ICAP Leopard, the 100ft super maxi yacht owned by Mike Slade – the largest boat ever to compete in the BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race – is aiming to set a new record and become the fastest yacht with powered sailing systems to circumnavigate Ireland.
Colm Barrington’s record of 3 days 4 hours 23 minutes and 57 seconds has stood for the last ten years in spite of serious challenges over the years from O2 Team Spirit in 2004, and the 30m Konica Minolta Zara from New Zealand in 2006.
ICAP Leopard recently broke the transatlantic speed sailing record, shaving eight hours off the previous record for the 2,925 nautical mile crossing, and is the current holder of the record for the Rolex Fastnet Race having taken a massive 9 hours off it in 2007.
However Leopard faces stiff competition for both line and class honours in this year’s race with up to two Volvo Ocean Open 70s, an Open 60, and Andres Soriano’s IRC 68 Alegre amongst others expected to compete in the Super 0 class.
The BMW Round Ireland Race starts off Wicklow Harbour at 4pm on 21 June. The latest information on each competitor and GPS tracking for each boat can be found by logging onto the race website www.roundirelandyachtrace