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