Beneteau First 40 replaces the iconic Beneteau 40.7 cruiser racer

by Jardine Media on 20 Apr 2009
When the Beneteau 40.7 burst onto Australian Racing scene, she quickly demolished all available competition, winning the IMS Division at Hamilton Island Race Week in both 1999 and 2000. A few years later a 40.7 went on to win both IMS and IRC Divisions of the 2003 Rolex Sydney Hobart and ever since the 40.7's have been regularly present on podiums at major events everywhere.

With great handling and an attractive handicap, the 40.7 quickly became a weapon of choice for serious racers, while the luxurious interiors meant that she was also well suited to post race socialising and fast cruising.

Now Beneteau have taken the bold step of replacing the 40.7 with the brand new First 40, an event that looks set to once again rock the local cruiser/racing scene.

Brendan Hunt of Vicsail, the Australian importers of the Beneteau brand, said that the company decision to replace the iconic Beneteau 40.7 had been a tough one.

‘It was a hard decision for Beneteau to make, because the success of the 40.7 was phenomenal: it was the most successful cruiser racer ever and it did well under IMS, IRC and every other handicap system.’

Beneteau have engaged the legendary Bruce Farr to design the new First 40; Farr has never drawn a slow boat so its likely that the first 40s to arrive in Australia will quickly take their place at the front of the racing pack. The two gentlemen who are lucky enough to claim bragging rights as ‘first in a First’ are both serious racers: Pittwater based Barry Jackson is expected to race competitively in the full spectrum of events from club level racing up to IRC, while Adelaide’s Andrew Saies is expected to use his First to catapult him straight into the upper echelons of premier ocean racing events.

‘Saies had enormous success with his 40.7 in the Sydney to Hobart and ocean racing’ observed Hunt.

True North, the 40.7 previously owned by Saies, finished in fourth place in IRC Division D in the 2007 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. She was campaigned extensively in South Australian waters with results that include a second place in the 2008 Adelaide to Port Lincoln Race.

In the 2007/2008 season True North romped home in a number of CYCA events including 1st IRC CYCSA Inshore Club Championship, 1st IRC Offshore Championship; CYCSA Yacht of the Year and SA IRC State Champion.

Saies and Jackson are expected to take possession of their First 40s prior to this year’s Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, with two other Firsts due to arrive in the country before August. Beneteau watchers can only hope that at least one of these owners decides to make the trip to Hamilton Island and show the rest of the fleet what she can do.

Much depends on the date of arrival of the Firsts; if the boats arrive early, the new owners will have time to get to know their boats and bring their crews up to speed, and if this happens, it's highly likely that the First 40s could be very competitive at the Hamilton Island event.

But regardless of whether a First 40 competes at Hamilton Island, Beneteau owners will still get to enjoy the legendary hospitality and plethora of Vicsail social events.

With over a quarter of the fleet made up of Beneteaus, it’s a scene that has become so popular that the regatta has been only semi-jokingly referred to as ‘Beneteau Island Race Week’.

Hunt said that beauty of a boat like the First 40 is that while she’s fast on the race course, the luxurious interior means that the family can enjoy sailing her up to destinations like Hamilton Island.

‘It’s still a boat that a family can go along cruising to Pittwater or up and down the coast.’

In some ways the First 40 anticipates a general trend in yacht design: the move towards crossover designs that fit the requirements of both cruising and racing owners. People want boats that perform, nobody likes watching a rival’s transom vanishing off into the distance, but they also want a family-friendly cruiser that can get you from one port to the next in the shortest possible time.

And they want beauty, and this is something that Beneteau has always delivered in spades.

Beneteau has partnered with Italian design company Nauta to pump up their already exceptional reputation for luxurious interior design. Subtle changes in colour, layout and surface textures mean that the First 40 feels spacious and elegant but with an understated contemporary edge. Nauta has emphasised shapes that extend across the boat, right down to aligning the grain of timber panels so they run in a traverse direction, which contributes to the impression of space and opulence. Then there’s the owner’s cabin which is more generous than the already luxurious space allocation of her predecessor.

Good design ideas extend right throughout the vessel: on the deck, Farr has carefully considered the best possible use of space in terms of sheeting, steering and crewing positions. Hunt said that it’s hard to fault a First 40 when you look at the cleverly ergonomic deck layout, the sheer intelligence that goes into anticipating a boat owner’s every requirement.

‘The main parameters for design are sheeting positions, steering positions and crew positions…You need to have a sheeting position which is equivalent to a grand prix berth…(but which) must be a cruising boat as well. The next one is the steering position: it needs to be a wheel where you can have good vision of the jibs from either side and a clear passage for the owner/navigator/skipper moving from side to side.

Lastly crew positions: to have a cockpit that’s big enough to accommodate the needs of a grand prix crew together with family cruising and ocean sailing. It manages all of those extremely well.’

Last but not least is a powerful rig that combines with the Farr Yacht Design hull to get you wherever you want to go a lot faster than usual.

Bruce Farr genius up top and Italian aesthetics down below- what more could you want?

For more information about the Beneteau First 40 contact Vicsail:

Vicsail Pty Limited
d’Albora Marinas
New Beach Road, Rushcutters Bay NSW 2027, Australia
Telephone:+ 61 2 9327 2088
Fax: +61 2 9362 4516
Email: info@vicsail.com