Mr America’s Cup to compete in Coastal Classic

by Event Media & Richard Gladwell on 16 Oct 2005 Dennis Conner, a competitor who is synonymous with America’s Cup, will be competing the in New Zealand's HSBC Coastal Class starting this Friday.

Conner will be crewing for Auckland based designer, Murray Ross and sailing the 16.5 metre multihull Isis. Ross, who has been a key member of some of Conner’s past America’s Cup campaigns, is a former Olympic representative who has been involved in yacht design since his teenage years when he designed a top Javelin, (a 14ft hard chine two manner) John Wesley Harding. Sailing the Paul Whiting designed Magic Bus, Ross made the transition into keel boat sailing winning the Quarter Ton Cup in 1977 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Since then Ross has been the designer of some very fast keelboats that have punched well above their weight, and the performance of Isis, albeit designed primarily for charter cruising, will be watched with interest.

When entries closed there were 233 boats confirmed – just three short of last year’s fleet of 236 competitors. The course is 119nm running from Devonport Wharf to Russell in the bay of Islands.

The smallest entrant is ‘Nimbus II’ at just under seeven metres, and the longest the Brett Bakewell-White designed supermaxi Konica Minolta, which will be having it s first race since setting the record in the Auckland Fiji race.

The race is noted for being a battle of the multi-hulls against the monohulls, and this tradition will continue with Konica Minolta coming up against the super cat Rogntudjuuu from Noumea, line honours winner in 2003, skippered by Philippe Coste.

Also on the start line will be several large catamarans including veteran local campaigners X-Factor and Sundreamer who are anticipating that the Noumean entry Rongtudjuu will give them a run for their money. Since their fist encounter in 2003, Rongtudjuu has since had an eight month refit, reducing weight by up to eight percent.

Konica Minolta is a big step up from the next in line in her division. There are a dozen boats in the 50-60 foot category, including two new additions to the race fleet: the Transpac 52 Victory 5 (V5), which will be be at her best if running or reaching conditions prevail. Another to watch will be the brand new Cookson 50, Pussy Galore, owned by Anatole Masfen, both of which race under the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron banner.

Of interest in Division Two will be the battle between the lightweight Ross designed boat Blackout, the Mount Gay 30 Fun n Games, and the 9.7m Drinks Trolley, which has a very successful HSBC Coastal Classic track record. All of these boats will require reaching or running conditions to really light up, but Fun n Games, which is water ballasted, will have an edge if weight is important.

Division Three has attracted 13 Farr 1020s, and nine Stewart 34s, which weighing in at approximately five tonnes, will compete against the likes of the smaller and lighter performance keelboats such as Junkyard Dog, What’s News and RnB. The big number of Stewart 34s racing this year, is indicative of the class’s renewal in recent years.

There are eleven Young 88 keelboats entered in Division Four, while the Fifth Division includes our smallest boats, such as Nimbus II, a 6.99m sloop owned by Richard Raea.

Additionally, there are twelve boats raced by two-handed crews, facing an endurance test all the way to Russell.

Sail-World will be providing its own extensive coverage of the Coastal Classic, with photographers on the water, and boat contacts who will be providing reports during the race. Details will be advised on Wednesday, when there may be the announcement of a special record attempt, weather permitting.

Major sponsors include HSBC, Sunday Star-Times, Mount Gay Rum, Steinlager, Masport, Loaded Hog, CRC, Russell Cottages, Trade-A-Boat, Dubarry, Line 7, SailNZ and Quantum Sails. The current race record is 7 hours, 20 minutes and 51 seconds, set by Split Enz in 1996. The prize pool is worth $40,000.