TP52 Cougar II .. if I was a gambler…

by John Curnow on 6 Feb 2009 … then I wouldn’t mind betting that the acclaimed TP52 ‘Cougar II’ is well and truly on the market. What with her owner, Alan Whiteley, having been spotted at Mick Cookson’s yard in NZ last month and the success of the new Farr55 ‘Living Doll’ at the recent Skandia Docklands Invitational and Geelong Week.

Some have even overheard Alan involved in fairly free-ranging discussions about the relative merits Farr v Reichel Pugh and others.

Of course the parallels are easily drawn between the former Benneteau owners Alan and Michael Hiatt, both of whom crossed over into full-bore racers in a similar timeframe and both of whom definitely like to be at the business end of the fleet!

So it would seem that black (OK anthracite really I suppose) is the new black.

And is a Farr 55 the new must have??? Possibly it is, but then that would actually make ‘Cougar II’ an awesome purchase.

This TP52 has been modified and strengthened to cope with Australian conditions and she rates well. ‘Cougar II’ is 1.348 and by way of comparison ‘Wot Now’ is 1.354 and ‘Living Doll’ is 1.394. All the while remembering that the Doll got Geelong Week on a count back from ‘Wot Now’.

Oh yeah - and she is fast!

‘Cougar II’ has also had a stellar 12 months with the glassware. She and her crew have won The Lipton Cup, the Audi Top of the Bay and Big Boat Regattas and the last Range Series here in Melbourne and are well placed to repeat that achievement this year.

No doubt their Everest was the win over all and sundry in the Grand Prix Division at Hamilton Island Race Week late last year. There are seconds in 2008 for IRC in the Sydney-Hobart and the Melbourne-Geelong passage race too.

Could it be that there is indeed another F55 on the way to Melbourne? Or is it that someone else has found an edge in the speed stakes. Dilemmas, dilemmas - what to buy when you're having so much fun... As Icpota from ‘The Age’ used to say 'Hmm. Fascinating reading!'