Invisible Hand one of a new generation of 52-footers that represents a return to the offshore roots of the TP52 class, and a resurgence of level-rating grand prix racing on the west coast of the US. Erik Simonson reportsInvisible Hand\u2019s first offshore test was the SoCal 300, which the team won in June 2017The original Transpac 52 Class (TP52) left an indelible mark on US west coast sailing, but the few that were left racing in California represented a wide range of vintages and race only under handicap. The launch of the Pac 52, a new offshore-specified 52ft class, in 2017 was an attempt to recapture some of that TP spirit and get level rating grand prix racing started up again in California.
\nThe TP52 story began in 2000, when a contingent of Californian sailors sought a new racing class, something smaller than the 70ft sleds that had been surfing their way to victory in the 2,225-mile LA-Honolulu Transpac Race for the previous two decades. They were after a planing design of about 50ft that was simple to sail, could handle round-the-cans races and scoot across the Pacific in a hurry.
\nThe Transpac Yacht Club, which organises the biennial race, proposed a new class to a few local naval architects, including teams from Alan Andrews Yacht Design, Nelson Marek and Reichel\/Pugh. The club settled on a 52ft box rule concept, and enlisted designer Bill Lee to help form the rule. Their aim was to have new boats on the start line of the 2001 Transpac Race: the TP52 was launched.
\nA pre-regatta blackout period only allows teams to practise for three days out of the seven leading up to a regatta, to keep crew bills down. Photo: Sharon Green \/ ultimatesailing.com
\nFor the following five years there was glory aplenty for west coast TP52s both inshore and offshore, including trans-Pacific races. But the TPs evolved rapidly, adopting square-topped mains and bowsprits. The first generation boats aged quickly as the costs of remaining competitive spiralled, and with no formal organisation or class association, west coast orders slowed.
\nIn Europe, however, the Mediterranean circuit had surged in popularity. By 2006 the Audi TP52 MedCup had become the pinnacle of grand prix racing, with the original offshore element set aside in favour of hardcore inshore racing. The boats got stiffer, lighter and faster. They were largely built in Europe and sailed with European professional crews. If you wanted to race TP52s on a level rating, the Med was the place to be.
\nEnter the \u2018core of four\u2019: American owners Manouch Moshayedi, Victor Wild, Frank Slootman and Tom Holthus. These founding members banded together to form the Pac 52 Class Association, primarily to bring grand prix level rating racing back to the west coast of the USA. Although each owner comes from a slightly different yacht racing background, they all wanted to eliminate the handicap element in the new class.
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The first Pac 52 started life as a new 52-footer for Beau Geste Racing team. When Manouch Moshayedi, owner of the 100-footer Rio, heard that a new Beau Geste was in build at Cookson Boats in Auckland, he contacted Victor Wild, who was also keen to get into some grand prix level racing.
\nWith the tooling already in place, a second boat could be built cost-effectively (now sailing as Wild\u2019s Fox). If they bulk ordered material and found a couple of other perspective owners, they could save even more and have the nucleus of a new class. The Pac 52 Class was born.
\nThe association was formed with three main elements at its core: a level rating class rule; cost effectiveness; and a mutually agreed schedule. The boats are intended to be lighter and faster than the Super Series TP52s (the current crop of TP52s that race on a purely inshore circuit including the Med, Miami and Key West) but capable of racing offshore and costing much less. Getting into the class with a new boat can come in between US$1.8-2.2 million, compared to a Super Series boat at about $3 million (\u00a32.32 million).
\nThe Pac 52 rig is around 60cm taller than the Super Series TP52s, with 10cm extra draught. Photo: Cynthia Sinclair
\nFour of the Pac 52s were built at Cookson\u2019s, the sole exception being Moshayedi\u2019s Rio, which was built at Premier Composite Technologies in Dubai. Rio utilised the existing plug made for Super Series boat Platoon, a Judel\/Vrolijk design, while Provezza (another Judel\/Vrolijk Super Series design) provided the mould for Beau Geste, which in turn led to Fox, Invisible Hand and Bad Pak. Theoretically any of the recent Super Series moulds would work, with a deeper keel and taller rig added.
\nWhile Beau Geste, Fox and Rio are set up for inshore racing, Invisible Hand and Bad Pak opted for an offshore package. By modifying the Vrolijk deck and adding 150mm freeboard to the bow and 125mm to the stern, Mick Cookson created enough room to allow crawling access to the aft cockpit bunks and make space for a navigator. The two offshore boats have removable galleys and bunks, and can carry watermakers.
