wallyrocket51 reveals its dual soul during sea trials

by Wally 15 May 06:40 PDT

For more than three decades, Wally - a Ferretti Group brand - has been specialising in the unordinary. Consistently several years ahead of its competitors, its striking yachts have always blended unparalleled performance, uncompromising comfort and unsurpassed style, continually redefining the super-sailing segment with every launch.

Wally's first thoroughbred race boat design, the 15.5-metre wallyrocket51, has been flexing her muscles in sail trials off Valencia
Optimized for one design racing with an owner-driver at the helm—and just as competitive under IRC/ORC rules—the wallyrocket51 showcases a design that excels across formats.
The wallyrocket51 offers owners ultimate flexibility, from podium-topping grand prix performance to exciting one-design Wally fleet racing, all with reduced capital and campaign costs

wallyrocket51 - photo © Gilles Martin-Raget

2023 announced the birth of another untypical project - this time, to create a fast 50-foot race boat, encapsulated in a ratings-busting package that would be competitive as a one-design owner-driver class that would bring the Wally magic and camaraderie to an exciting, exacting yet accessible rocketship, and both in fleet racing under IRC and ORC.

That vision is now a reality, and the wallyrocket51 has already made a name for itself with its speed during the final sea trials, ahead of its debut at the ORC National Championship of Central and Southern Tyrrhenian, held in Sorrento last week. It is now gearing up for the Cowes-Dinard-Saint Malo, the Admiral's Cup, and the Fastnet Race later this summer. What's more, the wallyrocket51 has been conceived to offer the ultimate in flexibility, not only being able to switch between manual-powered fleet and electric-powered one-design racing modes but also offering the ability to race with reduced crew of 11.

wallyrocket51 - photo © Gilles Martin-Raget

The wallyrocket51 is a serious accomplishment: it is born from the brilliance that has always defined the Wally brand. "When I founded Wally, I wanted to create sailboats that could be both very comfortable and easy for cruising but also very fast for racing," begins Wally Founder and Chief Designer Luca Bassani. "Over the past 30 years we have certainly achieved this result - but today, in our opinion, the market is changing, splitting between owners who want to cruise and those who want to race, and race in a more professional way. That's why we decided to build a one-design boat, and for that there's no better size than around 50 feet, which is why the wallyrocket51ended up at 51 feet (15.5 metres)."

"We think the one-design idea will be very appealing to a wide range of owners as not only will the boat be lightning fast but also the life of the boat is much longer - you don't have a new, faster boat coming every year," Bassani confirms. "The rule will be very strict also for things like the maintenance of the boat so that people can't modify their yachts to gain an advantage. It also means we can design in all the innovations now, to maximise performance and keep the fleet current and exciting for many years into the future".

wallyrocket51 - photo © Gilles Martin-Raget

Design

Creating a 51-footer that could out-pace while being manageable for an owner-driver and still be able to offer shorthanded day sailing was a challenge that only the best could tackle, so Wally turned to racing maestros Botin Partners to develop the naval architecture. Even with Botin's extensive experience developing the fastest TP52s and other 50-foot race boats, the Wally team still pushed them to innovate - and Botin responded, not only with a yacht that displaces just 6,250kg, but which also incorporates a state-of-the-art water ballast system comprising 640 litres per side across fore and aft tanks.

Adolfo Carrau, Partner and Designer at Botin Partners, explains that the wallyrocket51 was developed from the ground up as a new one-design class optimized for both IRC and ORC. Drawing on their deep experience in the 50-foot segment, the team worked closely with Wally to ensure top-level performance, cost efficiency and production feasibility. The collaboration also shaped the deck layout and integrated features. A key innovation is the yacht's ultra-low displacement, which boosts downwind speed and led to a full rethink of sail plan, hull shape and keel-bulb design.

wallyrocket51 - photo © Gilles Martin-Raget

Style

While Botin Partners' work underpins the performance and race functionality of the wallyrocket51, the Wally team still wanted to ensure that there were elements of the design that would make the model unmistakeably Wally. That fell in part to the Santa Maria Magnolfi design studio, who worked with Botin and Wally to incorporate style elements without compromising any aspect of her racing ability.

The initial idea of designing a pure racing yacht while staying true to the Wally philosophy was a real balancing act between two worlds. On one hand, the focus was on achieving top-level performance, with careful attention to speed, stability, and responsiveness in extreme racing conditions. On the other, it was essential not to compromise on the innovation and aesthetics that define the Wally identity. In this context, design played a crucial role — not just in terms of beauty, but as fully integrated functionality. Every stylistic choice had to meet specific sailing requirements, like weight reduction and surface optimization, while still expressing the brand's signature forward-thinking approach.

The wallyrocket51, despite its pure racing DNA, clearly reflects the design language of the Wally fleet. Key elements like the inverted sheerline, the stern design inspired by Wally's signature air intakes, and a sportier take on the steering wheel used in larger models like the wallywind110 all reinforce this family connection.

wallyrocket51 - photo © Gilles Martin-Raget

Construction

Building such an extreme and lightweight racer as the wallyrocket51 demands absolute precision, with extremely tight construction tolerances. That's why Wally turned to Pure Design & Engineering to oversee the project and ensure the highest engineering standards. The hull was built in a shipyard specialized in racing yachts, using pre-preg carbon with Corecell and Nomex cores—advanced materials that guarantee both lightness and strength.

