Switching from heavy monohulls to light M32 cats has so far done little (or nothing) to slow down six-time World Match Racing champion Ian Williams as ANDY RICE reveals...

Fremantle was the last place we ever witnessed the great 12-Metres racing for the America’s Cup. It’s almost 30 years since Dennis Conner wreaked his revenge on the Australians, seizing back the Auld Mug from the Aussie upstarts aboard his unstoppable blue boat, Stars&Stripes. The winged wonder that started the revolution down under, Australia II, resides in a museum not far from the water’s edge here. She would have been proud to see the Boxing Kangaroo emblazoned across one of the M32 catamarans shipped in for World Match Racing Tour Fremantle, the first event of this year’s Tour.

Some of the young home-grown talent had been training hard, aiming for a shot at competing on the Tour for the first time by taking part in one of the qualifying regattas during the build-up to the main event. For the likes of up-and-comers like Sam Gilmour (son of 12-Metre Peter), Matt Jerwood and Steve Thomas, this would be a rare opportunity to go up against the big guns – world champions such as Ian Williams and Taylor Canfield.

Just as Fremantle 1987 marked the end of the 12-Metre era, Fremantle 2016 would mark the start of a new era in the Tour, with the M32s replacing the keelboats that have been the traditional choice of the match-racing world. The aim is to realign the Tour more closely with the modern America’s Cup, both in terms of the boats and also the course configuration, which is now pretty much identical to the Cup, including the high-speed reaching starts.

With the new format, this season has been billed as a game-changer. That’s certainly what Canfield and US One have been banking on, having invested a full season’s racing on the M32 during 2015.

The young US Virgin Islander quickly rose to prominence in 2013 when he won the Tour at his first attempt, narrowly beating Ian Williams to the world title that year. However, Williams upped his game to win the next two seasons, making him a record-breaking six-time world champion. But surely not this year, in a new style of boat and a new format, in a compressed season that concludes in Sweden this July. Surely the old dog – well, 38 years old – couldn’t learn new cat tricks that quickly.

Certainly there were some names less familiar to the Tour hoping to take advantage of this game-changing moment, looking to apply their experience from other parts of the sport. Sally Barkow, for example, experienced match-racer though she is, has most recently been racing around the world aboard Team SCA in the Volvo race.

Yann Guichard who, when he arrived in Fremantle, was only a month back from his 47-day lap of the planet, his not-quitesuccessful assault on the Jules Verne Trophy but a triumph of high speed, longdistance navigation nevertheless.

As you’ll see if you watch YouTube replays of the racing, Fremantle proved to be fabulous spectator sport (as it did in 1987). Watching the M32 bear away at the top mark in big breeze is always a heart-in-mouth experience, no matter how many times you see it. The bow goes down, so far down, it’s hard to believe that a pitchpole isn’t coming next. But even when the breeze tipped over 25kt no one ever tipped over the handlebars.

However, there were capsizes, even for Guichard, one of the most experienced multihull sailors on the planet. You name it, he’s done it, in Olympic Tornados, AC45s, GC32s and of course most recently on the giant 140ft Spindrift 2 around the globe. It came while the Frenchman was jostling for position in the pre-start against one of the Aussie young guns, Murray Jones. ‘We were going really fast downwind, and I tried to gybe on the foil…’ smiled Guichard afterwards.

‘We capsized, but no damage, everyone was OK. Five minutes later we’re back upright and ready again. I’ve never seen this before on this size of boat. You always break something when you capsize…’

For someone with very little multihull background, Danish match-racer Nicolai Sehested was particularly impressive. Sehested was pulling involuntary wheelies on his M32 with the Boxing Kangaroo logo.

With both of the curved foils fully down, the Danish M32 would charge out of the water for a spectator-friendly ‘moment’ before crashing back into the water and charging forwards and on to the next wheelie. The leaping looked out of control, yet somehow the young Dane managed to get his kangaroo safely to the bottom of the course while others decided to sail more conventionally with just one foil down – not quite as fast but much more stable and predictable.

