A Q&A with Lloyd Thornburg about his love of fast boats and racing
by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 8 Mar 2017
Lloyd Thornburg - Rolex Fastnet Race Rachel Jaspersen / Team Phaedo
Not too many world-class sailors hail from the high deserts of Santa Fe, New Mexico, but Lloyd Thornburg isn’t exactly your average sailor. The 37-year old investor, skydiver and racecar driver flies the New York Yacht Club’s venerable burgee from his fleet of raceboats that have included a Gunboat 66 catamaran, a MOD70 trimaran, a Farr 280, and a Carkeek 40 Mk II, the later of which Thornburg and his all-conquering team used to win an elusive double (line honors and overall handicap victory) in the recently concluded St. Petersburg to Havana Race (February 28, 2017).
Needless to say, Thornburg and company made darn sure to celebrate in style in Havana, and to experience everything that this once-forbidden (for us Yanks, at least) island nation has to offer.
While the recent win in Havana made sailing-news headlines, Thornburg and his MOD70 Phaedo3 crew, including multi-hull master Brian Thompson (UK) who serves as co-skipper, are no strangers to the sailing press, as Phaedo3 has been collecting an enviable trophy room full of racecourse-won silverware, including a course record in the 2015 Caribbean 600 (their first race with their MOD70), a line-honors win in the 2015 Fastnet Race, and a win in the multi-hull division of the RORC’s Transatlantic Race.
I recently caught up with Thornburg via email to learn more about his racing program, and to gain more insight into the wild world of offshore multi-hull sailing.
Can you tell me a bit about your sailing background? How did you get started, who were your early heroes and what kinds of boats lead you to own a MOD70?
I started sailing by reading books about adventures of other sailors and cruisers who self-published books about their adventures. I didn't really learn how to sail until I was 22 on a Soiling the aptly name CHAOS. On the path to the MOD70, I went through several cruising mono-hulls under 40', then the original Phaedo, the Gunboat 66, which I originally built for a world cruise but then wound up racing, which lead to more racing, which somehow led to a MOD70.
Can you tell me about your goals when you first bought Phaedo3, as well as your goals now? What’s been accomplished and what still remains unclaimed?
The original goal was to take the Caribbean 600 race record and to get outright line honors in the NYYC Transatlantic Race and participate in the Fastnet [Race]. We quickly accomplished all the original goals of our program. Since then, we have expanded and faced stronger and stronger competition, which has made the sailing even more rewarding. This summer we would like to sail well in the Transpac and Cabo Race.
As a helmsman, what are the best moments holding the tillers? Can you describe a perfect helm session on the boat?
My best day yet as a helmsman was our Round the Island (Isle of Wight) Race. We had a good start but found our competition rolling over the top of us. So we made an early tack out and then changed a few settings and found ourselves making our best run out of the Solent yet as a team-that and a heroic layline and huge hull fly at the Needles and we won the day.
The most challenging and interesting driving on the MOD70, other than prestart and starting, is downwind VMG running. Some days, but not always, one is able to keep up very good boatspeed at deep angles [while] never losing the apparent wind.
I think the most gratifying time is when you get off the helm after a couple of hours offshore and really feel like you kept the boat trucking along the entire session, especially in large seas at night.
What about the scary bits? Can you tell us what it’s like to be driving when things almost went pear-shaped?
We try and approach the limits of the boat but not exceed them. Sometimes the rudder cavitates at very high speed downwind. This is quite frightening but requires a quick shake on the helm and a calm head. The few times we have nearly lost the boat it was pretty scary but then the team was quick to immediately get the boat back up to speed, if slightly slower then before.
Have you ever had more fun on a boat than Phaedo3? Can you elaborate?
Other than the dock hop during the St. Barth's Bucket, I have never had more fun on a boat. [Last] summer, I also very much enjoyed our Farr 280 Fomo for the close tactical racing it provided.
Do you think that we will eventually see a time when MOD70s foil all the time offshore, or is the boat not properly designed to accommodate foiling-control systems?
I think we will see a day when an MOD70 is foiling anytime its boatspeed is above 17-20 knots offshore. I think one of the big debates inside different MOD70 teams is which boatspeed to target for foiling takeoff speed. I don't think it will be too long before nearly all the MOD70s are foiling.
We have done a lot of work in this area, but have not yet found our solution. I think the MOD70 is a great offshore foiling platform. Structurally, the boats are very overbuilt so it will only require minor structural improvement to handle the foiling loads.
Offshore foiling a MOD70 won't be clean looking like [in] the Americas Cup- it will be a lot lower to the water with a lot more spray coming off the center hull.
There is still an incredible amount of potential in the MOD70 platform, and I think it is very well suited to off road foiling.
If the 2020 Volvo Ocean Race moves to adopt multi-hulls for the , we can expect a Phaedo4 challenge?
Every offshore sailor dreams of a Volvo Ocean Race. We would absolutely look for sponsorship for a multi-hull Volvo Ocean Race [campaign]. Significantly quicker mono hulls might also be interesting. This is part of the reason we have been racing our sister ship Fomo, to keep our skills sharp and show we are a strong team [irrespective of] the hull count.
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