JPK 1080 CRUISING INTERIOR

I have already talked on the blog about this extraordinary boat and its very close competitor, the Sunfast 3600. The two are very fast and very close in what regards performance. The JPK 10.80 won the first leg of the Transquadra but the difference was so minimal that either boat could have won. They are also both very good at crewed regattas and again very close, but the JPK 10.80 is incomparably better in what regards a cruising interior and cruising potential.

Looking at this photo we can see that the JPK 1080 offers a nice and comfortable interior, not properly what we would expect on a racer and one that will allow for family cruising out of the racing time. A true cruiser-racer while the Sunfast 3600 has the minimal interiors of a racer. This make the JPK a more versatile boat...and those two openings that allow a forward view from the interior, besides being useful give it a very distinctive look, a cute one.... I like it a lot ;-)

GARCIA EXPLORATION 45 VERSUS COMET EXPLORER 46

Two boats pointed to the same type of sailors but two very different boats even if sharing a kind of similar look. The Garcia is an aluminium centerboarder with almost all the ballast inside the boat, the Comet is a swing keel boat with all ballast on the keel. Both have a cutter rig.

This gives Garcia an advantage in what regards simplicity and  Comet a clear advantage in what regards performance: For the same RM the Comet will only need a percentage of the ballast that will be needed on the Garcia.

The Garcia is almost integrally built in Aluminium, the Comet is made of vinylester resins, Eglass and kevlar and carbon reinforcements, using an infusion process. The finality is giving max impact and compression resistance on critical areas. The boat has a sacrificial crash box at the bow and another one at the stern. The cabin can have a watertight door. Even with all the kevlar reinforcements in what regards resistance to impact I believe that the aluminium hull will be a better option.

Regarding dimensions (m, kg, m2, L): LOA:  G - 14.21; C - 13.99. LWL: G- 12.57; C - 13.97. Beam: G - 4.44; C - 4.50. Displacement: G - 14 100; C - 11 500. Draft: G - 1.14/2.90; C - 1.60/3.50. Ballast: G - 4300; C - 4800. Sail Area upwind: G - 91.0; C - 85.3 (with Jib) 116 (with Genoa). Engine: G - 55/75hp; C - 75hp. Tankage: G - Water 500; Diesel 700; C - Water 440; Diesel 680.

From the dimensions we can see that to a very close LOA and Beam correspond a bigger  LWL and ballast on the Comet. The max draft is also deeper but the really huge difference regards RM and almost for sure AVS and inverted stability. The Comet has more 500kg of ballast but most of all it has all that ballast on a keel wilt 3.5m, while the Garcia has most of it inside the boat, just a bit below  the water line. The difference of effectiveness of both ballasts is huge as the stability of both boats, not in what concerns overall stability, due to the Garcia bigger weight, but in what concerns the stability/weight ratio.

The Comet will not only be a much more powerful boat in what regards sailing as  it will have a better reserve stability and will recover much quickly from a knock out. The Garcia has the advantage of maintaining intact its stability with the centerboard up and that can be important regarding seaworthiness in extreme weather but probably the Comet with the keel up will have a similar stability to the one of Garcia.

It seems to me that the Garcia is a more specific yacht, pointed to voyages in extreme latitudes while the Comet will also be able to do that (even with a less resistant hull) but will be a more versatile sailboat with a much better sailing performance, a long range cruising boat with a big autonomy and seaworthiness.

 Both boats can be sailed from the interior and have an all around view from the cabin and the rigging is designed to be used by a solo sailor.

The Comet  looked a lot worse on the first low quality drawings. On the new ones the boat looks a lot better and more elegant than the Garcia that,as I have already said, looks fat and too high to me. Not that I find the Comet particularly beautiful even if I like the hull.

VOLVO OCEAN RACE, GREAT VIDEOS WITH +30K WINDS

                                                                                                                          Photo by Charlie Shoemaker/Volvo Ocean Race

Time for a check up on this great race: the First leg had a great final with several boats battling till the finish line: Abu Dabi won the leg over Dongfeng and on the last positions the girls (SCA), with the finish line on sight, overtook Mapfre. On Mapfre that with AbuDabi I had considered the big favorites things did not went well and Desjoyeaux leaved the team.

