America’s Cup challenger 'faster than the wind’

Press, 11 February 1988, Page 31

America’s Cup challenger 'faster than the wind’

By

ANDREW ALLISON

of Reuter Auckland

New Zealand’s challenger for the America’s Cup will be a monohull yacht capable of travelling faster than the wind even when sailing into it, it’s co-designer Russell Bowler, said on Monday.

Mr Bowler said the radi-cally-designed giant yacht would be capable of 14 knots upwind in nine knots of wind and 17 knots downwind. Winds of nine knots are typical in late summer off California. “You won’t see a lot of spinnakers on this boat,” he said. “There will be more reaching sail. A reach will be more like a run for this boat.”

Mr Bowler made direct comparisons between the likely performance of the multihull boats proposed by the San Diego Yacht Club, •which will be defending yachting’s oldest trophy later this year, and the New Zealand monohull. “In strict terms, a monohull such as ours shouldn’t outperform a multihull. It shouldn’t... but it could,” he said.

Mr Bowler said the monohull should have its best relative advantage in light winds, but the head of the

challenging syndicate, the Auckland banker, Michael Fay, said such comparisons were academic.

“We have picked the type of boat and maintain they should sail its like or similar boat,” Mr Bowler said. Mr Fay said his crew was likely to include designers Bruce Farr, Tom Schnackenberg and Russell Bowler, but he would not say whether he could fulfil his dream of being in the crew himself. Mr Fay, a fit 39-year-old, but not an expert sailor, said the criteria for crew selection would be left to New Zealand sailing master Rod Davis. “If I meet them, fine, but if I don’t Rod Davis will find someone else. That’s not a big part of the campaign,” Mr Fay said. A group of journalists were shown the boat, but in exchange for the privilege, were sworn to secrecy about its design.

Some of its dimensions are already public knowledge. It is a giant among racing yachts, about 130 feet long, 90 feet at the water line and drawing 28 feet of water, more than most cargo ships.

The builders will need to pull down a wall of the building shed to free it and cannot add its keel while it is inside.