Leopard heads for Ireland

Mike Slade's supermaxi to compete in BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race starting this weekend

ICAP Leopard, Mike Slade's 100ft supermaxi will this weekend compete in the BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race. Starting from Wicklow, Ireland, on Saturday 21 June, ICAP Leopard will aim to sail the 704 mile course in a clockwise direction around Ireland in under three days, in order to break the race record of 76 hours, 53 minutes and 57 seconds.

Skippered by owner Mike Slade, ICAP Leopard will have an impressive professional line-up of America’s Cup and round the world sailors on board. ICAP Leopard is due to arrive in Ireland this week and will be the largest yacht on the start line. Earlier this month, ICAP Leopard broke the transatlantic speed sailing record for yachts with powered sailing systems. Sailing with a top speed of 37.4 knots, the Farr-designed super maxi yacht shaved eight hours off the previous record to claim their second world record in under a year.

Mike Slade, Chief Executive of London based property company Helical Bar plc, commented: “We are extremely excited about bringing ICAP Leopard over to Ireland this week, the BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race is an excellent regatta which I have competed in many times before. We’re aiming to break Colm Barrington’s three day record, which he set in 1998 aboard Jeep Cherokee. Given the right weather we should whizz round. ICAP Leopard is in great shape after her transatlantic record and we’re looking forward to enjoying the wonderful Irish hospitality that the Wicklow Sailing Club always provides!”

Following the BMW Round Ireland Race, ICAP Leopard will rush back to the Solent to compete in the JP Morgan Round the Island Race, where the maxi yacht made her debut last year. She will then compete in several European events over the Summer alongside hosting a large number of corporate sailing days on the Solent.

ICAP Leopard Crew, BMW Round Ireland Race

Zane Gills	Bow
Paul Quinn	Bow
Jonathan Carter	Bow
Troy Kennedy	Bow
Jason Carrington	Bow / Trim Coordinator
Mathew Richardson	Mast
Barney Henshaw Deplege	Mast
Mathew Boyle	Mast
Simon Mclean	Mast
Nick Black	Pit
Richard Gray	Pit
Tim Sellars	Pit
Andy Hemmings	Trimmer
Adam Hawkins	Trimmer
Mike O'Donnel	Trimmer
Timothy Burnell	Trimmer
Mark Thomas	Mainsheet
Gordon Maguire	Helm / Tactics
Mike Slade	Helm / Tactics
Hugh Agnew	Runner
Adam	Runner
Chris Sherlock	Runner
Rosco Monson	Navigation
Paul Standbridge	Crew Coordinator
Jeremy Robinson	Driver