Bakewell-White 52 hits 25 knots on maiden race

by Sail-World on 16 Oct 2006 The Bakewell-White 52, 'Wired' skippered by Rob Bassett had its maiden race over the weekend on the RNZYS Gulf harbour event.

Designer Brett Bakewell-White reports:

'This was our first sail and Rob decided to race in the RNZYS opener to Gulf Harbour. A pretty ballsy call to go sailing in 25kts, let alone racing. The crew handled the boat well and we had no major issues or breakages - apart from one crew member to the White Cross for stitches in the face.

'Top speed was 25.6kts, and this was with an open three bladed propeller doing high revs in neutral!

'Handling was great and everything felt good - some sail adjustments and a repair to a ram boot and all should be good to have a go at the Coastal Classic'.

After being a late starter 'Wired' caught her opposition consisting of two Cookson 50's and the canting TP52 'V'. However Wired was not able to hold on upwind (due to some teething problems) and finished fourth.

However this group looks set for some superb racing over the coming season with most reporting speeds over 20 knots at some stage in the race.

Photos by Quinten Houry of Doyles sails aka as 'Quinny of Doyles'

For a widescreen video of 'Wired' taken at her launch see: www.sailcam.tv