Aviation buffs and better read naval architects will already be up to speed about the Soviet Ekranoplan ground effect craft programme which ran from the early 1950s to the late 1970s. Out of that programme emerged the famed Caspian Sea Monster which had military analysts around the world scratching their heads. Now the same ground effect flight concept is back in modern guise and with the benefit of today’s materials and design tools to a completely different new level of refinement, delivered through ambitious design allied with the best composite engineering and build craftsmanship. Carol Cronin paid a visit to a well-known maritime town and the famous boatbuilding family who still call it home

There’s a long-standing tradition in Bristol, RI, of building both boats and their high-tech equipment right—and right at the leading edge of technology. Today, the Moore Brothers Company is carrying that heritage forward by creating bespoke composites, all built on site by a handpicked staff from the highest echelons of grand prix sailing that’s more than doubled in number since 2020.

‘The business that used to be just two brothers and a couple of workers now employs 25 people,’ Oliver Moore explains, when he finally sits down at a desk completely hidden under several layers of line drawings. ‘We currently have 18 composite technicians on the floor. To meet Regent’s production goals and maintain our own business growth we need to be up to around 25 in the next year.’

You can imagine in the Seahorse office we see a lot of “cutting edge” projects – but REGENT (Regional Electric Ground Effect Nautical Transportation to be precise) stopped us in our tracks.

Building boats that fly
Regent builds all-electric seagliders, a new category of maritime vehicle designed to operate exclusively over water for highspeed coastal transportation. Seagliders operate in three modes: float, hydrofoil and flight in ground effect, moving passengers and goods from one coastal destination to another. In the spring of 2021 the company commissioned Moore Brothers to build their quarter scale technical demonstrator vehicle. The remote-controlled prototype was launched in December 2021.

‘It was the first whole vehicle we’d ever built,’ Moore says, adding that the size was a Goldilocks-style compromise between being small enough to incorporate commercially available components and large enough to be a valid testbed. ‘That's how they ended up with an 18-foot wingspan for their technology demonstrator. That dimension is critical because as a WIG (Wing in Ground effect) vehicle it flies within a wingspan above the surface of the water’.

Regent already has a $7B backlog of orders for their full-sized models. Their models include a 12-passenger and two crew seaglider called the Viceroy with a 65-foot wingspan and a next generation 50+ passenger seaglider named Monarch. These have ranges of up to 160 nautical miles using current battery technology. That’s a major upgrade in transportation efficiency, whether it’s along a crowded coastline or for island-hopping.

Oliver Moore introduces key team members on the project: ‘Bryan Baker and Andrew Gaynor both came straight out of the America’s Cup world. Bryan is the chief engineer of vehicle performance and Andrew is the structures lead.

‘Bryan was with Oracle and then Team Ineos in the last cup. He is one of the few people in the world who has designed both electric aircraft and high-performance racing yachts. He did a stint at Aurora Flight Sciences which is where he connected with a handful of the Regent team, so he is a cross-over link between the America’s Cup and aerospace worlds.

‘Andrew was with Oracle for several cup cycles where he connected with Bryan and then was lead rig designer for American Magic in the last cup. Andrew and I have sailed A-class and C-class cats together for 12 years and we worked together during the last American Magic build.’

Bryan Baker takes up the story: ‘Recent advances in America's Cup hydrofoiling have been critical for Regent. The company is developing a fully electric Wing-in-Ground-Effect (WIG) vehicle, coined the seaglider. Limited only by today's battery technology, Regent aims to develop a vehicle capable of reaching 180mph on the aero-wing. To achieve this performance we have to develop a streamlined hull and reduce our take-off drag. Most float planes achieve take-off by generating speed on a planing hull form which produces significant drag. The planing hull form requires relatively flat water and significant thrust to achieve take-off speed.

Below: three of the larger ground-effect craft that came out of the Soviet Union Ekranoplan programme between 1950 and 1984 – from which a development path to the Regent ground-effect craft can be traced. Smaller non-military ground-effect craft continue to be built in modern-day Russia, but a huge military programme ended with the death in 1984 of Defence Minister Dimitry Ustinov who was the programme's primary sponsor. When flying within 20m of the land or water, groundeffect dramatically increases effective aspect ratio, allowing for stubby short wings, efficiency improved further with these large endplates. In the Ekranoplan programme initial lift-off relied on deep-V water shedding main hulls with multiple spray rails. Today's Regent designs employ a much more efficient small foil, while also benefitting from much lighter modern construction methods. However... these brutal-looking Soviet craft successfully met the brief... and some were very very fast. The legendary Caspian Sea Monster (centre) was almost 100m in length, weighed over 550-tonnes and could comfortably exceed 400 knots. It also featured as standard a nuclear-capable armaments' delivery system... while you were all sleeping soundly

‘At Regent we aim to reduce this thrust demand by incorporating three modes of operation: from the hull (float) to the hydrofoils (foil) to the aero-wing (flight). This transition affords us a two-stage drag reduction. The vehicle first reduces wetted area from the hull clearing the water and further reduces all hydro drag as it takes off onto the aero wing. This transition directly impacts our power demands keeping us in a favourable range and weight for current battery technology. Akin to the take-off of an AC75, we concentrate on reducing hull drag via length-to-beam ratio keeping our hull form at a low Froude number. Our front foil positioned closest to our centre of gravity provides the majority of our hydrodynamic lift.

