Fewer crew, more speed... the offshore racing market is developing an appetite for precisely that. Corentin Douguet, Guillaume Verdier and Axel de Beaufort got together to respond with their own unique interpretation
First thoughts – Corentin Douguet
After so much time racing Mini 6.50s alone I wanted to make a boat with similar performance qualities but that would also be suited to racing the Fastnet with two or three friends… plus perhaps the occasional solo classic. Hence, it must rate adequately under IRC and be a proper modern offshore boat. The proto Mini 6.50s are wonderful fun, but that fun is reserved for sailors insane enough to race the Mini Transat and perhaps later the Vendée Globe. They are not the mainstream!
By contrast, the new SKOD 35 is within the capability of almost every good offshore sailor, not just the crazy ones. It is also a genuine one-design – bringing numerous other advantages.
Some of the other criteria we applied in developing the concept were:
- A fast, modern one-design but requiring only a small crew.
- A simple boat able to be sailed well by amateurs sailors.
- Not too large and so easier to exploit the maximum potential.
- Not too small in order to have a little comfort at sea and in port.
- And long enough to meet the minimum offshore safety criteria...
I then asked Guillaume Verdier and Axel de Beaufort to draw it. We are all of the same generation, and their experience in the 6.50, Class 40 and Imoca 60 is obviously beneficial for such a boat...
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