UniCredit Class40 - Marco Nannini qualifies for Route du Rhum

Portsmouth 20th August 2010 - With just over two months to the start of the Route du Rhum 2010 Marco Nannini has successfully completed on UniCredit Class40 the 1000 miles qualifying passage under the observation by the race commitee who monitored his progress during his solo passage last week using the mandatory Mini-C satellite tracking device on board the boat. 

Just over half of the 41 entrants in Route du Rhum Class40 have completed their qualifying passage, the time limit to comply with this requirement is 1st October, leaving just over a month for the remaining boats to setoff, many will use the chance to deliver their boats closer to St Malo where the race will start on October 31st.

The 1000 miles qualifier represents just over a quarter of the distance that the skippers will be sailing in the race which stretches 3600 miles from St Malo to Point-a-Pitre Guadalupe across the North Atlantic and with a start quite late in the year (to avoid the hurricane season) means skipers will face longer nights and may easily encounter tough conditions in the first part of the race until clear of the latitudes of autumnal storms in the Bay of Biscay.