Young88 owner moves up a one-design class

by Zoe Hawkins on 9 Aug 2010
Stefan Goldwater is focused on his next sailing challenge: the former owner of the Young 88 ‘Panama Jack’ arrived at Harbor Springs in Michigan in Late July to collect his new boat ‘Tirade’.

With his New Zealand crew – Andrew Wills (tactics), Alastair Gair (mainsheet), Jono Rankin (upwind trimmer), Jason Herbert (downwind rimmer), Derek Scott (pit) Pete Walters (mast), and Matt Kelway (bow), they spent a week training before the US Nationals.

The boat is now being trucked to San Francisco for the Rolex Big Boat Series and Melges 32 Pre-Worlds from 16-19 September, followed by the Melges 32 World Championships from 20-25 September.

'Don Cowie says it’s one of the toughest fleets in the world – tougher than the TP52 because there are more of them. It’ll be a baptism of fire for us, it will be hard but awesome,' says Andrew Wills.

Following the international regattas the boat will be shipped to New Zealand, where it is due to arrive in November.

The Auckland based team have been readying themselves for the campaign under the trained eye of Olympic medallist Don Cowie, and sailing a Melges 24. It’s the first experience with a gennaker for driver Stefan Goldwater, but despite starting thirty minutes behind A Division in Waitemata Harbour racing, the small boat is capable of beating nearly the entire monohull fleet on line – Karma Police and Georgia excepted.

Sailing with the Etchell fleet is also a component of training, in order to improve the team’s starts. The team has been competing in the Etchells Winter Series on three separate boats.

Tirades’s 100% carbon 3DL sails are manufactured by North Sails in Auckland, and it is the team’s goal to see at least five Melges 32s come to live in New Zealand – because five are enough to bring the World Championships here.

'They seem like the ideal boat for New Zealand,' says Andrew Wills. 'They are an easy size, fun, modern, one design, affordable, and they don’t need too many crew. For international racing you can travel with your sails and charter a boat. They are also trailerable and everything fits into a 40ft container, including their two piece mast.'

As far as fitting in with the local fleet, Andrew says the boat performs very well downwind for a fixed keelboat. In windward leeward racing they expect to compete with other modern boats in similar size brackets, such as, Overload, Waka, and Higher Ground.

In early 2011 the Melges 32 will take part in Bay of Islands Sailing Week and the Port Nicholson Regatta in Wellington.