New and improved Swiss Army Knife (now with steroids)
by John Curnow, Sail-World.com AUS Editor 22 Dec 2025 09:23 AEDT
Port C-Foil being inserted into Palm Beach XI - tricky job given the number of bearings inside.. © John Curnow
Racing it won’t be easy. Owing to the complexities of angles, horsepower, one daggerboard down, the other daggerboard up, C-Foils extended, C-Foils retracted, Leeward Elevator down, Windward Elevator up, Slab time or not, peel or not, Cunningham, Outhaul, Whisker Pole, keel position, Larry on absolutely everything, water and spray going everywhere, often with severe gusto, weather now, weather in 10 minutes, weather in an hour, whether or not we’re bouncing off the rev limiter, position on the track, and the list would just extend from there…
Now absolutely loving it, should you be blessed to be one of the POB, is bound to be an utter breeze. Could well be the photographer’s delight, as well. Bound to get the commentators in a fizz, too.
Yet what does the man who’s going to have the wheel for the start think of it all? Best we ask him, so we did. What follows is Mark Richard’s take on it all, right as they were in middle of getting Palm Beach XI to firstly meet her new 7m keel, then stick, and ultimately go and get the whole lot wet, which over the weekend just passed included her qualifying passage.
Now there were only six months to not only secure the deal in the first place, then come up with the master plan, let alone design it, build it, cut it, chop it, manufacture it, and a whole bunch of other things. Back at just two weeks to go, calling it crunch time seemed just a tad understated.
Call it a statement
“This boat's been a part of my life, and I've been a part of this life for 20 years, so we're very organically connected. A lot of the changes we're doing today are things that I've been thinking about for years. It is no overnight sensation. The fact that we actually decided to buy the boat was a big deal for us. It's actually not all about sailing. It's about promoting Palm Beach Motor Yachts in America and Europe, and around the world. There's no better platform to do that than with sailing,” said Richards.
“To buy Wild Oats XI was one thing, but then to take on the changes and the radical modifications that we've decided to do has been a big deal. No one thought we could possibly do it. However, we're here today, two weeks out from the Hobart race (Editor - when we spoke), and all the parts have arrived.”
We just got the big C-Foils from McConaghy that arrived today, and they're being fitted as we speak. It is all coming together beautifully. We've got one more day of lamination, then a massive post curing session and cookoff tomorrow night. Once all of that's done, we're basically ready to put the boat together in, and start sailing.”
Once referred to as merely a Swiss Army Knife, it is like there’ll be no need for a can opener, corkscrew, or blade screwdriver on this baby. It is more like this new and improved ‘utensil’ has Starlink, a Cray computer, propellerhead caps and pocket protectors for all, and a brand new 1.21GW Mr Fusion right behind the keel mechanism. It is like Inspector Gadget had a lovechild with both Thunderbird I (long, sleek, silver, and fast), as well as Thunderbird II (more party tricks than Lindsay Lohan and River Phoenix). Then again, it might be easier to just call Palm Beach XI, Edward Scissorhands.
Part of the program is obviously the keel and foil arrangement (the elevators are there to control pitching), which is quite unique because the keel actually also becomes part of the lifting wing surface, if you like to look at it in that way. The boat's going to reduce displacement by possibly up to 50%. It is fantastic stuff and unbelievable engineering that goes into making all this.
Like, really?
“Yes, it really is, and if it's just 50%, I'll be very disappointed. We're going for 95 to a hundred percent. So that's the number for us. This is not new technology. It's been around for a long time in the IMOCA 60s, obviously. The Volvos had offset lifting keel fins and stuff as well. Comanche's been semi-foiling for 10 years, really, and this is just a different way to do it. It is the first time this has ever be done on a narrow boat of this size, however.”
“So that is a big deal, and I think it's a huge advantage for what we're doing. Look at the way it's worked out – Juan Kouyoumdjian has done an amazing job with the design. We’ve both been very connected for the whole six months of design and in making this happen. We've had some great people involved to do all of this. Several very talented people have made it all possible.”
“I think it's going to be a great thing for this boat, and as to just how good it is? Well, we're going to find out in a couple weeks’ time!”
The new daggerboards are incredible, and will provide grip like a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s. As a pencil, the boat always went uphill well, now it will hold that. When extended, the Windward C-Foil delivers a metric tonne of Righting Moment, and that is the equivalent of no less than 10 extra blokes on the rail (but without the added overall mass or need to carry food and water for them). These are incredible statistics for a boat that's just going to power up virtually across the entire wind range from five to 35 knots and probably about 145 degrees TWA through to 25 AWA.
“The interesting thing was about making the boat faster when reaching, which was where our biggest weakness was. It is where both Comanche and LawConnect excel. We wanted to try and fix that void, and I think this is going do it extremely well.”
“However, inside the whole process, we haven't just improved our weaknesses, we've improved our strengths as well, and in every respect. For instance, the new keel has way less drag, and it is better set up for the boat. The new Daggerboards are a lot bigger, and in the right place for the boat, which has never been the case previously. These are a big deal for us!”
