FAST CATS UNLEASHED
Yachting World|December 2023
AS MULTIHULLS GET BIGGER AND FASTER, IT'S NO SURPRISE OWNERS WANT TO TEST THEM ON THE RACECOURSE
ANDI ROBERTSON
FAST CATS UNLEASHED

The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda is one of the most prestigious yacht clubs in the world, its marble atrium and exclusive pool deck usually welcoming owners and crews of superyachts, Swans, and iconic classes like the Star, J-Class and TP52. But this autumn the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, the club’s season finale, broke new ground with three catamarans given pride of place at the YCCS’s race dock.

The three different, but equally exciting, powerful big cats went on the prowl in a newly introduced multihull division within the 45-strong entry at the showcase Maxi event. Lord Irvine Laidlaw’s brand new Gunboat 80 Highland Fling 18 lined up alongside Adrian Keller’s 84ft Irens-designed Allegra (launched 2014), and the new Gunboat 68 Convexity, campaigned by Don Wilson and Suna Said. For the record, Allegra won overall by two points from Highland Fling which missed the second, windy race due to a ‘teething gremlin’, but then won races three and four when the breeze had diminished. Convexity finished 3rd, on equal points aggregate to Highland Fling.

Highland Fling 18 is Laidlaw’s first new build multihull, after he had an interim pre-owned ‘starter’ Gunboat 68 (hull No1) in 2021-2022 while the 80 was in build. The red-hulled beast is undoubtedly the benchmark for a growing breed of Maxi Multihulls which are now starting to become more popular in Europe as well as in the Caribbean and the USA.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2023 من Yachting World.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2023 من Yachting World.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من YACHTING WORLD مشاهدة الكل
5 EXPERT TIPS BOB BEGGS ON SAILING IN COLD WEATHER
Yachting World

5 EXPERT TIPS BOB BEGGS ON SAILING IN COLD WEATHER

As temperatures drop, Andy Rice gets tips on how to handle the cold from self-confessed Arctic weather fan and winning Clipper Round the World Race skipper Bob Beggs

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024
SPECIAL REPORT EXTENDED CRUISING IN THE BALTIC
Yachting World

SPECIAL REPORT EXTENDED CRUISING IN THE BALTIC

Sweden offers cruisers a warm welcome for winter - Janneke Kuysters has advice on how to boost your sailing time in the region

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2024
NIKKI HENDERSON
Yachting World

NIKKI HENDERSON

SEARCHING FOR MORE SPEED? BEFORE TINKERING WITH TINY ADJUSTMENTS, MAKE SURE YOU'VE GOT THE BASICS RIGHT THE POWER DRIVING THE BOAT

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024
MATTHEW SHEAHAN
Yachting World

MATTHEW SHEAHAN

WHAT WILL THE BOATS OF THE 38TH AMERICA'S CUP LOOK LIKE? THAT'S THE $20 MILLION QUESTION IF BRITAIN OR NEW ZEALAND DECIDE TO DEPART FROM THE AC75

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024
60-knot squalls hit Middle Sea Race
Yachting World

60-knot squalls hit Middle Sea Race

The 45th running of the Mediterranean offshore, the Rolex Middle Sea Race, saw a spectacularly random mix of conditions - even for a race which is famed for its variable weather patterns.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
Italy win first Women's Cup
Yachting World

Italy win first Women's Cup

The first ever Women's America's Cup was won by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli after a single, twoboat shoot-out final on 12 October.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
'Three-peat' for ETNZ
Yachting World

'Three-peat' for ETNZ

As Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand came into this year's 37th America's Cup as clear favourites. But the Kiwi camp has far more than just the structural advantage of being the ones that wrote the Protocol for the competition, and the originators of the AC75 concept.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024
ROOM WITH A VIEW
Yachting World

ROOM WITH A VIEW

SWEDISH DESIGNER GABRIEL HEYMAN POURED A LIFETIME OF IDEAS INTO THIS PILOT SALOON CRUISER, WHICH INCLUDES ARGUABLY THE LARGEST COCKPIT AVAILABLE AT THIS SIZE

time-read
10 mins  |
December 2024
LIVING HISTORY
Yachting World

LIVING HISTORY

THE ICONIC SEASON-CLOSING REGATTA LES VOILES DE SAINT TROPEZ WAS AN IMMERSIVE HISTORY LESSON FOR CROSBIE LORIMER

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2024
CHANGE OF PLAN
Yachting World

CHANGE OF PLAN

LEAVING AUSTRALIA, MARIANNE URTH NEVER PLANNED TO MAKE LANDFALL IN THE ISLANDS OF VANUATU, BUT THE EXPERIENCE WAS MAGICAL

time-read
9 mins  |
December 2024