\nThe hull of the Pac 52 has a core of foam. The deck has a honeycomb core, which is a slightly less expensive yet more robust alternative to the Nomex construction of the Super Series sisterships. The offshore-moded Invisible Hand and Bad Pak run lines above deck and have eliminated most through-hull protrusions, making them much dryer. Invisible Hand\u2019s steering can be switched from wheels to tiller with minimal effort, while Bad Pak\u2019s owner chose a two-wheel configuration.
\nOne of the biggest weight savings was in the engine. Pac 52s have Lombardini 40hp models, which provide a little less power than the Yanmar 57hp models specified for the Super Series TPs, but weigh 100kg less.
\nThe new class sports a 600mm taller mast, which is placed further aft, increasing the J measurement (jib foretriangle). The smaller main improves the Offshore Racing Rule (ORR) rating when competing in non-class events. Brent Rhune, pro bowman on Bad Pak, says this configuration gives the boats increased power at the lower end of the wind scale.
\n\u201cThe Pac 52 starts planing in 14-15 knots, adding an extra gear or two,\u201d he says. For quick-response rig tuning, Pac 52s have hydraulic headstays, mast deflectors and mast-foot adjusters, powered by a hydraulic rotary pump on the aft coffee grinder.
\nAs with the Super Series TPs, the pit area on the inshore-moded Pac 52s is offset to starboard for fast port-hand mark roundings. It is recessed for reduced windage, with control lines run under deck. Photo: Invisible Hand Sailing
\n\u201cSet-up on the Pac 52 is all-important: rig tune, mast butt [foot] and rake,\u201d adds Rhune. \u201cFiguring out the crossover of leaving the jib up versus taking it down and hoisting the staysail, thus keeping two guys off the bow at the top mark and three guys at the bottom, ends up earning you boat lengths.\u201d
\nCost control
\nDeck gear packages vary. Fox sports an array of top-end Harken ceramic winches, a hydraulic mast ram and forestay, carbon fibre gearing, and aerodynamic coffee grinders. Invisible Hand and Bad Pak carry a more conventional package with corresponding cost savings.
\nA key aim of the class association is keeping costs realistic, with an owner-driver rule and limit on seven professional sailors per crew. There are also limitations on new sails, use of support RIBs, and a \u2018blackout\u2019 period before each regatta to discourage expensive and lengthy pre-regatta training.
\nInvisible Hand\u2019s chamfered bow is designed to encourage waves that break over the bow to roll off the deck. Photo: Invisible Hand Sailing
\nFive Pac 52 Class events were scheduled for 2017, the inaugural year, including the Rolex Big Boat Series in September, with a break in the middle to allow the offshore boats some bluewater time.
\nBrent Rhune says the fleet is living up to its promise from a sailor\u2019s perspective: \u201cThe boats are a blast to sail, just like their predecessors. Although we have just five boats at this point, the racing is close, with nose-to-tail mark roundings, lead changes, camping [sitting] on opponents on the beat, and so on.\u201d
\nRuben Gabriel, who races on Invisible Hand, says the pro-am ethos of the fleet is also a big draw. \u201cIt\u2019s half-pro, half-amateur racing against each other in a very competitive environment. Everything is rapid fire, everything rises another notch. Every action is precise and deliberate; there is no wasted effort.
\n\u201cEven the pre-race and post-race debriefs are exacting. Sharing stories and hearing tales from the pros is a great learning experience.\u201d
\nSpecification
\nLOA (max): 15.85m (52ft)Beam (max): 4.5m (14ft 9in)Draught (max): 3.6m (11ft 9in)Displacement (min): 6,900kg (15,200lb)Sail area (upwind max): 171m2 (1,840ft2)Asymmetric (max): 272m2 (2,927ft2)TCF (max): 1.208
\nA version of this article was first published in the September 2017 edition of Yachting World.
\nThe post Invisible Hand: This Pac 52 racer sees the TP52 class return to its offshore roots appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Invisible Hand one of a new generation of 52-footers that represents a return to the offshore roots of the TP52 class, and a resurgence of level-rating grand prix racing on the west coast of the US. Erik Simonson reportsInvisible Hand\u2019s … <\/p>\n