Alex Bennett, International Professional Yachtsman, announced on the 1st of February that he will be competing in the Round Britain & Ireland Race 2010!

Alex from Devon has announced that sponsor 'FujiFilm' have teamed up for the race with the rather distinctive green class 40 racing yacht, affectionately referred to as 'fuji' by many.

The race begins in Plymouth in June and during the build up to this Alex will be in full preparation mode alongside his friend and fellow Devonian sailor Malcolm Dickinson, Malcolm is known in the local South-west sailing circles as organiser of the Mitchelmores Challenge Cup, which is put on by the law firm Michelmores Solicitors. They will be getting both themselves ready and the class 40 'FujiFilm' out of the stables where she has been professionally laid up awaiting her next race.

The Class40 FujiFilm's specifications can be seen, along with 39 photos of her sailing set-up and living quarters on Boatshed Performance.com, who are a specialist yacht brokerage service for high performance racing yachts such as the class 40's and Open 60's.

Alex commented that “this race is a fantastic test of seamanship. It is one of the ‘must do’ events in the shorthanded racing calendar and I’m looking forward to competing in home waters.”
Both Alex and Malcolm have done this race before and both have proven they have what it takes to get round and be a threat to the places on the podium, especially in the formidable Class 40.

The last time FujiFilm was in the city of Plymouth was for the start of the prestigious Artemis Transat in 2008. Battling fierce storms and tough competition in the Atlantic, Alex was the first Brit into Boston coming 6th in the Class 40 fleet.
Two of Alex's most impressive sailing achievements to date are in 1999 he came 5th in the International Mini Transat, the best British result in the 20 year history of the event. He set a world record in the prestigious Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV) race in 2001 from Le Havre to Salvador winning the Open 50 class.

WHAT'S THE HISTORY AND RULES OF THE RACE IN A NUTSHELL?
The Round Britain and Ireland Race was established in 1966 by Blondie Hasler. It is hosted every four years by the Royal Western Yacht Club and has its start and finish in Plymouth.
There are four compulsory 48 hour stopovers in Kinsale, Barra, Lerwick and Lowestoft. The 2010 race has classes for two person crews on mono and multi hulls between 30 and 50 feet.
It starts on Sunday 6th June.
Boatshed Performance.com will be on the water supporting Alex & Malcolm as this next adventure begins and also in the build up will be arranging viewings of the class 40 with potential buyers please contact us by clicking here if you would like to make an appointment.

Bon chance!