Foiling Supermaxi CQS on Sydney Hobart Qualifier - First racing images

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com on 25 Nov 2016 The radical supermaxi, CQS, which is the largest yacht fitted with the DSS foiling system started the Royal Akarana Yacht Club's 320nm White Island Race in a building easterly breeze.

The race is a Qualifier for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, which gets underway on Boxing Day from Sydney.

Formerly the 90fter, Nicorette, CQS has had a radical revamp from Auckland's Bakewell-White Yacht Design with the rebuild being undertaken by Southern Ocean of Tauranga. The spar upgrade is by Hall Spars NZ and sails by Evolution.

After a week of light winds in Auckland an approaching front promised to give CQS a solid workout.

CQS seemed to answer many of the questions that have been asked of her radical surgery.

For this Qualifying Race she sailed without the DSS foils which protrude horizontally from her topside and provide lift, reducing hull drag and producing more righting moment.

Her movement through the water was very clean, as would be expected of a supermaxi of her size in a flat sea state.

The aero-foiled rig supports were occasionally clipping a wave. But the aero-foiling meant that only fine spray was being thrown, and contact with waves when heeled was surprisingly rare - and usually rectified by the helmsman luffing closer to the wind.

She is sailing this race using her canting keel only, and daggerboard.

With the DSS foils fitting they are expected to generate lift as CQS heels and this should minimise wave strike on the wing supports.

Organised by Royal Akarana Yacht Club, the race is from Auckland around White Island, a geothermally active island located in the Bay of Plenty, and return. The Race can be followed by clicking here. Unfortunately CQS is not carry a tracing device.

Despite winds earlier averaging 25kts and gusting to over 40kts earlier in the day at White Island, as of 2300hrs NZT on Friday, conditions had lightened considerably.

CQS was reported as being about to round White Island at the 1830hrs sked on Friday evening taking just over eight hours for the 160nm trip to the turning point. The rest of the fleets' reporting positions can be seen by clicking here