RIO 100's Debut At Yates Cup

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Rio 100's debut race highlighted by Live Sail Die. She'll be in the Sydney Hobart before coming to the West Coast to do the Cabo Race and then the Transpac....




Friday was the first real test for the recently launched Rio 100 in race conditions when she and a crew of 28 took part in the Royal Akarana Yacht Clubs ‘Yates Cup’. A 230nm race which sent the fleet of 17 boats exploring the outer gulf around Curvier Island, the outside of Great Barrier and as far north as the Poor Knights before turning around and coming back into Auckland.

Owner Manouch Moshayedi assembled a cracking team of American sailors (who would become regulars once the boat was back in California) and a few Kiwi ring-ins to fill some spots. Most notebaly, 2 times America’s Cup winner Peter Isler (USA) was on board as Navigator with local boy Mike ‘Moose’ Sanderson (NZL) as tactician.

LSD was asked to be on board for the race to capture the action and it was Buoy who was lucky enough to get the ride. Daz was already on Beau Geste and Lissa was the eye in the sky buzzing the fleet with Phil Hart in his Ultralite. (Aussie was a little annoyed…)

The race started at 10am Friday morning outside the Royal Akarana Yacht Club in a light nor-wester and warm conditions.


READ ON

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About The Boat – Rio 100

Manouch Moshayedi, skipper and owner of Rio Racing team purchased the 2003 Bakewell-White 98′ Lahana, in Australia and delivered it to Cookson’s Yachts in New Zealand in early 2014 for a complete refit.

The goal was to build a boat that would be suitable and competitive for US West Coast ocean racing and would qualify for the Transpac Barn Door trophy.

Brett Bakewell-White re-developed and modernized the design of the boat whereby the Aft half of the boat which contained the water ballasts was completely removed along with keel, boom, bowsprit, wheels, rudders, engine and all the interiors. The yacht’s water ballast was removed by cutting off the back 50 foot section and a new wider, longer stern has made it six to seven tons lighter than it was as Lahana. She also sports a new, longer boom, a new longer bowsprit and the helm stations have been pushed further aft.





A new wider and longer back half was designed and built along with new decking.

New longer bowsprit and longer boom were built, new wheel and twin rudder systems were installed along with a new lifting keel and bulb, a new engine was also installed along with a new lifting prop





The completely new interiors allow for a much easier and more ergonomic movement of crew and materials. The new electrical and power systems along with updated and modernized electronics and hydraulics of the boat make them lighter, more automated and more accurate and efficient for use.

All paint and fillings from the exteriors, interiors and decks were removed and new lighter and more durable materials were applied along with a stunning new paint by The team of One10 of Gulf Harbor in NZ.

The design team at Bakewell-White and structural engineers, along with Cookson’s yachts, did a great job of designing and building a boat that is lighter, faster, longer and more balanced than its previous version.

To enhance the performance of the boat, Richard Bouzaid and Mike Sanderson were engaged and a new suite of sails were designed and built for the boat by Doyle Sails of New Zealand.

Not having a canting keel or water ballasts along with its all manpowered winches make Rio 100 the only 100′ boat in the world to qualify for the prestigious Barn Door trophy of Transpac.

In its first race in Yates Cup in NZ in which the boat received line honors, the boat performed extremely well as a downwind flyer.

She is also sporting a new silver/grey paint job, magnifying an undeniably sleek appearance.

http://www.rioracingusa.com/the-boat/

[Born 2 Sail]

We'll see how she stacks up with the other super maxi's.

Maybe Manouch has the best bang for the buck?