        Photo by Gilles Martin-Raget

They tried to make everything look like normal but the fact is that nothing went well on the boat, the conflicts were many, the Spanish skipper did not follow the advise of the French navigator (Nico Lunven) and the last drop was near the end where against Luven opinion, Íker, the Spanish skipper, decided to go for the final approach near the coast, instead of a more offshore option, having as result to be overtaken by the girls. Too much for the French sailing star, Desjoyeaux, that is not used to lose, much less to come in last.

http://www.abc.es/vela/noticia/desjoyeaux-se-baja-del-mapfre-por-desacuerdos-con-iker/

Photo by Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

Things continue not to be well for them: they made again last on the Cape inshore race and even if they made a great start with strong wind, starting the race in first and are among the first now, I don't see them as favorites anymore ...unless Íker starts to listen to the new navigator instead of deciding himself about the best course.

You can follow the race here:
 http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/virtualeye.html
The start of the leg two, the inshore race and a resume of the leg one, all great movies:

NEW SALONA 38PC AND 38PR

Thanks to Anders, that call my attention for it, some images of the new Salona 38PC.  It is designed by Cossutti, the one that designed  the NM 38 and that means a boat that probably will be very competitive in handicap racing (ORCI and IRC). Avery good looking sailboat too!

Regarding cruising that will mean a boat not very different from the actual 38, that by the way was nominated by Sail magazine for boat of the year (like the 35 and 44), but a bit better specially downwind. A boat maximized to sail upwind and with very light winds: my kind of boat ;-)

They will have a performance cruiser version (PC) and a performance racing version (PR) and probably that denomination, like on the Dehler R is a bit misleading since the PR it will be probably just an upgraded epoxy boat with a lead keel, more draft and better specs. Sure they will also make a true racing version for the clients that want to make top racing but then it will be a boat based on the PR with higher specifications, like basalt/carbon bulkheads, carbon spars and even special keels. Anyway, very curious to see the hull dimensions and the B/D ratio, even if I don't expect nothing very different from the actual 38. Two completely different boats, not sharing the same hull with the same basic name: Salona 38. That's quite unusual.

AN ALL SPANISH TEAM WON THE ROUTE DU RHUM

On the class with more boats and where the competition is harder, the 40class, Alex Pella did not only win the race but also beat the record by one day and five hours. The boat was designed by Gonzalo Botin, the brother of Marcelino Botin and built by Longitud Cero. A completely Spanish team, from the sailor to the builder, passing by the designer, beating all the French on the biggest French Transat. That's a hell of an accomplishment and also one that means the French are not alone anymore in what regards top solo sailing and top racing solo boats design. 

Regarding design, several designers have tried including Ker, Owen and Clarke and Rob Humphrey but the  honor of having designed the first 40class racer  that beat the French designed boats on the bigger Transat, is for  Gonzalo Botin.
The name of Botin partners is not very well known out of the racing world but if I name some of their designs I believe that many will recognize the boats because they are winners: Caro, the Knierin 65 performance cruiser that beat all the race boats and won the last ARC, Beau Gest, the 80ft racer, the Grand Soleil 50, the VOR70 Camper and many top TP52 among other great boats. One of the more exciting and best NA teams around.

Alex Pella is a great sailor having taken part in two IMOCA seasons (2009 and 2011) and that, for lack of budget that would allow him a competitive boat, has passed to the 40class. He has been a top contender on the previous Transat, did not win  because he had to stop at La Coruna to repair a rudder  but after that he made an incredible recuperation to the first places, finishing second very near the first (with Pablo Santurde).

42 year old Pella, is at the top of his abilities as a solo racing sailor and it would really be a shame not to see this all Spanish team enter the next Vendee Globe. I really hope that this great victory can contribute for a Spanish national support that allows them to enter the next big solo race with a top boat, a Botin designed one, built in Spain.

Une course parfaite ! Arrivée d'Alex Pella... by routedurhum

GORGEOUS NEW COMET!!!

Unfortunately I don't know anything about it except what we can see on the image, a Yacht of about 60ft (or over) that does not come on the line of any of the actual designs on the different comets series, featuring a more beamier hull with the beam pulled back . We can see also a different winch set up (easy for solo sailing) but most of all, instead of a traveler over the cockpit, one of those direct system, type black magic double swivel airblock for mainsheet on a boom style park avenue. It looks just great and show that something is changing in what regards design orientation on Comar. It looks like a Marc Lombard design, even if there are many that could have designed something similar, all great NAs, since this is a great design. If it is a Mrac Lombard one maybe there is a big swing keel on that hull ;-). I want to know more about this one and most of all if the aging sports series is going to soon be renovated with hulls like this one, with a rigging setup easy for solo sailing (and crewed racing too).