Sehested made no apologies for his fast and loose style. ‘I don’t think we hold back, we keep pushing, it’s the only way to learn how to sail these boats,’ he said.

‘Really I’m just trying to keep up with my crew, I don’t want to let them down by holding back.’ The Dane’s all-guns-blazing approach was good enough to see him comfortably past a stunned Taylor Canfield, who had come here with high hopes of victory. ‘You make some small mistakes and you pay big for them,’ shrugged an unusually downbeat US One skipper.

Match racing today is not quite the same as it was in the days of Dick Deaver and Bill Ficker and the early Congressional Cups. However, as a multihull tool, the choice of the M32 cat was inspired, the upwind una-rig allowing fast manoeuvres while downwind the big A-Sail demands a whole new level of commitment. Star… of the show in Freo was 1996 silver medallist Hans Wallén (above) who was back in style

The vanquished Canfield went on to predict that his Viking victor would go all the way and win the whole darn shooting match. In his semi-final against Williams, Sehested did indeed look set to dispatch the reigning world champion with relative ease but succumbed to some unforced errors, not least a capsize while leading at the leeward gate. ‘I did a normal turn but I hadn’t noticed that our boards weren’t in the right position…’ said Sehested.

‘The leeward one was up and the windward one was down, and the lift from the windward board tipped us in. Frustrating. We gave Ian two of those races on a plate.’

On the other side of the draw, Swedish wild-card entry Hans Wallén had sailed an incredible series. Wallén is an Olympic silver medallist in the Star, but that was 20 years ago, and the 55-year-old wasn’t expected to make it very far against all the young professionals. But for the final it turned out the 38-year-old Williams was a young gun again… and the young gun won, Williams beating Wallén 3-0.

Asked to reveal the secret to his success, well, even Williams was a little stunned to have done so well so soon. ‘But if there’s one thing I think I’ve always been good at, throughout my career, something I’ve been very focused on, is looking at ways of improving the different parts of what we do, always trying to learn and move things on.’

Williams was then asked how his team of day one in Fremantle, just five days earlier, would have performed in the final. ‘No chance. You can see how much the quality of the sailing has moved on with each day here. We’re so much better than we were, and of course we’re going to need to keep on improving throughout this year. We can’t afford to stand still.’

The World Match Racing Tour couldn’t afford to stand still either, and it hasn’t. Fremantle was a first glimpse into a brave new world. We’ve seen the future – and it works.

The all-new KB1 Racer range is the product of 10 years of evolution

The new KB1 Keel Boat Racer range has more than 10 years of product development behind it. In that time our experts have refined the KB1 Racer into what it is today through continuous engagement with the best competitive sailors to completely understand and respond to their requirements on the racecourse. In its latest version we are delivering the most streamlined and resilient racing system that we have ever produced.

During the development process we’ve been working with many top names in the racing community, including those in our own Gill Race Team. While other brands may value a fashion-first approach, we view our garments as items of high-performance technical equipment just like any other. So it was important we perfected even the smallest details by speaking to the people who put the KB1 Racer kit through its paces.

Main picture: Fully kitted out with the latest KB1 Racer suits during the TP52 Super Series.

Above: the latest KB1 Racer Jacket in Graphite and KB1 Racer Trousers with new shoulder adjustment and a tactician pocket to accept course notes and GPS devices.

At the heart of the development of KB1 Racer is mobility. To meet the rigorous demands of top-level keelboat racing this sophisticated garment system needs to be lightweight and keep the elements firmly on the outside, while ensuring those who wear it remain dry and comfortable on the inside. The result is that our new KB1 Racer is engineered to move in harmony with the movements of your body; it is a garment system that allows sailors to manoeuvre quickly and easily around the boat using the minimum of effort.

Details that matter
The KB1 Racer range uses our 4 Dot, three-layer waterproof and breathable fabric with fully taped seams for a 100 per cent waterproof seal. We investigated over 20 entirely new technical materials before identifying a fabric that was five per cent lighter per square metre than its predecessor – but that did not compromise on protection. There is simply no better lightweight fabric at doing the job we wanted it to do, to our exacting standards – we tested the new fabric endlessly and rigorously in-house until we were absolutely confident with both its performance and its durability.