At the heart of the project was the ambition to create something new and intelligent, with an unwavering focus on performance. On a yacht so compact and light, even a 3% margin in the weight of the hull's composite materials can translate into a critical difference of around 36 kilograms. This is why Wally placed such meticulous attention on weight control—an essential factor in delivering the required performance levels.

wallyrocket51 - photo © Gilles Martin-Raget

Performance

With a 94-square-metre square-top main flying off the Southern Spars rig - held up with Future Fibres AEROsix hybrid carbon rigging - contributing to 160 square metres of upwind sail area, and a 265-square-metre gennaker giving 360 square metres of downwind sail area, the wallyrocket51 is fully powered for speed. Early sail trials off Valencia have already shown it to be lightning fast and a sensational yacht to helm, light on the wheel but responsive enough to give that fingertip feel that is instantly engaging.

Headed by 28-times world champion sailor Vasco Vascotto and Argentine supremo Guillermo Parada, both of whom have been consulting on the development of the wallyrocket51 since its inception, the sailing team has been exploring the yacht's capabilities by sailing against target boat speed numbers gleaned from other 50' racers.

"We wanted to create a boat that could make owners and sailors happy, incorporating all the things they say they want when you have a beer with them after racing - a yacht that holds its value, that is as stylish as a Wally, that is faster than anything else out there, and that still has a controllable budget," Vascotto confirms. "And every day we sail the boat, in different conditions, it confirms we got the project right!"

wallyrocket51 - photo © Gilles Martin-Raget

A boat born to face the toughest challenges, as confirmed by Vascotto himself: "As a crew, and by mindset, we love challenges, and perhaps the most difficult and important one is the Admiral's Cup and Fastnet Race. Even though the wallyrocket51 was created as a one-design, we've always wanted to prove that it could compete anywhere - in ORC, IRC, and long-distance races. It's not a boat built for these events, but we'll do everything we can to prove that it can be competitive there too."

The results so far have proven the concept - upwind the wallyrocket51 has shown exceptional pointing ability while sailing fast. Downwind, the wallyrocket51 is already living up to its name, delivering a scintillating ride even in lighter airs with the asymmetric flying. "Over upwind and downwind combined we should be quicker than any other boat in spite of being smaller and lighter," beams Parada.

Parada and Vascotto are a solid foundation for the wallyrocket51 team, bringing years of experience and synergy. Once rivals on J24s, they've now sailed together for 15 years on the TP52 circuit - notably with Azzurra - and on Maxis. "When Wally approached me about this project, I said I'd join only if Vasco was part of it too," says Parada. "We've also had a long, open relationship with Botin and the design team, which makes collaboration smooth and honest — crucial when the goal is to make the boat faster and better."

Their combined experience has also been central to understanding the exceptional performance of the wallyrocket51 on the water.

wallyrocket51 - photo © Gilles Martin-Raget

Parada is measured when it comes to defining the wallyrocket51. "It's a boat with its own DNA, designed for owner-drivers, with a taller rig relative to its size and incorporating all the latest innovations from recent years," he says. "I believe it could appeal to a wide range of owners of equivalent classes, or even maxi yacht owners looking for something nimbler and fun to race with friends."

Keys to the wallyrocket51 are the addition of water ballast, a powered-operated hydraulic system and battery pack that will likely be used for the one-design class racing to make it as accessible as possible for owners. The water ballast system allows for fore-aft trim variations; the system can fill the tanks in a minute, and it takes just 6/7 seconds to transfer the water from one side to the other when tacking. Making the hydraulic winches and battery pack removable - with coffee grinders delivering manual power to the Harken Air winches - ensures the wallyrocket51 can be raced in IRC and ORC fleets without rating penalty.

Unlike some niche race boat designs, the wallyrocket51will not just excel on windward-leeward but has been conceived to take on everything an owner could throw at it. "We designed this boat to be a good all-rounder that should be competitive in most conditions, and the boat is also meant to be competitive in any part of the world - structurally it has been engineered since day 1 for offshore races," Carrau enthuses. "Having said that, like most light displacement racers, it will be a lot of fun sending it downwind in big breeze!"

wallyrocket51 - photo © Gilles Martin-Raget

The wallyrocket51 made its much-anticipated racing debut at the ORC Central and Southern Tyrrhenian National Championship from 8 to 10 May. This marked the first official regatta appearance of the new model, offering a unique opportunity to see it in action.

And its debut couldn't have been more spectacular: the wallyrocket51 absolutely dominated the ORC National Championship for Central and Southern Tyrrhenian Italy, scoring three wins out four races and taking first place overall in the final standings. An outstanding result that immediately highlights the exceptional speed, efficiency, and racing capabilities of this new high-performance boat made by Wally.