Owen Clarke 50`Design launched, 180 test at McConaghy Yachts

by Merfyn Owen on 1 Oct 2003 Yesterday September 30, Kip Stone of Freeport, Maine (USA) was at McConaghy Boats in Sydney to watch a crane lower his new carbon fibre Open 50’ racing sailboat into Pittwater Bay.

The boat features Stone’s small company, Artforms, as its named and primary sponsor to honor the inextricable role of the company’s success in getting the boat built. It is equipped for single-handed, long distance sailing.

Stone, an accomplished sailor who grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts and now lives in Freeport is planning to sail the boat back from Australia to the North Atlantic in time to enter the Single Handed TransAtlantic Race (STAR) 2004, from Plymouth, England to Newport Rhode Island, starting on June 13, 2004.

The launch of the boat in Pittwater will be followed immediately by a 'capsize' test in which Stone, alone, must right the 50-foot boat from its capsized position by manually operating the hydraulic cylinder that controls the yacht’s canting keel.

'While other sailors have been out sailing over the past 20 years, I have been building a company to give me the financial means to build this boat,' said Stone, whose company Artforms designs and markets high quality tee shirts for resorts and retailers.

Stone believes that the boat will be technically the fastest boat in the Open 50 class in the STAR race next year.

'But the fastest boat doesn’t win the race. The best sailor wins the race,' he said. When he finishes the delivery trip from Australia to the North Atlantic, he expects to have adequate experience to make a good showing.

Artforms was designed by Owen Clarke Design in the U.K and NZ., and built by McConaghy Boats, a firm internationally recognized for its pioneering work in composite yacht construction.

For more information and regular updates on the boat’s progress, visit www.KSOpen50.com. and www.owenclarkedesign.com