Please select your home edition
Edition
Barton Marine 2019 728x90

Rolex Sydney Hobart and Volvo Ocean Race winner offered for sale

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com on 11 Sep 2017
Giacomo (NZL) blasts to the Junction Bell mark off South Head - SOLAS series Crosbie Lorimer http://www.crosbielorimer.com
2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart winner, Giacomo is offered for sale.

One of the world’s top ocean racers, Giacomo also won the 2011/12 Volvo Ocean Race as Groupama 4, skippered by Franck Cammas.

She is the only racing yacht to have been a round the world race winner and then extended her racing career into a win in one of the worlds three classic offshore races. In between, Giacomo has won line honours and set records in most of the SW Pacific racing circuits.

Designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian and built by the top yard, Multiplast, in Vannes, France, the Frank Cammas skippered Volvo 70, won two legs of the 40,000nm round the world race, holding out a fast finishing Camper sailed by an Emirates Team New Zealand crew.

Her current owner Jim Delegat purchased the then Groupama 4 in 2013 and turned her into an offshore racer.

Renamed Giacomo, Delegat has raced the Volvo 70 in the major offshore races of the SW Pacific, being first to finish, winning on rating and setting several course records.

Giacomo has been kept in top racing condition including the fitting of a new Southern Spars rig in early 2016. Her sails are from North Sails loft, in Auckland.


As Groupama 4, she finished second on the ninth and final leg of the 2, securing overall victory even though there were still points to come from the Discover Ireland In-Port Race.

The Volvo Open 70 is now an all in all offshore race yacht, and capable of doing speeds excess of 30 knots.

In the 2016 ANZ Sail Fiji Race from Auckland to Denarau, she broke the monohull record by 22 hours, ripping up the 1150nm course in just 73 hours at an average of over 16kts.

Sailing in easterly tradewinds with a two-metre ocean swell on the beam, Giacomo enjoyed sustained periods of reaching at speeds of over 30kts - ideal for the Volvo70.

In Denarau, Giacomo headed the prize list winning the trophies for line honours, PHRF and IRC, which bookended a successful year on the New Zealand offshore circuit with monohull line honours and overall IRC win in the 2015 Coastal Classic, line honours in the five-race Gold Cup Passage Series and other individual races.


In the 2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, Giacomo broke a ten year run of Australian wins, when she became the first international entry in nine years to win the Tattersalls Cup for IRC Overall winner as well as being second to finish. Giacomo finished only two hours behind the winning supermaxi Perpetual Loyal and chopped almost three hours off the old race record set by Wild Oats XI. Several other supermaxis finished behind the 70fter.

Conditions were made for the Volvo70, with almost no upwind sailing, and the race was sailed hard reaching and running conditions - points of sail on which Giacomo excels.

“It kind of feels like it’s a reward for a long journey – very satisfying – although the enormity of it we haven’t been able to comprehend,” Jim Delegat commented on being told Giacomo was the overall winner of the 2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart.

“Today we’re not the same boat and crew we were in 2013. Since then, and the 2014 race, we looked at what we had to do. The mindset and crew is new and different this year', he told Di Pearson after the race finish.

“It really comes down to high quality execution, timeliness, keeping the boat moving. We used every sail on the boat - we were regularly in sail change mode, ready with next sail. This is the most physically demanding race. We weren’t really able to put a proper watch system into place, constantly bringing people back on deck for sail changes.


“But it is essentially understanding the importance of the weather – a sailing plan. A couple of days out from the race I started to take notice of the weather. I thought ‘the Volvo 70 is a tough boat’ and I thought ‘this weather is for us’ – we got lots of reaching and running. It was motivating. We went wide of rhumbline and only needed a couple gybes to make Tasmania.

“You will always get a weak spot though.

“The first 18 hours was the making of our race. From that point it was a question of being close enough to make a couple of gybes and make a gybe for Tasman Light. We got in the river and then we shut the gate on the rest.”

