PIC Coastal Classic - TeamVodafoneSailing - 'Nice to have a beat'

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZL on 23 Oct 2015 TeamVodafoneSailing skipper, Simon Hull was philosophical about not breaking the record for the 108nm annual dash up the Northland coast from Auckland to Russell.

This year the ORMA60 finished over four hours slower than the record they set last year, with light winds, headwinds and gear breakage all playing a role in the slower time.

For Simon Hull and his crew which included Emirates Team NZ helmsman Peter Burling, their ride was book-ended by two bursts of sailing at speeds of around 30kts for the first hour, after the start, and the final 30 minutes heading to the finish from Cape Brett.

After a slingshot start the red trimaran hurtled up the course reaching Flat Rock, at the 30nm milestone, in an hour.

'The wind went light just after Kawau, we put the boat on the wind until he got to the north of the Hen and Chickens (off Whangarei). We went through the inside and then the breeze came in. We had only had about 10-12 kts until then. With 20 minutes, we were up to 25-27kts for a while.

'It wasn't really lumpy because it had enough NW in it, so it was coming off the land and wasn't fetching that far.

'It was nice to have a beat for a change.'

TeamVodafoneSailing lifted her skirts once she had rounded North Head a few minutes after starting, flying her main hull for sustained periods. 'We hit 30kts several times going up the Rangitoto Channel. it was just on an hour to Flat Rock, so it was a good ride.

'Then it just came on the wind, and within 15 minutes the breeze dropped right away.

Coming into Cape Brett, the major turning point to enter the Bay of Islands, TVS had a few challenges, as the tried to avoid the notorious wind shadow created by the rugged landmark.

'It lightened for a while, but we were well out to sea and weren't affected. When we got into the Bay of Islands, we had a solid 20kts again. We had a screaming ride in doing 30kts most of the way in. It was a fantastic ride. It took us about 27 minutes to reach the finish line from Cape Brett.

'It was a hell of a ride in,' Hull chuckled. 'That was the quickest we have ever come in from the Brett, because every other time it has always been hard on the wind', he added.

TeamVodafoneSailing blew up a primary winch when they were about 15 minutes north of the Hen and Chickens, forcing the 60ft trimaran to try and minimize their manoeuvres as backup winching systems were less efficient.

'We blew up a primary winch when the breeze came in. The work-around was to the lead the sheet to another winch, but the tacks were a nightmare. And they were slow. We also managed to do little damage to our big jib - so when we got close to the cape and the breeze lightened off, we couldn't use our big jib.

'We were underpowered running for the last hour into Cape Brett, but that's yachting, as they say,' said Hull with an air of resignation.

'It's nice to have a beat', says Hull of the race which is typically sailed in an SW breeze, giving the fleet a fast reach up the coast before going hard on the wind around Cape Brett and tacking all the way into the finish line.

'We were doing 18-20kts to windward most of the time. Occasionally we wold be a bit low, but we were holding a 12kt plus VMG, which is very good.

'She's a brute when you get her into the grove in those conditions, 20-25kts of breeze with the right sails up. She is very powerful and a hell of a lot of fun.'

Recently Simon Hull though his company Multihull Ventures took on the New Zealand distribution rights for Zhik marine apparel. The PIC Coastal Classic was the first real test for the crew who were all kitted out in Zhik.

'It was fantastic. I've got to say that we got comments from the boys - we previously had some wet weather gear that had done a lot of miles. So it was fantastic to get the new Zhik great. Other than being a little sweaty underneath, we were all dry - which is a whole new experience sailing at the speeds that we do.

'It is good gear. We are all very impressed with it.'

For sailing the ORMA60, the TVS crew have two sets of Zhik gear. 'For ocean racing and coastal sailing we have IsoTak Ocean, which is Zhik's top of the line range. we've also got a set of lighter gear for Gulf and harbour racing.

We were running the Isotak Ocean, and it is fantastic gear. We were most impressed.