New Boats Table Past perfect Something different... how about a lesson in design and aesthetics from over 50 years ago?
Windward Passage was one of the most truly iconic Maxi yachts of the IOR period, admired for her beauty as well as longevity that spanned much of this era thanks to continual upgrades and the IOR’s unusually equitable age allowance. She was designed by Alan Gurney for Robert Johnson of the New York YC to replace his previous Ticonderoga; a man with an eye for style. She was built by Grand Bahama Yacht Builders. In the Bahamas. On a beach. Passagewas 72ft 9in long, just below the 73ft maximum for the
Bermuda Race, with a relatively light displacement of 80,000lb and an easily driven dinghy-like hull form. Also a balanced blade rudder without a skeg – markedly different from all the other large yachts of the time. Her original configuration was that of a ketch, with the mainmast forestay set off a short bowsprit. Futuristic, eh? Her ‘purist’ design reflected Gurney’s thinking at the time for a
competitive yacht, fair, clean, easily driven and even quick to surf. Her construction was equally radical with spruce the principal material. Triple diagonal spruce planking covered with Dynel (an early synthetic fibre) set in epoxy, laid over longitudinal Douglas fir and spruce stringers and plywood structural bulkheads 6ft apart, lam- inated fir floor timbers, stem, hog and beams. She was considered the second-largest spruce structure in the world, after the Spruce Goose (in fact the Goose was a mix of timbers.) Her plywood deck was also covered in Dynel. Passage was built under a tent in Freeport, Grand Bahama. The first shipment of lumber arrived in November 1967 and she was launched just one year later. Within a month Passagewon her first race, from Miami to Palm Beach. Then the Miami-Nassau, then the Transpac. Setting course records in both. Johnson died in 1969 but his sons, Mark and Fritz, continued
to campaign the yacht. In 1971 she broke her own Transpac record. She competed in the 1975 Southern Cross Cup and enjoyed an epic battle with the newer Kialoa III in that year’s Sydney Hobart.
Custom builds BOAT
2.4mR Open Flax 27
Riptide 30 Chase Zero 5.5 Metre TF35 Fly40 AC40
Musa 40 Raison 40 VPLP 40 Lift40-V2 Mach40.5 MaX 40 V2
Pogo 40S4 V2
LOA DESIGNER 4.352m Dave Hollom
10m Team New Zealand 10.1m Dave Hollom
BUILDER Composite Craft
8.2m Robin Zinkmann/Judel Vrolijk Greenboats 9m Bieker Boats
Betts Boats
TNZ/Toyota/Hexagon Purus Composite Craft
McConaghy, China San Georgio, Genoa Gepeto Composites Multiplast
Passage and Kialoa were within sight of each other for the entire race, Kialoa taking line honours in a new record time of 2d 14m 36s with Passage just 23 minutes behind. The close rivalry continued, but usually with Kialoa taking the top prize… Following the regular beatings Fritz Johnson added 20ft (sic) to
both Passage’s masts, and although her rating shot up she re- emerged as a winner in the 1977 Big Boat Series. Point well made. Bill Johnson of Atlanta (no relation) bought Windward Passage in
the early 1980s, describing it as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime boat’. He com- missioned Doug Peterson helped by Gurney to redesign the underbody with a new keel and a titanium rudder… and a single new 110ft spar. Her rating grew again of course, but she went on to win class at the 1982 SORC. In her 15th season. Past perfect.
q LAUNCH COMMENTS
June 2023 onward If it’s got ‘Metre’ in the name then these days Hollom is likely to have already got it sewn up Feb 2020 onwards Plants, cork and recyclable Sicomin GreenPoxy resin. A genuine effort In due course... 2022 onwards 2023
Owner Peter Heppel is designing Chicago airport – not sure what the builder’s excuse is? They say you’ve all ‘got to’ buy one… Boat 1 looks fine. Quiet elsewhere, though… The world champion’s pre-preg replacement won on its debut; more to follow
10.6m Redondo/Kramers/May/Dubois Heol/Multiplast/Lorima/Decision August 2019 onwards 15m by 11m, massive foils and rig and just 1,250kg. And complex systems working a treat 11.8m Caponnetto Hueber/Pure Design Persico 12.12m Team New Zealand 12.18m Gianluca Guelfi 12.18m David Raison 12.18m VPLP
2023 2023 2023
June 2023
12.18m Marc Lombard 12.18m Sam Manuard 12.18m David Raison
12.18m Guillaume Verdier
Lyman Morse 46 13.95m Kevin Dibley Ocean Fifty RP 52 IRC 52
15.15m VPLP
M&M 55 Wylie 60
Daytime 60 Imoca 60 Imoca 60 Imoca 60 Imoca 60
15.85m Reichel/Pugh 15.85m Botín Partners 16.7m Morrelli & Melvin 18.28m Tom Wylie 18.28m Judel-Vrolijk 18.28m David Raison 18.28m VPLP
18.28m Sam Manuard
Baltic 111 Custom 34m Wally 145 Project 405 Project 404
18.28m Farr/Bertrand/Dupont 44.2m Frers
46.8m Reichel/Pugh/Nauta 59.7m Malcolm McKeon
2023
One-design mini AC75… For those for whom the RC44 became, well, just a bit of a yawn Come on ‘those bold private owners’… where are you all hiding yourselves? There are at least two three more Class40 Pirellis already well underway One-off Class40 for ridiculously talented Crédit Mutuel skipper Ian Lipinski
Gepeto Composites/Lalou/V1D2 Autumn 2021 onwards Yoanne Richomme’s flat-water Rhum monster. Five sailing and at least six more on order JPS Productions JPS Productions
Structures Shipyard Lyman Morse CDK
Sail GP Technologies Sail GP Technologies
Schooner Creek Boat Works Betts Boats Multiplast Persico
Airbus and friends Black Pepper Yachts Alva Yachts
Botín Partners/Jarkko Jamsén Baltic Yachts Persico, Italy Royal Huisman Royal Huisman
Autumn 2021 onwards After being put on a diet this dramatic Class40 started going a lot faster. Four sold… June 2022 onwards Manuard’s second Class40 scow is fast but no oil painting. Six+ boats sold 2023 onwards
2022 onwards 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023
2023/24 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2025
Mr Scow is now catching up in numbers with this latest series-built offering Multiple ‘improves’ for 2023. 11 boats sold with Vincent Riou the latest customer A sailor’s yacht. Cold-moulded Douglas fir/Western red cedar. Yacht design is back to art A development of Route du Rhum winner Koesio. Slowly this class is finally happening All-carbon high-performance push-button racer-cruiser from the former Core Composites team Full-on no-compromise IRC racer. Looks like a TP52 with the sharp edges rounded out. Cool Large-capacity commercial charter catamaran for Maui… 149-person large capacity! Wishbone una-rigged canoe. Best thing we’ve seen for a while He’s at it again… a new super-slim 60ft dayboat for Jacky Setton Two left-field non-foiling VG Imocas for Eric Bellion and Jean Le Cam Armel Tripon builds his new Imoca using ‘carbon offcuts’ from Airbus Black Pepper are now well into the new ‘green’ Manuard design for Phil Sharp Jörg Riechers puts a project together with a German luxury electric yacht brand Following on from Baltic’s pretty Café Racer… very contemporary package
The biggest yet from Persico. Very light at 171 tonnes. Hybrid power means silent running The confidence and appetite for giant new sloops are reaching new heights (happy days) Aluminium hull, carbon superstructure… and a sloop. A new benchmark?
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