Early on, and by way of reference, Wild Oats XI had a front canard, which with the benefit of hindsight Richards himself describes as, ‘a huge mistake’.
Personally, I am tipping the new Palm Beach XI will do better uphill in all conditions. That alone is a scary proposition for some of the ‘big girls’. Combined with what’s expected to happen off the breeze, it may all amount to what can only be described as, utterly formidable. Of course, the trick will be making sure she never mashes the valves into the heads, and that’s going to be the real job for the fortunate ones on board; no questions to be asked, or correspondence to be entered into. In order to finish first, first you have to finish!
I think ‘Ricko’ is most definitely aware of this. “So as long as everything's reliable, Palm Beach XI is going to be the talk of the town for a while.”
Did someone say, Liberace?
It is hard to put a number on it, but let’s just say 40% of the boat was ‘original’ to 2005 when they bought it. There is a lot that has gone on in that midships section, which was arguably the most ‘true-to-history’. 20-year-old structures that were not designed for 30 metric tonnes of Larry from new foils and keel is one thing, but the compression load from the rig is another. You’re talking speeds and angles that were never part of the original discussion, like dragging 145TWA through to 60AWA, and there is only one forestay, and these boats are not masthead rigs. Good thing some of the North Sails 3Di gems are going to share the love when it comes to that!!! (They’ll need to…)
Richards said of the matter, “Look, it is. And it isn't. It is carbon fibre at the end of the day, and these boats are way ahead of their time from an engineering perspective.” (Editor – albeit that they were built to then then defunct ABS Standards).
“They've been pretty well faultless for 20 years (Editor - with some trips to the plastique mind you…). We've had a few little issues, but nothing major. It's extremely strong in that particular part of the boat, and obviously we've added a lot of laminate. We're dealing with three different engineers in this project, all cross-referencing each other to make sure that we got it right, which is expensive, but it's the right way to do it.”
“I feel very comfortable as a boat builder that what we've done here has been over-engineered, which is what I wanted, because we just don't want the structural failures,” said an emphatic Richards.
Just on that, Richards was ‘on the tools’ just before we spoke. ‘In his element’ came to mind, and Richards confirmed it by stating, “To be in a position to be able to do this with the company has been amazing. It's an exciting time for the company and everyone involved.”
You see, evolution is a real part of Palm Beach XI’s life. She was 98 feet to start with, and came hot on the heels of her near sistership, Alfa Romeo II. Extended to 100 feet early on with a new tail, she then lost that when the original bow was chainsawed off for the new, longer pencil tip that was added from the stick for’ard. Arguably, this latest round is a whole new, hitherto unseen level, but this boat, more than any other is capable of taking it all in her stride. That’s the key determinant here. We have seen this movie before! Somehow, I think this is a very clever 2025 remake of a Golden Oldie, however.
A big deal needs a big tour
“We're all very proud of this, and looking forward to getting out there and strutting our stuff.” As it comes to pass, that strut reaches far and wide, with Bermuda, Giraglia, and Malta all on the cards. “We've already ended for the Bermuda race next year. The mission is to take the Palm Beach XI to North America next year and do a whole lot of corporate gigs for our company, as well as the Newport to Bermuda race. We’ll do a lot of fun stuff, and Newport R.I. is one of the coolest towns in the world to be in for Summer.”
“We’ll get many of our clients out for sailing days, and share what we do. To experience this boat with our clients and partners will be very special, and it helps our business (Palm Beach Motor Yachts) tremendously. Then we’ll come back for the 2026 Hobart.”
“Then in 2027 we’ll do the Transpac (LA to Hawaii), after which Palm Beach XI will cross the Pacific on her own bottom all the way back to do Hamilton Island Race Week, and another Hobart thereafter. That's the plan for stage one, and then we'll just see how it goes from there,” stated Richards.
All of that is a fantastic continuation of an amazing legacy, which was enhanced at the Christening by Marcus Blackmore gifting the AUS100 sail number to the team, which he had taken over from the Late Syd Fischer AM OBE. “This is obviously very special for myself. I've known Marcus for 43 years, and I did my first ocean race with him. It is an absolute honour.”
“So, with the baton passed from the Late Bob Oatley AM BEM, and now Marcus, it's all pretty special, and it's an absolute honour. You couldn't ask for two more respected gentlemen of Australian business and yachting than those two guys.”
No doubt there’ll be some excitement on Boxing Day, and Palm Beach XI will attract her own, and then some, but they’ll need to keep their heads about them, for Sydney Harbour is a small place with 7m under you. Get out safely (read quietly), then crank it once outside. “We’ll try and keep it simple, but is never easy when you’re me, so we'll see what happens.”
No doubt there will be a few people controlling his ear space, but in typical Ricko style, he closed by saying, “It’s going to be exciting.”
Thanks for tuning into Sail-World.com
If you'd like to read more about Palm Beach XI's 'engine room', please read Like watching a big front build.