effective. The RC44 was conceived as being not just a great 40+ft raceboat, but one that fits into its own 40ft flat rack container. Shipping this way is around one third to a quarter of the cost of deck cargo and makes storing the boats easy, with reduced risk of damage. The RC44’s bespoke container is a design masterpiece. It allows the boat to be assembled and stowed away without a crane or forklift. Four vertical beams plug into the flat rack, enabling the hull to be elevated by four metres. The keel fin is dropped onto the bulb and the hull onto the fin. The carbon fibre foil weighs just 120kg and can be positioned by three people.
Shipping is also zero stress as it is all handled by the class association. One of the few stresses for crew is staying within the class’s maximum combined weight of 680kg. Is the boat is outdated? Not at all. The RC44 was drawn by Andrej Justin and is built by Pauger Carbon Composites in Hungary, but the boat and circuit were conceived by Russell Coutts in his most creative period, “between” AC campaigns. Coutts, one of the greatest sailors of all time, also subsequently developed the boat – that’s like Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel creating and then tweaking your racing car. The RC44 may be a one-design, but it should be thought of as Coutts’ best expression of a fully teched-up 40ft+ grand prix raceboat (albeit one
Above: In 2018 Team Nika owner Vladimir Prosikhin
celebrated his third World Champion- ship victory. He likens the experience of sailing these thoroughbred yachts to riding an Arabian racehorse: sometimes challengingly skittish, but in a good way! An owner driver class from the start, the RC44
attracts some of the world’s top pro and amateur
sailors alike. Events are family-friendly with VIP
facilities plus hospitality boats and a guest sailing programme
that fits into a container and is exclusively amateur owner-driven with an experienced crew) that has been “production-ised”. It has not been dumbed down nor built to a price as one-designs often are. It may not be the ultimate state of the art, but it is fully carbon fibre and 90 per cent there.
Others have tried to better the RC44’s core features but over the last 13 years none have come close. It was for this reason that the RC44 owners recently voted not to change the boat – there was nothing better out there and certainly nothing as cost-effective.
In contrast with more modern designs the RC44 is unfashionably slender, with just 2.75m beam compared to the Melges 40’s 3.5m. However, this enables the boat to fit in its container. While fat, powerful hulls are the trend, there are other ways to gain righting moment – like the RC44’s deeper keel and bigger, CNC-machined bulb.
Skinny hulls also have low drag, making them particularly effective upwind. The RC44 is assisted by a trim tab, allowing its foil to have a smaller section with lower drag, eliminating leeway and improving pointing. Similarly, the bowsprit articulates, enabling the boat to sail deeper. Artemis Racing tactician Andy Horton observes, ‘the narrowness of the RC44 and the trim tab let you point well upwind (some of the wider
boats just won’t do that) and the foils are more efficient downwind.’ It has been observed that the RC44 has similar lines to a V5 America’s Cup Class boat, but there any comparison ends. The RC44 has an entirely different length: displacement ratio, with a light displacement of 3.5 tonnes (compared with 3.8 for the Fast 40+) and around 2.2 tonnes in the bulb. Its 63 per cent ballast ratio is high compared with a modern yacht (34 per cent for a Melges 40, albeit with a canting keel), but the boat remains light enough to plane in just 15 knots. As Coutts intended with his subsequent AC catamarans, the RC44 can sail well in the broadest wind range. This recognises owners’ time being ultra-precious by minimising days lost due to unfavourable weather. The RC44 is genuinely able to race well in five knots and is a blast in 25, when the boat sails downwind at roughly wind speed. Team Nika’s Vladimir Prosikhin shares his view: ‘The RC44 is unique, a completely extreme boat, no compromise, nothing inside, very light, very strong, very narrow. In less than five knots, it makes six knots because it is a narrow, very slippery boat. When it blows, the boat does 22 knots and planes easily. It can be difficult to control, a bit like riding an Arabian racehorse! But that is what a good rider wants. The racing is totally fair. Ashore the hospitality and support is unbeatable. And I’ve made some close friends.’
The RC44 class is managed by Bertrand Favre, who also runs the D35/TF35 catamaran classes, but the owners call the shots. Two seasons ago, they shortened events by a day, dispensing with match racing. They also reduced course lengths (now 0.8-1.2 miles), enabling 10-14 races to be sailed over each event’s four days, further maximising their “bang for buck”.
From the outset, the class has had top-level race management run by Peter Reggio and Marco Mercuriali. RC44 class events are “family- friendly”, with a VIP entertainment area and a hospitality boat from which friends, family and sponsors can watch the racing. A guest sailing programme permits guests to experience the thrill of sailing an RC44 when conditions allow. As an owner-driver boat the RC44 is second to none. It is even suitable for owners with little experience. With a good crew and a top tactician on board, it is possible to be winning races within a season.
Anyone interested in joining the 44Cup circuit should contact
bertrand.favre@44cup.org www.44cup.org
q SEAHORSE 67
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