PS: Well, it was quick, I mean receiving information. Yes it is a Marc Lombard design, it is a  62ft yacht and the first one would be probably made in aluminium!!! but it can also be made in resin. Probably that means  Comar works in GRP, Carbon and now Aluminium. If that is the case that is a double surprise :-).

NEO 400

I don't know why I have not posted about this boat already, certainly it is one of the most interesting 40fters around, a Ceccarelli design. I had made a quick reference to it on the old thread but at the time it was only at a building stage. Now it is on the water, winning races and most of all showing an incredible performance in real time and also a huge seaworthiness (on the stormy Middle Sea race). After that race the crew said about the boat and the sea conditions:

"With us was a veteran of the Volvo Ocean Race and he said he never would thought that in the Mediterranean the sea could be like that with eight meters with a breaking and a a that has increased quickly from 20K to 25K and then up to 35K and 40 knots, so constant, relentless. At the end we saw 48 knots, without a break for 200 miles. We sailed between Lampedusa and Malta, for us the worst part, with storm jib and the mainsail with two reefs. 
We were consistently between 16 and 18 knots, with peaks around 22 and beyond. At 22 knots the log was out of water and did not work anymore, so we do not know how much speed we made, but it was really tough. The unusual thing was that the wind never fell, ..40-45 knots for at least 12 consecutive hours, it was really hard...Waves as ever I've ever seen in Mediterranean and we manage to sail the boat in safety without giving up performance. .. the boat behaved very well and we have not broken anything, I noticed a excellent behavior under storm jib. ..... we have outsailed 50 fters and beaten boats like the B2 and a Cookson 50..."

http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2014/10/20114-middle-sea-ra-look-at-comparative.html

They outsailed the J122 that won the race (on compensated) by almost 4 hours, were faster than the fastest racing class40 and left behind a Sydney 43 (+3 hours) and a DK46 (+2 hours), a truly incredible performance that showed that the boat can go as fast as the absurdly high rating it has. It should be said that the J122 was incredibly well sailed and that's why it won on compensated. Those 4 hours difference are a true expression of the difference in speed between the two boats.

As a way of better understanding from where that speed and power comes let's compare it with a J122, a very fast boat and a preferred of mine, as a performance cruiser, a winner of many races (dimensions in kg, m and m2):

LOA: J -12.19; N - 12.15.  LWL: J - 10.55; N - 11.50. Beam: J - 3.63; N - 3.99; Weight: J - 6770; N - 4600. B/D ratio: J -37,4%; N - 52,2%. Draft: J - 2.20; N - 2.60/1.60.SA upwind: J - 80.4  N - 105.0.
Two very different boats. The carbon Neo makes the J look very heavy (it isn't) but the four most remarkable differences are the huge difference in RM, the difference in weight, the difference in LWL and the diference in hull design. No wonder the Neo 400 is so seaworthy, it is incredibly stiff.
The J122 is a stiff boat but the Neo with a lot more beam, a hugely bigger B/D ratio, a considerable bigger draft and a more efficiently designed keel, makes it it look like a tender boat. Also impressive is the difference on the LWL, almost 1 meter on a boat that has about the same LOA. The difference in weight was expected, being the Neo a carbon boat.

Regarding hull design the Neo 400 is very modern, with a lot of beam and all of it pulled back with a transom design that would make easier to control the boat downwind sailing fast. The J 122 has a very different hull, a more dated one, not because it is narrower but because a more modern design would have that transom slightly modified and the beam more brought back, as it is featured on the more modern J111. That and the old designed keel on the J122 makes the boat look outdated when compared with the Neo, even if still able to deliver an impressive performance.The first time I saw The Neo 400 specifications I thought: WOW!!! and when I saw what the boat was capable of doing on that race, I said again... WOW!!! what a boat!!!
They plan a more cruising version and I cannot wait to see it. It does not need to be carbon, a top light epoxy vacuum infused hull will put about more 1000kg on that boat but even with the extra weight it will be a hell of a boat. I can only hope that they can make a cruising interior as good as the one of the new version of the J122. The one of the racing version of the Neo cruiser racer is really...spartan, even if functional. Besidesbeing a hell of a sailboat, the Neo is also a Gorgeous boat: