Technology
Case proved
Success, according to the prolific 19th century American inventor Thomas Edison, is 10 per cent inspiration and 90 per cent perspiration. It is also a formula Justin Ferris applies to grand prix racing.Weeks and months before amajor ocean race, Ferris is sweating the detail – strategising coursemanagement, studying weather, optimising sail inventories and performance packages and probing rating systems for advantage down to the nth
degree. As a senior member of the Doyle
Sails team it is easy to typecast him as “sailmaker” and leave it at that. However, the New Zealand-based four-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran’s real value within a grand prix team – and within Doyle Sails – has a much wider scope. Caro, the Botin-designed offshore
TP52 that swept to a convincing two-hour victory in this year’s stormy Rolex Fastnet Race, is a case in point. From the moment Swiss owner Max Klink framed his ambition to take on the major ocean classics – the Rolex Fastnet, Middle Sea Race, Sydney-Hobart – Ferris has been at his side. He project-managed the build of
the boat at Core Builders Composites (now SailGP Technologies) in New Zealand, a role that becamemore intimate as Covid lockdowns excluded any hands-on involvement fromthe usual run of specialists in such a complex undertaking. ‘I lived through the build on a
day-to-day basis. It was Max’s dream, but my baby,’ he jokes.
54 SEAHORSE
The value of the Doyle Sails expert goes far beyond the role of sailmaker ‘I was given scope to build the
best 52ft boat possible. The build of the boat, the concepts, systems and set-up became my responsibility,’ he adds, while fully acknowledging the Botin design office and the input of a wider but remote team. Caro is not a straightforward
yacht. A major feature is its flexibility, with two distinct modes for inshore and offshore racing. In its offshore configuration, it has a larger rudder with wheel steering, water ballast, a galley, head and crew bunks. For inshore racing, a smaller rudder with tiller steering is installed, the head, galley and bunks are removed and the water ballast de-commissioned. ‘In my opinion, it is the best built
offshore 52 in the world,’ says Klink. ‘It is like a work of art.’ Out of the blocks, Caro has
enjoyed significant success. On debut in last year’s 40-kt Middle Sea the team finished 3rd
, scored a
class victory in the Voile de St Barths regatta in the Caribbean and then moved to Australia to win its division at Hamilton Island Race Week before securing 3rd
Working to achieve the owner’s
goals, Ferris plans, designs and oversees the construction of the Doyle Sails inventory, but also plays a central role in the racing programme, managing the crew, the rating optimisation, the overall performance package. Rating optimisation alone occupies a big slice of his onshore time. It involves a close study of the next race, what rating systems will
Above: the Botin 52 Caro scored a convincing victory in this year’s stormy Fastnet Race. The boat is not only powered by Doyle Sails but project managed by Doyle Sails expert and professional sailor Justin Ferris
apply and running multiple computer simulations on how to set up the boat accordingly. ‘Each handicap system has its own rules and my role is to put together all the parts of the puzzle and optimise the boat for every race and handicap system. It is a big part of how these boats perform. ‘With Caro, for example, we
change our rating and re-mode the boat for every race. You have to do it. You can’t expect to just show up and say the rating set-up for the Hobart worked pretty well, so we will keep it the same for the Caribbean 600. It is a completely different race.’ On the water in racemode, Ferris
place in the Sydney Hobart.
typically serves as watch captain, sail trimmer and helmsman. On top of all the pre-race planning and optimisation, the key to Caro’s Fastnet success also lay in preparation (perspiration) before the race began.With a forecast of heavy weather for the early part of the race, Caro went out in similar conditions three days earlier and completed a series of practice starts plus a lap of the Isle ofWight in full racemode, complete with sail changes, reefs, high-pressure gybes and survival mode tactics such as reducing runner loads, shedding water ballast and taking crew off the rail. ‘In hindsight, that was probably
the most valuable thing we did. As a crew, we all got acclimatised to what the conditions were going to be like,’ says Ferris. Despite the practice session and plenty of forewarning – not to mention four races around
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