‘We control this lift by actuating symmetric flaperons on the foils which provide lift and, if articulated at different angles, can control roll. In the most recent America's Cup, several concepts were attempted to add flaps to the hydrofoils. The hinge position, stiffness of the foils, fairness of joints or skins and hydraulic actuation all played a pivotal role in drag reduction, avoiding cavitation at higher speeds and aiding controllability. At Regent, these lessons learned are critical in developing a safe and reliable hydrofoil system. On landing, we rely on the hull to provide our deceleration as the foils will be retracted into the hull body. Again, lessons learned from retraction systems developed on the AC50 provide guidance in reducing mass and delivering a reliable retraction system.’

Aero and hydro: two mindsets
Baker and Gaynor bring maritime experience to an impressively experienced and talented team of aerospace engineers. Founders Billy Thalheimer and Mike Klinker are both MIT graduates who worked with chief engineer Dan Cottrell at Aurora Flight Sciences, a research subsidiary of Boeing.

‘The meshing of the aerospace and AC engineers has been really interesting to watch,’ Moore says. ‘In the marine world we are very comfortable iterating designs with real world testing. We stopped putting test pilots up in experimental aircraft to see what would happen a long time ago and for very good reasons. As a result the marine engineers have a deep pool of real-world experience to draw upon but the aircraft engineers have an exceptionally diligent design process of validating their models and simulations to make sure that chances of failure are within very clearly defined acceptable ranges. It was impressive to watch the two mentalities mesh and the result was a very quickly executed vehicle that has been very successful in its mission so far.’ The collaboration has created a system that is agile with strong checks and balances that ensure both safety and repeatability.

It’s a boat, not a plane
Ground effect aeroplanes have been around for a long time but Moore notes that Regent is combining new technology with a fresh approach. ‘Flight control systems have been developing so rapidly in the last few decades. We’ve all seen it in the drones we buy for our kids. You're not actually flying the craft, the computer is, and you are telling it which way to go. The electric propulsion also adds an interesting element. It allows you to use many small propellers instead of a few big ones. This distributes the flow from the thrust evenly over the wing creating a blown wing effect like apparent wind in sailboats giving more lift earlier and allowing for slower take off speeds.’

Given that Regent’s design is a WIG that lands on her hull, she is technically a boat and therefore governed by the US Coast Guard. This leads to fewer regulatory hurdles than the electric planes other companies are developing. ‘The FAA requires you to carry 30 minutes reserve fuel in the daytime and 45 at night, so you can always make it to an airport, which, when we are talking about short distance flights and batteries, is a major weight penalty. Because this is a boat and it can always land on the water, the Coast Guard doesn’t have those requirements.’

Hound: Improving a classic

When the owner of Hound, a 59ft Aage Nielsen sloop built by Abeking & Rasmussen in 1970, came to Moore Bros for a new carbon mast less than a year before the 2022 Bermuda Race, no one expected what Oliver Moore calls “a pretty cool classic boat” to win her class – thanks in part to the composite bowsprit, rudder, rig and boom that were soon added to the original order.

The mast was designed, built and stepped in less than six months, giving the crew enough time for extensive sea trials before the race. And that new bowsprit supported the A-sails so critical to a Bermuda victory. ‘We worked from 3D scans of the whole boat and designed a centreline sprit that fit in with her lines,’ Moore says. ‘The bowsprit splits around the forestay and two tack lines run aft.’

One reason for the success was that Moore Bros were included in the in-depth discussions about the owner’s overall goals from the very start of the project. ‘He wanted to breathe new life into the boat and revitalise her,’ Sam Moore says before adding with a chuckle: ‘we got a call from the boat captain after the race, saying that the boat felt completely different; “now she just keeps surging!” That means she’s actually going forward, not just tipping over.’

The owner was so pleased, he’s also ordered a cruising sprit with a bow roller to hold an anchor. ‘We had templates based on the 3D scans for the racing bowsprit, but we needed to go “real world” on this one,’ Oliver Moore says. ‘We had to go down to the boat to figure out how to make the anchor fit into such a tight space.’ Yet another example of the Moore Brothers get-it-done attitude, which has helped increase both their work force and name-recognition so dramatically in the past two years.

There are plenty of wild ideas on the leading edge of any industry, Moore admits, but he believes Regent has a great shot at success. ‘The seaglider is differentiated. It uses existing technology and has demonstrated customer demand – it makes sense.’ Design for the first full-sized seaglider is well under way and the build is scheduled for 2023. Regent is tracking to a 2025 vehicle delivery.

And of course, sailing’s top engineers always enjoy being stretched. As Baker says: ‘This project is a ton of fun. Working with Moore Brothers has been crucial in the rapid development of our 18ft technology demonstrator. In nine months we went from blank sheet to the vehicle hitting 38kts foiling. We are leveraging both aerospace and maritime knowhow to push electric propulsion technologies. I've been fortunate to work with super-talented people in both these worlds in the AC and on eVTOL projects (eVTOL - Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Plane). The seaglider is a supercool marriage of these technologies.

Making it happen
Regent originally sought out Moore Bros for their composite expertise, but they’ve also come to appreciate the company’s get-it-done attitude. ‘When they started with us,’ Moore says, ‘they had the general concept reasonably sorted but it was a blank sheet of paper on how we were going to build it. We dived in and helped them design around available materials and with processes that matched our capabilities. It was an ambitious undertaking but we developed a very strong working relationship to the point that their lead engineer had his own office in our building. Once we had the parts built we transitioned into helping to support their integration testing operations. It didn’t matter what the problem was. Brake lines on the trailer? We’ve got a local trailer guy. Space on the waterfront for testing? We connected them with Halsey Herreshoff and got them up and running here in Bristol. In our world we are used to the idea that there is a date for the first race and it is going to happen whether you are there or not. Schedule creep isn’t an option and we brought that same mindset to the Regent build. They figured out early on that we were going to do whatever it took, so now they lean on us for a lot. It's been a big challenge but also a really fun partnership.

As Regent is designing the full-scale vehicle, Moore Brothers built a full-sized test wing that has working flaps and is covered with pressure sensors to validate their CFD work. ‘It's a constant R&D project,’ says Jacques Swart, head of sales for Moore Brothers. ‘As soon as Regent comes up with something new, we get it built so they can continue with their testing. The synergy with the team to provide what they need, within their time frame is pretty big.’

Picking up personnel
In order to keep up with the Regent project while also maintaining their regular workflow, Moore Brothers are actively recruiting. ‘We need to hire several more floor techs,’ Moore says. ‘The people we've picked up already have some serious experience. Kenny Madeiro brought a crew to us from Hall Spars and the guys we've had with us forever, like Jeff Kent and Mark Raymond are still here. We've been working very hard to organically build a strong and dedicated crew, and we've put a major focus on a supportive work environment – because in the bespoke composite world, a manufacturer is only as good as the guys on the floor. It doesn’t matter how many machines or fancy tools you have; when you’re building custom composites, you can't robot your way out of a problem, you need to have some creative problem solvers in your team.’

Finding the right personnel has been their biggest challenge, Swart admits. ‘We’re always very selective because synergy is so important. If the right person comes along, we’ll find a spot for them. That’s going to pay off in the long run’.

Below: Regent's technical demonstrator is a quarter scale seaglider prototype currently undergoing testing on the Narragansett Bay. The model’s wingspan is 18-feet (5.48 Metres) with an all-up weight of 375lbs (170kg)

One stop composite shop
In addition to building boats that fly, Moore Brothers have become New England’s go-to place for all things foiling. ‘We’re working on a new foiling motorboat,’ Swart says, though he can’t disclose any details. ‘There’s a surge of R&D right now, all kinds of weird stuff and we’ve been involved right from the beginning.’

The reason? Swart credits their unique approach. ‘We have a group of engineers that are composite experts, but they also have an entrepreneurial, can-do attitude. So people start coming here not just to have the work done, but to get input into how to improve on what they had in mind. We’re sometimes finalising engineering details right on the floor. That draws people, because it turns a company like this into a composite solutions shop.’

That applies to non-foiling parts as well. ‘Structural composites; that's where I see people starting to catch on. Someone comes to us for a wheel, but they also need a rudder or a mast.

The 1/4 scale technical demonstrator (above) enables Regent to prove their blown wing aerodynamic design and landing hydrodynamics for their seaglider and inform a realistic and robust engineering schedule with safety embedded throughout the development lifecycle. Building a test prototype at this large scale also allows many potential full-size build issues to be resolved at an early stage saving cost, time and material wastage later

‘As we develop a relationship, they realise that we have a lot broader scope than they first thought. Everyone knows our name now, but they don’t always understand how much we can do.’

Masts, repairs and production parts too
When Hall Spars closed their Bristol facility five years ago, it left a big hole in the region’s marine industry supply chain. Moore says that “everyone and their mother” told them not to become a spar manufacturing company, but it was hard to ignore such a gaping need. ‘So the way we let ourselves get into it was this: we're not a mast company, we’re a composite company that can build you a mast if that’s what you need. We don't want to try and compete at every price point; we’ll only take on projects if we think we can do a great job.’

Alongside the Regent project, Moore Brothers are now shipping out pretty much anything that can be built out of composite—rudders, foils, beams, and yes, even masts—to boats and businesses around the world. ‘There are not many companies that can do that,’ Moore says, with justified satisfaction. They build many of Brooklin Boat Yard’s prepreg carbon parts, he adds, pointing to one of the many line drawings covering his desk; specs for a new rudder that will undoubtedly improve the performance and feel of another classic sailing boat.

‘Oliver gets super-excited about each project,’ Swart adds, ‘because he’s personally invested. And that's intoxicating. Especially since we are going to continue to bring more people in and grow manufacturing here in Rhode Island.’ By constantly breaking new ground with bespoke composites, Moore Brothers are continuing a long and successful Bristol tradition: building cool stuff right on the leading edge of technology.

Click here for more information on Moore Brothers »

After pulling off miracles to keep the Caribbean yachting circuit not just on the road post-pandemic, but positively thriving, it’s no holds barred once again in 2023 for another round of racing in the world’s greatest venues

Organisers ticked the box on hosting every major Caribbean regatta in 2022, a welcome feat after most events experienced a two-year pause due to the pandemic. Sailors from both sides of the pond and beyond responded favourably. Jeanne Kleene, event manager for the St Barths Bucket sums up the positive reaction to her event, which echoed regionally: ‘The energy and enthusiasm were fantastic! Following recent cancellations, lockdowns and travel restrictions the pent-up demand was evident, producing a robust, competitive fleet. We had 30 superyachts that enjoyed great racing in breathtaking conditions.’