Our design experts engineered dozens of other refinements. Take the KB1 Racer Jacket and Smock, which were streamlined for fast-paced manoeuvres. We made numerous fine adjustments to the sizes, ensuring they were based around a more athletic fit. The PU cuffs were simplified and now offer a superior low-bulk seal.

A new adjustable hi-vis hood makes for easier and faster access while improving the fit around the head itself and providing a snug seal with a brushed lining that did not impede vision. But because the hood on a KB1 Racer garment would typically spend the bulk of its time stowed away, we engineered a new, improved collar that ensures a more comfortable fit around the neck and face. The closures for the storage pockets were upgraded to YKK AquaGuard water-resistant zips. In addition to providing a longer back hem for added protection, we also designed the front hem to be raised slightly, which reduces bulk when hiking.

The KB1 Racer Trousers show more radical development. Our in-house experts added in a key new feature that impressed the sailors we worked with: a see-through tacticians’ pocket. Course notes are still often scrawled on the side of the hull or on scraps of paper, so to aid sailors we developed this pocket to enable quick, easy reference. The tacticians’ pocket also doubles up as storage for touchscreen GPS devices.

To accommodate a range of different body heights, we designed a unique shoulder adjustment combined with a SuperStretch backpanel mesh on the rear of the shoulder, which makes the garment easier to put on. Other new features we engineered included a D-ring attachment for marine tools or kill-cord leash, adding retractable ankle adjustors to help fit around boots or trainers, and an internal fly for added onboard convenience.

With the reinforcement fabrics in particular, we tested them to destruction using 320-grit paper. Although our new reinforcement protection on the KB1 Racer is lighter than ever, it still provides 40 per cent more resistance to abrasion than the previous version.

All these detailed developments mean that the KB1 Racer range is our most lightweight, flexible and ergonomic garment system yet, designed for racing at the highest level.

Click here for more information on Gill Marine  »

America’s Cup and Maxis… now Persico enters the Superyacht field

With a well-established reputation for innovation in building highperformance racing yachts Persico Marine is poised to enter a new chapter with the build of the fourth member of the steadily growing Wally Cento series. Created in partnership with Mark Mills and Pininfarina design, this new 30m beauty, when launched in 2017, will be the absolute latest in combining style, innovation, advanced technology and design. This exciting project will add to Persico’s impressive record of producing the highest-quality composite raceyachts for the top teams in the America’s Cup, TP52 and Maxi 72 classes, Volvo Ocean Race, Imoca 60 and other grand prix fleets.

When looking for the best in reliability and durability in advanced composites, the managers of the Volvo 65 one-design class approached Persico for their hulls. These boats have now raced around the world without a serious failure, with one spectacular exception: when Vestas grounded on a reef it was Persico that took on the major rebuild to put this boat back in the race in one-design trim. This impressive feat convinced Volvo race organisers to contract Persico to build any additional boats needed for the next edition of their gruelling event.

So it was not surprising that after evaluating bids from other teams, and with performance the key criteria, the owner and project manager of Wally Cento No4 selected Persico for their project.

A 22-month design and build programme makes full use of Persico’s latest equipment for the creation of the best possible composite fabrications, including a 2.6 x 7.2m autoclave, four modular ovens up to 45m long, three five-axis CNC milling machines up to 25m, a 9m vacuum table, a 4m-wide plotter, a finish press, a clean room, in-house ultrasound testing, a digital dimensional scanner for reverse engineering plus tooling for roll-forming aluminium and Nomex core material. Efficiently combining this latest equipment means precision tooling alignment, accurate fibre placement and quality control, and with Persico’s advanced processes the exactness of the finished hull shape along with complete weight control.

Since the Wally Cento rule allows small variances in design parameters, and with high performance expected over the range of course types inherent to Wally racing – windward-leewards in addition to coastal races – designer Mark Mills had the design freedom to explore a fresh approach that builds on the success of his work in the Maxi 72 class, a class that is also familiar to Persico having recently built Rán V and Momo. Mills’s concept was for a raceboat that meets stringent Wally standards of design and comfort, rather than a Wally yacht that happens to be fast.

To achieve this high performance, the same central weight concentration was pursued as is typical of the best stripped-out raceyachts. Of course, in a Wally this weight concentration is less easy to achieve, given the large number of mandatory interior elements and many complex systems… propulsion, hydraulics, electrical, plumbing and climate control. The sail control and rigging systems are also below deck, and thus have to compete for space with these other systems. Minimising the weight of these elements and controlling their position without compromising efficiency, as well as the implications for interior aesthetics, required an enormous collaborative effort among not only Mills and the team at Persico, but with project manager Carlo Torre, the many system engineers and the Pininfarina studio responsible for the yacht’s interior.

The Pininfarina team has created an interior in harmony with the onboard systems. The saloon is the most iconic space with the ‘stairs’ the central feature. The steps are like waves, continuing towards the walls and giving life to functional spaces, resulting in an environment mirroring the dynamics of the sea. A combination of clear-coat carbon and light wood will create a contrast to reflect the combination of sportiness with elegance. Fast and sporty lines, with light and dual-performing structures characterise all the spaces on and inside this new superyacht.

Besides executing a striking interior design in the lightest possible manner, Persico’s expertise in complex onboard systems is reinforced with a recently expanded in-house team that uses state-ofthe- art CAD software to precisely map out installation options within the spaces available. This new capability has been essential in working efficiently with the interior design team at Pininfarina, proof that the investment made in this talent and the latest powerful software tools helps to reposition Persico to deliver not only on performance, but sophisticated luxury as well.

‘This is the real success story in this project,’ says Marcello Persico. ‘We had some experience with this in the successful co-operation in the Volvo 65 project, but the level of co-operation between everyone and the free flow of ideas to improve the complex superyacht systems on a Wally were outstanding.

‘It was particularly good to have had a few months before starting this project when our team could work with Wally, Mills, Pure Engineering and many of the suppliers to work out the key details; we are particularly proud of the high degree of systems integration on this boat.

‘We now have in our technical office people with many years of experience at Wally, and who know well how to build a Wally. But they are now working alongside experts from the America’s Cup who bring their own knowledge of how to build a super-light boat by hunting down structural and detail optimisations wherever possible. I believe the combination of these two skills will lead to something very special.’

Main picture: a great deal of pre-preg and an immaculate facility – the shell of the latest Wally Cento… fresh out of the mould. 

Above: the extraordinary detail in which the management systems on Persico’s first superyacht can now be addressed using the latest simulation tools that the company is able to draw upon in-house.
Below: How some ‘large’ deck loadings are resolved; a similar portion of the new Wally Cento is modelled as a render (top) and then as a transparent structural model (bottom). The new yacht features even more ruthless dedication to weight concentration than its successful predecessor Magic Carpet3

The process started with the initial design and engineering of the structures, with help from Giovanni Belgrano and Martin Bivoit of Pure Engineering (see May 2016 Seahorse). Their detailed analysis using FEA tools provided the composites experts at Persico with a roadmap to develop the tooling needed to make these structures and also gave systems engineers like Persico’s Matteo Bisio a chance to start work early on finding efficient layouts.

Next was to position the engine room and power plant further forward than is usual in order to concentrate weight in the centre of the boat; other advantages are the closer proximity of the power plant to on-deck systems such as the cockpit winch package, which is also placed forward just a few metres aft of the mast. This minimises the weight of cabling, tubing and power loss.

The Cariboni line-handling systems are integrated into the main structures and connected so as to be efficient while minimising connection lengths and unnecessary complexity. Volvo Ocean Race and Wally Class veteran Michael Joubert at Southern Spars also brought a great deal of input to the layout and design of these systems.

With Persico being fully equipped with sophisticated CAD-driven CNC milling machines, developing the complex tooling needed to create not only the structures in high-tech composites but also the interior elements in composites and veneers were not a problem.

To make the best job of the flat interior panels, for example, Persico creates composite panels with Nomex cores in a press, exactly the same manufacturing process that the company uses for the super-light RIBs of America’s Cup wing sails.

Because of the high degree of process integration, the complexity of these elements could be seamlessly dealt with through design, engineering, fabrication and ultimately installation. This process efficiency results in maximum strength-to-weight structures, which all contributes, kg by kg, to better performance. In this respect, the fabricated elements of this project embody the Wally philosophy of innovation: by using the right tools, new ideas can be explored rather than just over-engineering old ideas and concepts.

The hull, deck and bulkheads are now complete, with assembly and fit-out starting shortly.

Working with a long timeline that would be the envy of raceboat managers, this project allows the various teams at Persico to use their skills to the full, creating not just another successful performance boat project but a complex and beautiful Wally yacht. This places Persico in an elite field of builders ready to take on the next generation of projects at the sharp end of the superyacht fleet.

FASTER WALLY
– Mark Mills
To produce the most refined high-performance solution to the Wally Cento rule, we assembled a design partnership comprising R&D specialist Dimitri Nicolopoulos from KND/Sailing Performance in Valencia, who also provides design management; Giovanni Belgrano of Pure Engineering, ensuring that the engineering requirements remain at the front of the process; plus Gautier Sergeant, lead designer with North Sails; and ourselves.

Performance progress has been made in a number of areas, one of the first targeted for improvement being to optimise weight concentration far beyond what is typical of a sailing superyacht. Key to this has been the involvement of Carlo Torre of MYT in Monaco and the Persico team with their raceboat expertise, who remained both creative and flexible throughout the extensive development phase.

Hull and appendage development was undertaken with KND/ Sailing Performance, who employ extensive CFD technology in both panel code and RANS, that built on their experience with our 2014 Maxi 72 World Champion Alegre, foiling Imoca 60s, and in developing the Volvo 65 VPP. Targeting the design to a carefully defined weather and course model reflecting Wally events in the Mediterranean, the final hull shape exhibits a combination of low drag in lighter conditions and increased stability in more wind that makes her more versatile than previous generations. The choice of a single rudder further reflects optimisation to a condition set that includes a mix of windward-leeward and coastal courses.

Click here for more information on Persico Marine  »

Rob Weiland says, Don’t be afraid to share to get ahead

Going through the 52 Super Series 2016 scheduling and entry list one might think that not much has changed from the spectacular 2015 series in which we saw nine new builds join the fleet. However, there are two new venues: Scarlino in Tuscany and Mahón in Menorca. Scarlino opens the series in May. The modern Marina di Scarlino provides ample space to get a fleet of this size and standard properly measured and prepared.

Scarlino is followed in late June by the testing conditions on the emerald coast of Porto Cervo. A fine combination of scenic but nerve-racking coastal races and a couple of windward-leeward days will decide the winner of the highly valued Settimana delle Bocche trophy. From Sardinia to the Bay of Palma and Puerto Portals in July provides another contrast in sailing conditions, requiring remoding to both your boat and to your tactician’s mindset.

This year we choose not to race during August as many of our officials and umpires are involved with the Olympics, but the TP52 worlds in September will see 12 TP52s battling it out in beautiful Mahón. One of the largest natural harbours in the world, Mahón has been claimed by many seafaring nations and has seen some epic sea battles. We hope to add one more, albeit more peaceful.

Finally, on 15 October we will know the identity of the 2016 52 Super Series champion… after five final days of racing on the challenging waters of Cascais and a total 45-odd races sailed with no discard allowed. No doubt another worthy winner.

One of 12 strong teams will share the experience this year, with Sorcha owner Peter Harrison and his sailing team directed by Campbell Field as the only newcomer in the fleet. They will join us at Porto Cervo and the TP52 worlds.

