High-volume bows and a new coachroof design give the ORC57 a more muscular look than its siblings. This demo boat has carbon spars, racing sails and a full payload of cruising equipment


adding weight. The floorboards in the hulls are black unpainted carbon fibre whilst the handles of wardrobe doors are made from leather, and such ideas combine to create a unique and stylish yet lightweight interior that is a clear step up in terms of finish quality to the ORC42 or ORC50.


Easy mooring As I come back outside we are overtaking a (non-foiling) Imoca that is out training, and I doubt they are enjoying quite the same level of comfort. Given the conditions, today is not the day for trying out the bigger downwind sails for the first time and it is time to head in to port.


Despite the wind, mooring the boat is surprisingly straightforward, although I’m told this is more complicated in shallow ports where the daggerboards need to be pulled up. The aft swim platform is at a similar height to the pontoon to facilitate stepping on and off the boat.


The boat will soon be sailed close to 2,000 miles two-handed from Lorient to La Grande Motte for the Multihull Show, showing how well the ORC57 is set up for shorthanded sailing. With the right setup the boat could feasibly be cruised by an


The ease and comfort at which you can sail quickly is certainly unlike any monohull


experienced sailing couple, but equally there is enough space to cruise with four to six guests plus two crew and I’m sure some owners will take this option; this is not a boat for beginners! The IRC rule seems to


favour out-and-out racers in the larger size range, so a large cruiser-racer is often not considered an option for


people serious about winning the RORC’s offshore races. As such, high-performance catamarans like the ORC 57 might be the best option if you want to cruise in comfort with the family AND have a good go at winning your division in the Fastnet, Caribbean 600 or RORC Transatlantic. An increasing number of inshore regattas in the Med and the Caribbean now include multihull divisions and this versatile boat would be a great choice for them as well. The base boat costs €1.195m ex VAT


The interior fit-out is as lightweight as possible to preserve the boat’s full performance potential but still offers a remarkably high level of finish


in sail-away condition. Marsaudon Composites has an in-house design team and consider their boats to be “semi-custom” and not series builds. The demonstration model, fully kitted out with a carbon mast, carbon cabin top, a high-end suit of Incidence race sails, NKE electronics, a watermaker and a whole host of other cruising extras costs slightly over €1.7m ex VAT, which whilst not affordable for everyone represents very good value for money when compared with other boats of equivalent performance and comfort. www.marsaudon-composites.com


q SEAHORSE 69


PATRICK LE LAY


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