Weather is the quintessential carrot that entices sailors to travel thousands of miles by air or sea to the Caribbean. Sunny skies. Steady trade winds. Celsius degrees averaging 27. This is certainly true in winter and early spring when cold in northern climates means the racing calendar in those destinations is empty. However, weather isn’t the only decider for sailors to race in the Caribbean.

‘The well-promoted calendar and variety of regattas throughout the Caribbean mean racing boats have a fantastic number of events to attend, each with its own flavour,’ says Michele Korteweg, president of the Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA), director of the St Maarten Heineken Regatta and general manager of the St Maarten Yacht Club. ‘This makes it worthwhile for people to bring their boats here from Europe and the USA or fly down and charter. Many participants return year after year. The regattas play a big role in this but the individual islands also bring in required elements to support logistics, accommodation, culinary delights and set the complete atmosphere.’

Momentous birthdays in January 2019 enticed Dave Christopher of Vancouver BC, Canada and his friends to race charter the J/121 Wings for Barbados Sailing Week. ‘From that point on it was decided to do one Caribbean regatta a year. We were very lucky in 2020 in St Maarten. The last of us arrived back in Canada 24 hours before the border lockdown. In 2022 it was the BVI Spring Regatta. In 2023 we are considering Antigua Sailing Week,’ says Christopher.

Above: I Love Poland was the winner of the IMA Caribbean Maxi Challenge, a new event launched in 2022.

The 2022-launched IMA Caribbean Maxi Challenge proved an incentive for maxi yachts to sail at least four regattas a season. The RORC Caribbean 600, St Maarten Heineken Regatta, Les Voiles de St Barths Richard Mille, and Antigua Sailing Week were Challenge events. Some 30 maxis accepted including the Farr 100 Leopard; George David’s Rambler 88; Wendy Schmidt’s new Botín 85 Deep Blue; and Hap Fauth and Jim Swartz’s Maxi 72, Belle Mente. I love Poland, a Volvo 70, took the Challenge’s inaugural trophy. The 2023 Challenge will include three events: RORC Caribbean 600, St Maarten Heineken Regatta and Les Voiles de St Barths Richard Mille.

The islands’ idyllic laidback vibe is outfitted today by contemporary infrastructure. For example, ‘most of the islands now have decent docking facilities and amenities and this has played a major part in increasing regatta participation for the modernday racers,’ says Chris Worme, vice commodore of the Barbados Cruising Club, which hosts Barbados Sailing Week.

Free dockage is a differentiator for the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta according to press officer Ginny Field. ‘This creates a friendly social atmosphere.’

Below: Comanche set a new course record while winning line honours in the RORC Transatlantic Race 2022 fromLanzarote to Grenada

The region also has a solid handicap rating rule. Peter Lewis of the new NexEnergy Windward 500, a lower carbon footprint race focused on the spirit of offshore racing says: ‘sailors do appreciate its simplicity while providing remarkably competitive racing.’

‘The CSA rule includes all sailing from monohull racing yachts, multihulls, cruising and club racing around the cans, to offshore with the Caribbean 600’, explains Bastien Pouthier, a Trinidad-based naval architect and the CSA’s chief measurer. ‘We are now liaising with kitesurfing, windsurfing and wing foiling events as well as cruiser rallies. Beyond this, I strongly emphasise the rule’s effectiveness and specificity for the Caribbean. I get several comments from competitors comparing different rating rules’ correction factors, especially before events and when they are new to the Caribbean. Our rule is specifically intended for our waters and conditions when other rules may have broader conditions affecting their calculations.’

Previews and what’s new
Round-the-islands courses and distance racing, ever-evolving classes, more opportunities for women, green initiatives and a return to social events are strong themes among Caribbean regattas for 2023.

Round the Islands
The Caribbean is one of the best playgrounds on the planet. It’s the multitude of islands that make it so. Several regattas capitalise on this. Witness the success of the RORC Caribbean 600, where this year 74 teams with over 700 sailors from 32 nations raced on a course around 11 islands. Hot yachts included Jason Carroll’s MOD70, the new multihull record holder; the ClubSwan 125 Skorpios, monohull line honours winner; and Christopher Sheehan’s Pac52 Warrior Won, which scored the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy for best corrected time under IRC.

Beyond this, the Round the Island Race is a favourite of the St Maarten Heineken Regatta, as is the Round the Rocks Race, a circumnavigation of the neighboring US Virgin Island of St John, which prefaces St Thomas International Regatta. The BVI Spring Regatta’s warm-up Sailing Festival makes particularly good use of its multitude of islands, plus its three bodies of water – the Sir Francis Drake Channel, Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea – with its one-day races from Tortola to Scrub Island and Tortola to Jost Van Dyke.

Below: Columbia leads Ashanti in the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta.

The Round Antigua Race that started last year will happen again in 2023. Held the day before the Superyacht Challenge Antigua, this 52-mile race offers a huge range of conditions for the superyachts and gives the owners, guests, and crew superb views of Antigua. Tying in with this, there’s a new Round The Island race record challenge for 2023 with the trophy going to the fastest boat in a trio of events. These are the Round Antigua Race, the Antigua 360, which is the tuneup race for the RORC Caribbean 600, and the Round the Island Race that kicks off Antigua Sailing Week.

Grenada Sailing Week will continue with its bi-island experience, says Carol Corvette, regatta manager and commodore of the Petite Calivigny Yacht Club. ‘We had a reduced format this year due to Covid with racing to and around Carriacou, Grenada’s sister island, before sailing south to Grenada. For 2023, we will return to our weeklong format and after the positive response to Carriacou we will start there with a round-the-island race.’

On the heels of the Caribbean Multihull Challenge’s (CMC) inaugural 60 Mile Multihull Sprint past St Maarten/St Martin, St Barths, and Anguilla this year, organisers will launch the Around Saba Dash in 2023, says Stephen Burzon, director of marketing. ‘This is a 52-mile power reach in both directions for CSA 1 boats.’

New classes and opportunities
Island configurations create course opportunities galore that invite all types of classes. Korteweg, who is working to grow classes like the Class 40s, TP52s and Diam 24s, describes it best using St Maarten as an example: ‘The variety of the courses around the island is a big plus for racers as we can offer longdistance racing for the big racing boats, windward-leewards for the sport boats and of course everything in between to accommodate the multihulls, bareboats and island time class.’

One-design classes like the IC24s at the St Thomas International Regatta, an event that has also hosted Melges 24s, C&C 30s, and VX One, are growing. This opportunity has sparked the interest of other classes such as the Cape 31s.

The St Barths Bucket successfully debuted its “90-foot class”, for those who didn’t meet the 100-foot LOA eligibility criteria. Entries included the 2020-built Swan 98, Drifter Cube, which finished second to class winner, the Swan 90 Freya.

Antigua Sailing Week launched its Sport Boat Class for lightweight race boats under 30 feet with lots of sail area like Melges 24s, J/70s, and Mini 650s. Barbados Sailing Week is working to promote a Club Class for those who live on their yachts while racing.

Women on board
The St Maarten Heineken Regatta introduced a new trophy to recognise women in sailing, while Antigua Sailing Week established its Women’s Race Day to inspire more women to participate. These two moves come on the heels of the CSA promoting World Sailing’s Steering the Course women’s global sailing festival for the last two years. The British Virgin Islands, St Maarten, Antigua, Barbados, St. Vincent, and Grenada all hosted events.

Above: the Antigua to Bermuda Race in May 2023 provides a competitive end to the season for boats heading back to New England and Europe.

Green theme
Many major Caribbean regattas are members of Newport, RI, USA-based non-profit Sailors for the Sea Clean Regattas initiative. The BVI Spring Regatta, having attained Gold Level, has banned the use of plastic straws, distributed oil spill pads to participants and formed a “Green Ranger” team of young volunteers to pick up trash during the event. This year, recycling stations and the use of repurposed wood were integral to the St Maarten Heineken Regatta.

Shoreside parties return
Caribbean regatta organisers, like many globally during the pandemic, concentrated on offshore sailing rather than onshore parties. More rum and reggae parties are planned for next season.

‘This year’s onshore events were kept at a smaller scale. More specifically, they focused on the sailors with daily prizegiving, live music, a food court and bar stations around the docks of Port de Plaisance. Easily accessible and with the boats in the background, it was the perfect atmosphere for that post-sailing get-together. This was so well received by the sailors that we will look at expanding on that concept,’ says Korteweg.

CMC organisers will debut the new CMC Rally in 2023, held concurrently with the CMC. Cruising class multihulls will depart from Simpson Bay, St Maarten with overnight stops at Anse Marcel in St Martin and Road Bay, Anguilla. Afternoon beach games, fine dining and late-night revelry are planned in each location, with prizegiving back in St Maarten. As Burzon aptly describes, this multihull-only event is now two-dimensional with a red-hot regatta presented simultaneously alongside a cool and sophisticated cruising rally.

‘Celebrations on and off the water are planned for the BVI Spring Regatta’s 50th anniversary next season’, says Judy Petz, the event’s director. ‘When celebrating a milestone anniversary, birthday or special occasion, you pull out all the stops. New racecourses, our sponsors are excited and looking to up their game and support, and of course the shoreside will be busting with more activities, parties and closing the show. There will be fireworks for sure.’

Below: Peter Corr’s Summit 40 Blitz won the Lord Nelson Trophy for the most outstanding performance from a CSA monohull.

Fly in and race
Some teams prefer to race their own hulls. Yacht transport companies offer robust delivery schedules between Europe, the USA and the Caribbean. Rallies like the ARC, in which more than 300 yachts sail from Europe to St Lucia in November and the RORC Transatlantic, which departs from Las Palmas in early January en route to Grenada, are fun ways to BYOB (bring your own boat). Add to this the Antigua to Bermuda Race, which resumes in May 2023 and adds excitement for yachts leaving the Caribbean for New England in the USA and Europe in late spring.

Flying in and jumping on a raceready chartered yacht for an event is becoming even more popular. It has proven a perfect fit for Bernie Girod, who chartered the Lombard 46 Pata Negra from UK-based LV Yachting for both the 2019 and 2022 Les Voiles de S. Barth Richard Mille and intends to do the same next year.

‘I live in California so for me it’s much easier to charter a boat. It avoids the wear and tear on my boat and it greatly simplifies the logistics,’ says Girod.

Demand is especially hot for grand prix-style race charter yachts.

‘Teams are becoming aware of the high calibre of yachts now available to charter in the Caribbean,’ says Lucy Jackson, director of LV Yachting. ‘We specialise in performance racing yachts, and we are seeing high levels of interest. There was still a lot of uncertainty at the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022 and there was hesitancy in booking, but we are getting lots of inquiries and booking already for 2023. I think it will be a massive season for chartering.’

Above: the après-race parties are another good reason to compete in Antigua Sailing Week. After several years when the regattas downplayed their onshore parties, the good times are expected to be back in full swing in 2023

The company’s nearly dozen race charters include Way of Life (Reichel Pugh 86), Hypr (Volvo 70), Defiance (Swan 68), Lorina (Swan 601), Yagiza (First 53), Pata Negra (Marc Lombard 46), El Ocaso (J122) and Adrenaline (Cape 31).

Open Ocean Management, which is based in St Petersburg, FL and Newport, RI, USA will offer grand prix yachts in the 50 to 70-foot range for events from the US to St Barths in 2023 according to Jesse Fielding who co-founded the company with Nick Dovbniak. ‘The majority of our racing platforms are based in the mid-Atlantic USA; therefore, we have reasonable transport to the Caribbean.’

‘There are opportunities to further grow this class’, says Korteweg. Race charter boats fit nicely in the racing fleets at most Caribbean regattas and offer an opportunity for teams and individuals with lots of racing experience to participate without having to own a boat. Of course there are the large highly competitive bareboat fleets at the St Maarten Heineken Regatta, BVI Spring Regatta and Antigua Sailing Week as well. However there is a good group out there that wants to charter something faster and sexier to race. The USA market is where the growth will be, as they are becoming more aware of the concept of race charters. Most race charters offer a complete package and make this a more convenient way for sailors to plan their regatta.’

How to enter
Teams are encouraged to express interest or register for 2023 as early as possible to enable organisers to best plan. The CSA provides a five-year calendar of dates for major regattas and a calendar for all Caribbean regattas year-round under its Events button. The CSA site also provides a link to many race charter companies. Book charters early too. Here too is information about applying and paying for CSA Handicap measurements. Covid restrictions have been lifted on most islands as of mid-2022. However, event organisers on each island are the best source for up-to-date information.

Click here for more information on Caribbean Sailing Association »

With Morrelli and Melvin on design, Paul Hakes in charge of build and industrial tycoon Hudson Wang investing and guiding his large team it's no wonder the exceptional skills and financial resources of HH Catamarans continues to allow them to keep driving the large electrified performance catamaran genre forwards

When Hudson Wang decided to expand his industrial empire to include boatbuilding he didn’t mess around; he invested $35M building a new yard from the ground up, filled it with state-of-the art CNC machines, and tasked veteran Kiwi boatbuilder Paul Hakes with creating the world’s leading catamaran brand. The new HH60 is a breathtaking boat, as stylish and luxurious as it is quick, and is a fitting model for a brand with such lofty ambitions.

It hasn’t all been plain sailing since the business was launched, but Hakes has homed in on a winning formula. Building boats in China means lower labour costs but higher freight costs for any boats sold into US or European markets. As Hakes points out: ‘there is no point building cheap boats here, as the money you save on labour is only enough to cancel out the extra freight charges.

The cockpit is substantially larger than the HH55’s in response to requests from clients for extra space

‘However, at the higher end of the market we can invest an additional 20,000 man-hours per boat compared with European yards which means we can deliver a level of finish that would not be economically viable in Europe’.

The exponential growth the brand is currently experiencing is reflected by the fact that only 16 HH Catamarans have been launched to date, but that a further 16 are currently in build! Hudson is not a man to rest on his laurels and is in the process of fitting out a second production facility to cope with the demand. The HH team already includes a 30-strong in-house design office led by James Hakes and 300 boatbuilders, whilst an additional 200 boatbuilders will be employed to staff the new facility.

The forward cockpit option is ideally suited to shorthanded ocean cruising

The next model to be launched will be the HH60 and seven have been sold already, with five of those already in build. The model is designed as an improvement on the HH55 for owners looking for a little more space and performance. Another new model, the HH52, will also be launched shortly to give a pretty comprehensive offering from 44ft to 88ft, and there are mid-term plans to move up the size range even further. The factory has been designed to have space to build a 150ft-triple-decked catamaran, and maybe one day they will work up to that size.

The Morelli & Melvin designed HH60 has an enormous bowsprit, giving a longer J-measurement than previous models to create space for multiple headsails. The hull design features significant forward volume which when combined with the headsails set inside one another should lead to blistering off-the-wind performance. The hull and deck are made from carbon fibre with a foam core, infused with epoxy resin and cured in an oven. No money has been spared on detailed composite work, with everything from crossbeams to chainplates to stanchions coming in carbon fibre as standard.

The 6.5m C-shaped daggerboards are larger in both length and chord than on previous models. The standard foils are symmetric which means they can both be left in a “half-down” position when cruising. The owner of HH60#1 has opted for asymmetric foils to increase performance, although these will need to be lowered and raised during every tack or gybe. An electric line drive system is optional to allow for the foils to be raised and lowered at the touch of a button which makes the asymmetric foil option viable for cruising.

The daggerboards have fixed, impact resistant bearings and the steering system has been designed so the rudders can be changed in less than an hour whilst at sea in the event one is damaged. Such features are representative of the effort throughout the design to make such a powerful yacht practical for longdistance shorthanded cruising.

