Class40: XL plans, a Transat and a flea market - start of the season for Burke and Fink

The unexpected often happens. Surprises are often on the agenda in the lives of Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink. Like this one: A partner acquired a huge range of equipment when a shop on Bornholm was liquidated. And so, on 22 February from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the two next-generation operators and their team are organising an XL flea market at their Hamburg shipyard (Heselstücken 24) near Hamburg Airport.

Burke and Fink: first training session of the season ahead

"From electronics and sewing machines to sailing and diving suits, winches and fittings to fenders, ropes, sacrificial anodes and many other small parts: we offer around 3,000 products ranging from five to 200 euros," said Melwin Fink, announcing the unusual promotion, which also offers the curious a good chance to take a look around the Class40 climbers' place of work.

If the weather is bad, the flea market will take place in the in-house sailmaker's workshop, in good weather on the outdoor area. As athletes, the busy Class40 sailors are also preparing for their season: They will be travelling to Lorient for their first intensive training session as early as mid-March. "All the top people will be there," says Melwin Fink.

We'll see in training where we rank in the food chain for the new season." Lennart Burke

Under the direction of top coach Tanguy Leglatin, the Class40 elite, with top players such as Ian Lipinski, Fabien Delahaye, Axel Trehin, Antoine Carpentier and many more, want to get in shape for the new season, as the regatta challenges are fast approaching. The first important race starts on 25 May with the Normandy Channel Race.

Two-handed classic for advanced users

The CIC Normandy Channel Race takes its participants over around 1000 nautical miles through the English Channel and into the Celtic Sea, starting and finishing in Caen in Normandy. The Class 40 sailors can utilise the full potential of their boats in the double-handed race. The course offers many challenging navigation zones where tactical and strategic games are the order of the day.

The race could also be described as a challenging journey from Normandy to Ireland via the English south-west coast and the Channel Islands. It is not without reason that it is very popular with Class 40 sailors. Click here for the race homepage with all the information and course maps.

Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink will arrive at the start line with fond memories. At their premiere in 2023, they shone in the concert of the best Class 40 competitors with eighth place, earning a lot of respect from the competition. "After the Normandy Channel Race, everyone was suddenly talking to us," Melwin Fink recalls the positive reactions from the ranks of the Class 40 establishment two years ago.

New pecking order in the Class40?

This year will see a reshuffle at the top of the Class 40. Italian class king Ambrogio Beccaria is switching to the Imoca class with a Vendée Globe finish. Will "Crédit Mutuel" skipper Ian Lipinski be able to fill the space as the new number one until the start of the Global 40 circumnavigation with co-skipper Antoine Carpentier from 14 September or will others follow?

And: How far can Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink get to the top? The Germans are also toying with the idea of building a new Class 40, perhaps as early as the end of the year. Perhaps even at their own shipyard. They have rejected all those who were already expecting their switch to the Imoca class and a hasty approach to the Vendée Globe.

"The question about participating in the Vendée Globe in the near future is the one we are asked most often. But we have always said that we will take the time we need to develop," says Lennart Burke. Click here for the interview with Burke and Fink that YACHT conducted at boot Düsseldorf on this and other topics.

Boris Herrmann has once again done a great deal for German sailing." Lennart Burke

Hamburg's best-known sailing flat-share wants to "grow healthily" both on the water and on land. Whether it's about their own sailing careers or the shipyard business, project consulting or training: Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink are full of ideas, are ambitious and strong in realisation, but don't believe in premature or excessive goals.

Fastnet comeback for the "mini-gang"

Lennart Burke explains: "We know what it takes to organise a Vendée Globe campaign. We would almost find it a bit arrogant to aim for a Vendée Globe 2028 right now. The fact that Boris Herrmann has already done it twice is a tremendous achievement. He may not have achieved the mega result he wanted this time. Nevertheless, he has once again done a great deal for German sailing."

After the Normandy Channel Race, Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink are continuing their own Class 40 project with a start in the Rolex Fastnet Race this summer. Initially they wanted to contest it as a duo, but now they are a trio for the most famous long-distance classic, resurrecting their "mini gang" of yesteryear.

Melwin Fink says: "We originally wanted to do it as a couple. Then Christian Kargl asked. We decided in Malta that it was a good idea: you can always have a permanent navigator in a three-person constellation. And always have two people on duty." The starting signal for the regatta highlight of the year for Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink will be given on 26 October with the Transat Café L'Or Normandie Le Havre.

The Transat highlight calls in autumn

Better known to most as the Transat Jacques Vabre, but now renamed, the Transat Café L'Or takes its challengers from Le Havre across the Atlantic to Martinique. Held every two years, the Transat is contested by double-handed crews. "That's our big goal for the year," says Melwin Fink. At the same time, his team is also continuing to coordinate and acquire partners. "We are working with a team of four to ensure that we can continue our projects at the highest level.

People as elements, the fascination of the Atlantic - a special film about the Transat Café L'Or Normandie Le Havre: