North Sails power along the InfoTrack
by John Curnow 14 Dec 2017 18:28 AEDT
The reigning Sydney Hobart record holder is now known as InfoTrack © Andrea Francolini
When you take on a supermaxi you need true passion, genuine commitment, unrelenting dedication, and then some serious financial wherewithal to make it happen. To do so as ’newbie’ to the whole game, you must surely also have outrageous amounts of courage, for this absolutely is stepping into the breech. Such is the case for Christian Beck, who is the new custodian of InfoTrack, the current S2H record holder as Loyal, and formerly Rambler 100 and originally, Speedboat.
So then, there is also having the foresight and the prudence to have Michael ‘Cocko’ Coxon help you by setting up firstly the crew, and then the boat. Utilising the North Sails Australia supremo’s knowledge is a brilliant choice on two fronts. Firstly, he has a massive knowledge base of both sailing in general, and specifically the race in question on many a large vessel. Secondly, he knows the boat, having previously served on board as her Sailing Master and Tactician.
It is somewhat kind of ironic that a vessel built to go looking for records in hard reaching and running conditions is now looking for work to windward, and made even more so when you consider that it was the very race she now holds the record for that forced her to go and have her for’ard sections strengthened a few years back now. Such is the meaning of the passage of time, when newer rivals are 10 tonnes lighter. Still, you have a towering rig, canting keel, the largest A2 in the class at over 1200m2, and all the required good bits/toys/mod cons to win races and set records.
What more could you want? Well, at the pointy end of the fleet there’s always something, and for the 2017 iteration of the other race that stops a nation, InfoTrack will be sporting a new North Sails 3Di Raw Mainsail and Solent. The latter is a non overlapping jib of blade like proportions, set off the baby stay or deploying its own on a furler, and designed for serious work when things are fresh to frightening. Never seen that in Hobart, argh, argh, argh, and with all of that you start to see how they are playing to their hand.
Remember some of the rules here. In order to finish first, first you have finish, and with the Hobart, you have to win your division in order to be in the mix for the big one. Of course, Huey is in charge of which division is to get anointed each year, along with at what stage, and for how long any weather will appear, and just as equally at the other end of the spectrum, the utterly delightful sound of the slap under the transom when you’re bobbing around becalmed.
As usual, Cocko was clear about everything. “Christian is a lovely guy. He is the first to say he knows sod all when it comes to the boat. On board with Christian are eight of his mates, none of whom have had any offshore experience. They are all learning, and we want to ensure they are doing so in a safe and enjoyable environment.”
“Christian looked at buying the boat back in September, and wanted help. Around that time, Jim Cooney from Maserati decided he was not going to Hobart, and that freed up a lot of the team to come over. That’s important in the scheme of things, because the Volvo, presently on its way to Melbourne, has taken up many of the professionals with big boat experience that you really need to run one of these boats.”
Now it is not like they had slim pickings either. On board with the ‘InfoTrackers’, as the newbies have become known, are VOR and maxi specialist, as well as being the Sales Manager for North Sails (AUS), Alby Pratt. Pratt was on board last year when the boat set the new course record, by the way. There’s a living legend that has won some things called the America’s Cups, and the odd Etchells event too, Grant Simmer, as well as an Olympic Gold Medallist who knows plenty about pace, Iain Jensen. Then in command of them all is our very own Olympic and AC hero, Tom Slingsby, who also has experience with the boat in question.
There also are really good all-round sailors like Navigator Murray Spence (of Alfa Romeo II fame amongst other things), helmer Ben Lamb, and ex-pat David Blanchfield, who is the crew boss for the race. The reason is the man who performed that roll in the lead up is unlikely to get time away from work, and he is a VOR and ocean racing specialist, as well as former Sydney Hobart winner aboard Bob Steel’s Quest, Tom Braidwood. Ty Oxley knows the boat backwards, and also on board are Chris Maxted, Andrew Mclean, Ayden Menzies, Ian McKillop, and up on the pointy end, Sven Runow and Frank O’Leary.
“We are there to invest in Christian and his friends, and to make it a good experience for all”, said Pratt. “Until now, Beck’s sailing time is effectively twilights on the Parramatta River, and we have him doing the buttons for the keel, rather than having the wheel in his fingers.”
Now despite the most impressive array of Hobarts, ACs, VORs and Olympics amongst their collective CV (or is that because of it), Pratt says, “There is no point breaking the boat or people. Christian wants to take people from his business and use it as a team building exercise. He has 650 employees and wants them all to go out on her, so they need to show him how to do that safely, and with the maximum enjoyment for all!”
Now as with any yacht, the enjoyment comes form having the engines working well, and in the case of InfoTrack, quite possibly the biggest news is that new 3Di Raw Mainsail from North Sails. It is significantly larger and also much lighter than her previous one, and in this you get to see some of the inherent benefits of North Sails patented 3Di technology. Reasons – more sail area will help push her extra mass along in the light airs, and less weight upstairs has a significant effect on your overall righting moment.
This is why ultra-high modulus rigs were invented, and why 3Di has all of the resin associated with the sail holding the fibres, and not the laminate holding it all together. The latter also means unbelievable durability, just look at the Ultime Trimarans and the VOR for the testimonials to that argument!
InfoTrack’s new Solent was commissioned just this week, and is sure to come of use at some point during the big race. Yet it is the solution to the mainsail that is most interesting here. The biggest limiting factor was the reef locks on the boom, which are fixed. Rather than get a new boom, the new mainsail has a significantly wider mid-girth, by virtue of side slung webbing for the reefing points. In essence, it means you get to take an extra 250mm girth at the third reef, which significantly adds to the square head atop that 140-foot stick. Working away in light airs, and also downhill, this will really help.
Not surprisingly, the crew opted to do reefing practice on Tuesday, rather than compete in the Big Boat Challenge. With the InfoTrackers having now all completed their SSSC, on Thursday night they will undertake their 200nm passage as part of compliance for the big race, and in doing so, provide all the InfoTrackers with their very first ever night at sea. Enjoy team, and good on you all for having a crack. Simply delightful to see…