The boat comes with a fixed carbon fibre mast and boom as standard, with mast jack and shims, but HH60#1 will be fitted with a rotating Lorima mast in Lorient where she will be commissioned. High quality custom-built aramid standing rigging and Maffioli running rigging are part of the standard package.

The standard spec boat has twin Beta 75hp diesel engines and Gori folding propellers but the optional hybrid drive system that has been a huge success on the HH44 is once again proving a popular choice with clients.

The hybrid drive option includes twin 20kW electric motors, a lithium battery bank and beautifully integrated roof-top solar panels, as well as an upgrade to the onboard electrical systems that includes C-zone digital switching and Victron battery management. This system is a neat way to increase your effective cruising range by reducing dependence on fossil fuels and with the optional generator it will increase range under power to 700nm. The yacht will make 10kts under diesel power when needed or a more than sufficient 7.5kts under electric power only, allowing it to slip in and out of harbours in silence.

A forward cockpit arrangement is an option that more than half of the buyers have gone for so far.Hakes believes it is particularly well suited to owners who have shorthanded cruising ambitions as it makes night watches a more sociable experience as well as providing safe access to the mast base during manoeuvres. The boat can be fitted with aft tillers and bucket seats to provide the best possible view whilst racing, as well as the possibility of twin steering wheels that can be rotated from the cockpit to the cabin top to help with manoeuvres in port.

An extra-long bowsprit allows multiple headsails to be flown at the same time

HH catamarans will offer a level of customisation with the 60 that extends way beyond the cockpit configuration and choice of rig, which means the boats can be perfectly tailored to meet the racing and/or cruising needs of each owner.

Hakes is proud that there are some things that unite his diverse client base: ‘They all take security very seriously and are happy to pay for systems that make sailing such powerful boats safe and fun. And they all value the luxuries in life so we’ve made furniture out of carbon fibre for some of our racing-focused clients but it’s still covered in wooden veneers and looks the part.’

Onboard systems tend to include load sensors in the shrouds, which give a de facto measurement of righting moment, allowing alarms to be set to warn when the boat is being pushed close to its stability limits. Other options are a hydraulic mainsheet system linked to emergency release buttons situated throughout the boat, as well as OSCAR collision avoidance cameras.

The cockpit area of the HH60 is substantially larger than the HH55 as a response to existing clients asking for more space to entertain guests. The aft cockpit contains a sunbed and dining area, and is covered by a hardtop that can include raised sections for anyone opting for raised helm stations. Sails can be trimmed from electric winches next to the aft helm stations, keeping the seating and lounging area entirely free of ropes.

HH would be happy to work with any potential client’s interior designer of choice, although they do have significant in-house interior design expertise and so far no clients have felt it necessary to take that route. Open plan indoor/outdoor living areas with panoramic views are a key selling point of large catamarans and the HH60 doesn’t disappoint. All layouts include a forward-facing chart table to port and for those who have chosen the forward cockpit option there is a central helm station with a number of options regarding seating and galley positions. The lightweight composite furniture is covered in wooden or synthetic veneers whilst Sunbrella cushions, Corian worktops and high-end kitchen appliances are included in the standard price.

The forward cockpit option is paired with an inside helm on the centreline

Almost all owners opt for a spacious “owner’s hull”, which can also include an optional crew cabin in the forepeak that is accessed from the deck. The other hull has a traditional multihull layout with a further two double cabins, ensuring that owners can cruise with six guests plus professional crew if and when required. Both the owner’s cabin and the VIP guest cabin located aft in the port hull have king-size double beds.

The HH60 is an evolution not a revolution and the lessons learnt from the HH55 and HH66 have enabled Hakes and his team to design a refined yacht that can race or cruise in style with both the performance that has made the HH66 such a success on the racecourse and the practical touches that have made the HH55 a capable family cruising yacht.

The base price is $2.8M and the cost rises to around $3.4M with all the options we imagine most clients would want (topof- the-range sails and electronics, the hybrid drive system, air conditioning, a watermaker, satcomms and a host of interior upgrades). For a semi-custom carbon fibre catamaran that provides an incredible cruising platform AND a maxisize racing option, it’s not bad value at all.

Click here for more information on the HH60 »

Not forgetting that the old one was pretty good!

There is plenty to shout about in the racing world, particularly for those who are involved at the cutting edge. Pro-Set has a long list of clients that are right in the thick of it, building boats from the blisteringly quick to the jaw droppingly beautiful. Among them is Maguire Boats, a small builder in a niche market based on the UK’s south coast that has enjoyed an impressive run of success and has played a huge part in shaping the high-performance world.

The company is famous for its International Moths, in particular its Exocet. In almost 10 years it has built 170 boats and won pretty much everything in the Moth world. But many believe that the influence of the Exocet was down to far more than simply straight line and argue instead that it redefined this popular foiling class while raising the bar among the fleet. And a look at their route to success over the last decade makes it easy to see why.

To dominate any development class, let alone such a vibrant and innovative one is impressive, but to do so for almost eight years is nothing short of extraordinary. But nothing lasts forever and as other builders and designers caught up and the performance gap started to close, Maguire Boats knew they needed to create the next generation of Moth. A reappraisal of what would make the next boat faster was required but they also knew that the success of the Exocet hadn’t just been about speed. Tapping into the recipe that had made them successful so far was going to provide an important focus.