A few weeks ago five of our 2016 teams engaged in six days of sailing from the Valencia base of the St Petersburg Yacht Club, an initiative by the owner of Bronenosec, Vladimir Liubomirov. As can be expected after a full season of racing, I witnessed a different level of boat preparation than what we started with last year.

All five had used the long winter recess to evaluate and modify their boats. As a consequence it is equally as exciting to line up for the first time now as it was last year.

This year the TP52s for the first time in the history of the class race below seven tonnes displacement (6,950kg) but, as things go, the loads still go up by popular demand of the trimmers. Most rigs have consequently been beefed up by adding extra laminate to the outside of the tube. But as each team has different ideas on tube stiffness it surely was not the same mod for all.

Many have changed their standing rigging to fine-tune in this department in terms of both strength and drag. Provezza bit the bullet and the owner combined his wish to have a spare mast with a new rig incorporating significant changes in stiffness… as well as fibre optics laminated into the tube to record mast bend.

Retrieving quality data is the basis for proper performance evaluation, the only basis really. The majority of the Vrolijk-designed boats will sport new or re-profiled keel fins, some in combination with a new rudder. Rudders are moving forward as well, in search of higher modes upwind.

The majority of the Botín-designed boats are also on a new rudder track. Sails are never the same; I am not qualified to say anything sensible there. I just make sure we end up within the class limits with the right logos and sail numbers…

The human mind’s appetite for change is hard to contain. In combination with a lack of appetite for reading the rules, we sometimes end up on the wrong side of the fence. But once again I have Pablo Ferrer, now in his 11th year of measuring and checking TP52s. He has not seen it all, but more than most for sure.

So what did we see on the water in Valencia? Guillermo Parada, helmsman on Azzurra, noted, ‘All of the boats had improved and every day it is getting harder to gain a speed edge, so this season will be super-tight. Now it’s time to download all the data from this week and make the final choices about equipment and settings for the Super Series itself.’

Talking to Tony Langley and Tom Wilson, owner and manager of Gladiator, there was cautious optimism that with recent improvements the team have now found the legs to be on a par with the others; this was backed up by observations from the other teams. It hardly ever gets more detailed than ‘Gladiator is fast’ but they were not joking. With Mr Ian ‘Abu Dhabi’ Walker, double Olympic medallist, on tactics for the season I feel the orange-red hull shall be visible in quite a few photos of the leading pack. Once they’re confident and up to speed the next goal is consistency, maybe even harder to achieve.

Simon Fry, trimmer on the Vrolijk-designed Provezza, confirmed their search for more improvements upwind and the trade-off that demands: ‘In general now we can live in skinnier [tighter, higher] lanes upwind than we could before and I don’t think we have given away much downwind… So it’s hopeful.’

Amazingly, it is the fifth year already since the demise of the MedCup. Time flies. Also in 2016 the Super Series fleet will be predominantly owner-driver and the outlook for 2017 is no different. Teams joining (like Interlodge) or showing interest in joining in 2017 are so far all owner-driver.

If there ever was any overlap with pro-driver commercial sailing events like the AC, Extreme Sailing Series or the Volvo in the MedCup days, whether in reality or in ambition, I feel this is no longer the case. This is important as it will produce a clearer picture, a clearer product, whether one is looking to join, to enjoy, to work, to support, to sponsor, to watch or to follow online.

As for the boats, they suit that model perfectly. Cutting-edge technology, fast and sometimes even furious without getting into the extreme sport arena, certainly not one-trick ponies and well sought-after secondhand all over the world.

The space for evolution has narrowed after the large steps taken between 2011 and 2014, at least without a major rewrite of the TP52 Rule. Right now present and interested future owners all appreciate and expect rule stability. They will get just that till they indicate otherwise.

With class president Niklas Zennström back on the tiller of Rán Racing for the full series after a semi-sabbatical from racing in 2015, the 52 Super Series and the TP52 Class are ready for 2016. We wish all sailors, wherever their competition takes them, good times, nice winds… and fair competition.

Click here for more information on 52 Super Series »