A SAILJET 40 GOING FAST ON THE ARC!!!!!!!!!

Yes, a sailjet is the boat above and now you understand my surprise that probably will be yours too. And they say that they would continue cruising on the Pacific! Have a look at the ARC: http://yb.tl/arc2014plus#

The Sailejet is a kind of radical MacGregor, a very expensive one built with top materials and top quality.

The boat is very interesting, very light, with 4.5/5.0T of displacement, with carbon masts and rudder. It is a ballasted centerboarder  (only 500kg) and all the other ballast (if any ) is on the boat interior. It cannot be much since this is not a carbon boat but an epoxy one, it has a good cruising interior and the light weight gives no room for any significant ballast. They say that "the water and fuel tanks as well the batteries play an active role in stabilizing the yacht minimizing the need for passive dead weight", but in that it is not different than a well designed sailboat. The boat is narrow (3.49m) and does not have a big hull form stability. I would like to have a look at the stability curve but it cannot be a good one in what regards reserve stability or AVS, a rather poor one I would say, not one that would recommend the use of the boat on offshore conditions.

It motors fast and it sails very well downwind and given the type of boat, surprisingly well upwind. The ones that tested the boat were positively surprised with the sail performance, specially downwind and that would explain the amazing performance on the ARC : they are ahead of several cats (Broadblue 42, Helia 44), going at the same pace of a Fountain Pajot 40 (Cat), an Allures 45, an OVNI 395, an Halberg Rassy 43, well ahead of a Swan 47. Great sailing performance, but I am afraid that is not all that matters for crossing Oceans.

 I am not particularly fearful but I have to say I would not cross the Atlantic on that boat and it seems to me a crazy idea to do so, much more crazy going crossing on the Pacific with it, not to mention coming back. If they succeed they would not prove that the boat has offshore potential, but only that they had luck and did not encounter the conditions that could endanger that boat...and they are not that hard to find on an Ocean.