San Francisco YRC - Four USA companies in line for Super 12's build

by Sail-World.com NZL on 19 Dec 2015 San Francisco Yacht Racing Challenge CEO, Tom Ehman has announced four US companies are in line to form the core of the building and supply program for the new Super 12 class.

He named Westerly Marine as the lead builder of the 65-foot yachts that will be used in the Super 12 Cup to be raced annually in San Francisco beginning in July 2017.

Based in Santa Ana, Westerly Marine is a custom builder of high performance, advanced composite, racing and cruising boats with a building facility that covers 2 acres in Southern California. It was founded in 1970 by owners Lynn Bowser and Steve Lee. All work is completed in-house by Westerly's building team.

“This is good news for the sport of sailing in general, the Super 12 Cup in particular, and the marine industry in the USA and California,’’ Ehman told a group assembled on Friday at Westerly Marine for the announcement

Additionally, Ehman announced that marine industry veteran Randy Moreno (Newport Beach, CA) has been appointed the Super 12 Project Manager.

Ehman confirmed that he was in advanced discussions with three other American firms for winches and deck hardware (Harken, Pewaukee, WI), carbon masts (Hall Spars, Bristol, RI), and composite tooling (Symmetrix, Bristol, RI).

With four major suppliers contained in the one country, build costs and logistics should be minimized. The Super 12s will initially race only in San Francisco, with the intention of the boats being stored at that location between annual regattas, however with the level of international interest being experienced it is likely that some will be shipped to the owner's place of residence and raced at that location.

It is expected that while sail inventories will be restricted in number, the choice of sailmaker will be open.

The Super 12 class will be an amalgam of the 12 Meter class yacht design and contemporary performance racers. Above the waterline the Super 12 will have the appearance of the 12 Meter class that was used the America's Cup for almost 30 years. Underwater the classic 12 Meter form will be replaced with a configuration not dissimilar to that of the IACC class that succeeded them and was used for 15 years of Cup competition.

The new class is expected to be about 1kt faster than a classic 12 Meter, and with an expected competitive life of more than 20 years.

Instrumentation and performance computers are banned to encourage 'seat of the pants' sailing.

Specifications of the new class were also released. The yachts will be strictly one-design, built of fiberglass and carbon fiber.

Britt Ward of Farr Yacht Design of Annapolis, Md., is the lead designer. Bruce Farr, one of three designers involved in the New Zealand Challenge in 1985-1987, which developed three fiberglass 12 meters for the America's Cup in Fremantle, Australia, has come out of retirement to consult on the design and work as an emissary with owners, designers, and builders.

Ward outlined the basic design parameters of the Super 12s at the announcement at Westerly Marine. The new class will be 65ft overall, 12ft beam, 10ft draft, and with 2500sq ft of sail. The Super 12 is substantially lighter than the classic 12 Meter, but with similar stability due to the introduction of a keel bulb.

It is believed that there has been strong international interest in the new class and racing concept with 22 prospective entries to date from more than 12 countries. The new class will enforce a strict nationality rule covering all crew.

For a further story on the Super 12 by AP's Bernie Wilson click here

Super 12 emissary, Bruce Farr outlines the concepts of the Super 12 class. click here to read.