“The other thing that stands out on paper is there are technically five or six other boats that are faster than us – boats like Black Jack, Maserati, Beau Geste, etc. We thought we could finish top six, so we exceeded our expectations. It was so exciting when we realised.

“Once we were coming up river we were doing the calculations on the rest in regard to the overall win. The reality started to sink in about our chances, but it’s not over till it’s over.

“To finish second on line – stuff of dreams – beating the bigger boats and creating such a lead on the others of our size. We just had to grab those early strong winds.

“Winning – it’s what dreams are made of. It’s a journey of learning experience. It’s very humbling. The legendary nature of the race and the remoteness of us achieving the win... At the same time it’s rewarding and exciting.

For further details and inquiries on Giacomo click here











[Sorry, this content could not be displayed]



Allen Dynamic 40 FooterSwitch One DesignNorth Sails Loft 57 Podcast

Related Articles

XR 41 ready for racing debut at MaiOR
All eyes on Kiel-Schilksee as the offshore racing season starts in northern Europe Every spring, the sailing world turns its eyes to Kiel-Schilksee, where the Mai Offshore Regatta (MaiOR) launches the offshore racing season in northern Europe.
Posted today at 7:20 am
60th Anniversary Congressional Day 1
Strong start for defending champion USA's Chris Poole, defending champion of the Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup leads the first day of the 60th Anniversary event with six straight wins in the opening round-robin stage.
Posted today at 5:18 am
Joker X2's Long Game in the Melbourne Osaka Cup
A quiet sense of achievement after thirty-six days and 5,500 nautical miles After thirty-six days and 5,500 nautical miles, the double-handed crew of Joker X2 crossed the Osaka finish line with a quiet sense of achievement.
Posted today at 1:46 am
New footage of the Nautitech 44 Open & Bavaria C46
Have a look at the latest from Ensign Yachts, plus the J/40 wins under ORC at Pasquavela in Italy In this edition, we highlight a new Yacht Charter service in the Mediterranean, showcase new footage of our award-winning Bavaria C46, and highlight a walkthrough of the Nautitech 44 Open. Plus the J/40 wins under ORC at the Pasquavela in Italy!
Posted on 30 Apr
McIntyre Mini Globe Race fleet battles Pacific
In historic 4,300-mile test of endurance Solo Sailors Face Doldrums, Equipment Failures and Avian Invaders in Unprecedented Small Boat Challenge - week five of leg 2
Posted on 30 Apr
Don't Risk Your Keys on the Water!
Keep them safe and dry in a Vaikobi Car Key Lock Box Don't risk taking your keys on the water... keep them safe and dry in a Vaikobi Car Key Lock Box.
Posted on 30 Apr
21st Sandberg PalmaVela kicks off tomorrow
With the spectacle of the Maxis in Palma Over one hundred teams representing 19 nationalities will gather in the Bay of Palma for the first major multi-class event of the season: the 21st Sandberg PalmaVela. The impressive Maxis will be the first to take the stage.
Posted on 30 Apr
52 SUPER SERIES Saint-Tropez Cup Day 1
Light winds prove insufficient to start racing Although the 11 boat fleet went afloat until mid-afternoon, crews filled with hope and anticipation, the wind refused to build enough for racing to take place on the first day of the new 52 SUPER SERIES season at the 52 SUPER SERIES Saint-Tropez Cup.
Posted on 30 Apr
Transat Paprec Day 11
The Battle of the Leaders Now past the halfway point and sailing through the heart of the Atlantic, the competitors in the Transat Paprec are still locked in an intense battle. A windless zone expected later this week is drawing everyone's attention and forcing tough decisions.
Posted on 30 Apr
Pip Hare joins Canada Ocean Racing
Sailing alongside Canadian skipper Scott Shawyer for The Ocean Race Europe Canada Ocean Racing is excited to announce that British offshore sailor Pip Hare will join their Be Water Positive campaign for the 2025 edition of The Ocean Race Europe.
Posted on 30 Apr