‘We’ve been foiling for around 13 years now and our story started when we designed and built a couple of Moths that attracted the attention of a Gosport-based designer, Kevin Ellway,’ says company founder Simon Maguire. ‘Out of that came the Exocet. A number of features made the design quite radical when it came out, one was the hull shape.

‘Until then, hulls were quite square in section. At the time it was felt that because the boats would be on their foils most of the time there wasn’t much need to focus on hull shapes. But Ellway designed the Exocet with a more refined shape that would get to hull speed more quickly and therefore help the boat lift onto the foils earlier.

‘Then there was the configuration of the foils. Balancing the need for a large foil to promote early flight against the increase in drag at speed that would result from a bigger span foil was a tricky one to get right. There were plenty of other factors as well, but overall what became clear was that success would be about the entire package.’

Aside from straight line performance and handling, Maguire also believed that the goal for the Exocet was also to produce a boat that had good reliability, good after sales and good regatta support.

‘It won four world championships and numerous Europeans along with two or three national championships, so it took us to a point where we were selling boats worldwide and offering support and upgrades. It was this, as well as the speed of the Exocet that got us established in the Moth market,’ he continues.

‘After we won the 2019 World Championships with Tom Slingsby we sat down with Kevin to map out what would shape the next generation. We knew one of the big factors would be aero drag as the boats are now going so much faster. Typically we used to go upwind at 15-16kts, now we’re doing 20 and downwind the speeds are even higher. Apparent wind speeds are now around 35kts over the boat so with drag increasing exponentially against wind speed the need to focus on reducing it was clear.’

Determined that the next boat needed to be a significant step forward, but conscious that there was less open space to design in, their starting point was Slingsby’s Exocet from which they ran computer models for 30 different versions with a range of ideas from the refined to the radical. They used CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software to analyse various components of the boat. This initial design process took almost a year. But once they had settled on an overall configuration it was time to build a couple of prototypes.

Above: the Aerocet’s defining features include low freeboard and ultra-thin foil struts with a very short chord, but the same bending and torsional properties as the Exocet’s foil struts. Fletcher won the 2022 Moth European Championship in Quiberon, France recently as well as Foiling Week.

‘P1 and P2 as we called them were based on a low windage, low freeboard configuration and were a big departure from the current Moth shape where the hull, rig, wings and the gantry were a more complete, integrated design. For example the hull morphs into the wings which work in a certain way that allow us to get more drive out of the rig.

‘We spent a year testing two prototypes where we were sailing around three or four times a week. After his Olympic 49er gold medal, Dylan Fletcher then came on board to help with the development.

‘The boat that has resulted from this development is the Aerocet and one of the distinctive features of this design is its low freeboard. In fact it looks quite striking from some angles but the interesting thing is that we’ve managed to maintain the volume by putting it in other places.’

It’s still early days for the Aerocet but the initial indications are good after a win at this year’s Foiling Week on Lake Garda. However, while the world’s top sailors help to drive development in the class and performance continues to increase, some are asking whether the Moth is becoming harder to sail as a result of its continual refinement.

‘It’s an interesting question,’ says Maguire. ‘The initial developments that we made with the Exocet actually made the boat easier to sail, for example getting onto the foils earlier certainly makes life easier. But it is also true to say that some of the upgrades that followed made the later Exocets harder to master. A deck-sweeping sail makes any boat more difficult to sail. On the other hand we’ve always worked very hard on creating the best control systems we can, which in turn means you can push the boat harder with confidence. So overall it’s not a straightforward answer.’

Below the waterline the development on the foils and the vertical strut have also been important areas. Roughly speaking, as speeds go up so the span of the foil can come down which reduces drag. And while there’s nothing new in this, it is clear that the ability to fly early also depends on what happens above the waterline.

Above and below: all resins, adhesives, additives and fillers for this challenging build are supplied by Pro-Set

Most recently Maguire has been working on the vertical strut which has a reduced chord and reduced thickness. This in turn has meant a focus on the structural aspects of the foil. ‘We spent a lot of time on this to create something that has the same structural characteristics as the original struts with the same bending and tortional properties. But again, the influences on this have changed. An increase in speeds means that what was once our small foil is now the standard foil because we’re going much faster. So now we need to develop an even smaller one.’

All of which points towards materials and highlights why Pro- Set’s involvement is so important. ‘Primarily in the foils we have been using resin infusion for which Pro-Set has provided a great deal of help to us. Foil struts are typically long and thin and have lots of unidirectional fibres in them so as a structure to infuse it’s about as hard as it gets.

‘Then on the hull side we use hand layup and vacuum bagging and here we use all Pro-Set products from infusion resins and adhesives to additives and filler powders.

‘Aside from the quality of their products the level of support that we get is superb and reflects our own objectives when it comes to supporting our customers, which in turn has been such an important part of our success to date.

‘The level of knowledge that Pro- Set makes available is already really impressive and on top of this they will also run test pieces as well, which is another way that they help us to feel confident about what we’re building. Part of the Exocet’s success is that it is such a reliable boat and having a strong relationship with your supplier is so important.

‘The other thing to bear in mind is that these boats clock up huge distances in their lives. During the testing of the prototype Fletcher racked up more than 7,500km. Durability and reliability is very important.’ When it comes to the cutting edge, success is clearly more than just about speed.

Click here for more information on Wessex Resins »