Fastnet quinella for McConaghy Boats

McConaghy Boats, the Australian company that has built some of the world's largest and most advanced ocean racing yachts, has cause for celebration once more with the 30m long supermaxi, ICAP Leopard, which they built, taking line honours and smashing the course record in the famous Fastnet Race out of England.

Owned by Englishman, Mike Slade, the Bruce Farr-designed ICAP Leopard was untroubled charging around the 608nm course from Cowes, in England, to Fastnet Rock off the coast of Ireland and back to Plymouth in atrocious conditions, setting an amazing new mark that was almost nine hours inside the previous record.

Conditions were so bad that more than 180 of the near 300-yacht fleet were forced to retire while ICAP Leopard went the distance without major incident despite winds of near 40 knots and punishing seas. Another McConaghy-built maxi, Rambler, formerly the fixed-keel Alfa Romeo, was the second yacht to finish.

"May I say how much we are grateful to all at McConaghy's for an unbelievable effort," said Slade.

McConaghy Boats said it completed the sophisticated composite construction of ICAP Leopard to an extremely tight schedule at its facility on Sydney's northern beaches so that the yacht could contest this year's Fastnet Race.