Well, you’d want a spreader mark used in a fleet made up of a dozen or so €3+million carbon yachts of almost identical speed sailed by the most competitive sailors on the planet? Did we get to the bit yet about lack of impact resistance? This is the Super Series TP52 fleet coming away from mark 1 in Cascais in last year’s world championship with the breeze nudging 25kt and a fleet about to plane away downwind like a bunch of 505s (quite apt as 505 fanatic Hasso Plattner was steering the Phoenix TP52)
An all-new keel bulb has been developed by Botín Partners for the latest Bronenosec and several teams have opted to update with the new shape. Many teams are also appearing in 2019 with new rudders, a traditional area for winter refinement in this milli - metre-tight class. The last two Vrolijk designs – Platoonand Provezza – also have new keels. Provezza have also shifted their rudder position in their search for a little more downwind speed. The Vrolijk designs in particular have been seeking the ‘rip’ mode which was a strength of the Botín boats last year – the ability to drop the bow slightly upwind in 10kt or more to break a cover. New sail ideas will also be on trial in Valencia. One popular area for development is the search for further improvement in A1.5 and A2 spinnaker design for the critical 14-17kt range, along with more flexibility in shapes to allow smoother transitions between soaking and sailing bow-up, depending on the tactical situation. Developments of fore and aft sails are mainly incremental with a current focus on tweaking shape and construction to suit a season that is likely to see a higher average wind strength compared with 2018 – which opened with two tricky light-air venues in Croatia. The new Bronenosec being built by Ximo Lopez and his team at Longitud Cero has the same successful hull and deck design as the 2018 Quantum Racing, Azzurra et al but with an even lighter but stiffer structure to allow greater forestay loads to be carried without causing unacceptable global deflections (or risking a failure). This ability to reduce headstay deflection to the absolute minimum was one of the benefits that the Longitud Cero-built Quantum Racing had in their winning armoury last season.
But Quantum are not standing still. According to Ed Reynolds, the title holder’s boat is having small structural upgrades to try to preserve their advantage. ‘When we built our first TP52 in 2005 the limit headstay load was 5.5 tonnes,’ says Quantum boat captain Brendan Darrer. ‘For the new Bronenosec I hear they are looking at 9 tonnes... Most of the Botíns last season – including ourselves – were working to 8 tonnes.
‘Every generation since the start of the original Transpac 52 class has seen a small increase in max load, but there is always a trade-off in weight and fittings… However, with so much emphasis on being first to the top mark, headstay tension now pretty much trumps everything else in this fleet!’ The new Bronenosec itself will not be launched until late April, debuting at Palma Vela in early May, and so will have just two weeks to be ready for the first 2019 Super Series round, the Menorca 52 Super Series Sailing Week that starts 21 May. Bronenosec’s hard-bitten enthusiastic owner-driver Vladimir Lyubomirov – who sails more than 100 days a year as he also campaigns in the RC44 class – is an enthusiast who embraces the technical challenges as well as the ‘alchemy’ of running a full-scale, well-resourced professional sports team. Win or lose, Lyubomirov is someone who prefers to measure himself against the best, experienced owners and professional helmsmen alike. It is fair to say that after a year out, watching from the sidelines, this popular Russian skipper simply could not stay away… Finally, for latecomers, after Luna Rossa, winners of two regattas in 2018, moved on to their America’s Cup programme full time dur- ing the winter, their fast 2018 Persico-built Botín design remains available as an extremely competitive turnkey opportunity for 2019. While a handful of teams and boats rotate around each winter the strength and depth of the Super Series remains the same, with 12 boats starting this year’s early events and a similar number expected at the Rolex TP52 World Championship in August in Puerto Portals. The TP52 class is still the best show in town for committed grand prix owners and remains unchallenged as the premier inshore fleet attracting the finest professional sailors in the world. Andi Robertson
SEAHORSE 35
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photo by: studio borlenghi
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