The New Look Invisible Hand

[Photoboy]

Invisible Hand gets a new look and readies for a new season!

Stay tuned for the deets!

[Single Hander]

Sweet looking ride. How do you sign up?

[Photoboy]

The Hand Splashes


Just splashed this morning, Invisible Hand is leaner and meaner than ever!



Invisible Hand, IHXL or "The Big Hand" is out of the shed and in the water at KKMI in Richmond. Acquired in April 2012 by Frank Slootman, the former "Limit", the one-off Reichel/Pugh 62.5m, built in Hart Marine in Melbourne was languishing in Western Australia . The boat was shipped to the US and trucked to Richmond and reassembled. Last years racing results was a mixed bag, with a light air P.V. and marginal conditions for the Transpac, Click HERE I.H. won out in Divison 1 as a dark horse against much bigger boats. The taste of winning was good, so much so that Frank has upped the game even further. Frank Hired Bill Erkelens, renowned for his boat management skills and sent the boat into the tent to get some quality time in the overhaul department.


Paul and Rufus work as hard on the water as off the water



Fresh out of the shed, looking VERY sharp!

What stands out immediately is the paint job the Bill says matches the midnight blue of one of Franks vehicles. "It took some time to get the fairing right as we were going from a while hull to a dark hull" indicates Bill " And the graphics guy was meticulous in his work and it shows"

More extensively was the work done on working bits of the yacht. "We extended the prod to match our oversized kites, did major service on the hydraulics, winches, pulled out the rig and stripped it down" Says Bill. " We rebuilt the rig, replaced a lot of the running rigging, had the electronics surveyed and parts replaced. addition all the interior was painted white to improve the lighting below and the nonskid was redone, and it came out quite nice.


The shed, where most of The Hand's jobs get done!

IH has undergone a refit in several areas under the capable direction of Bill Erkelens. First, the boat is donning a new paint job, inside and out, cockpit, non-skid and if course new graphics. Boat was completely stripped and reassembled with many upgrades and new systems. Second, she has been structurally reinforced in key load areas. Third, the boat continues to be improved for down wind performance in cooperation with the boat's designers Reichel/Pugh. We also have a bunch of new head sails to help the boat off the wind. In a nutshell, this baby is better now than she's ever been!

Frank Slootman



The final touches as Jeff Causey and Rufus Sjoberg install the new bobstay


The boat has updated their sails, Bill Colombo of Doyle Sails Alameda has been busy with the replacement of older inventory. The latest is a new code zero and masthead genoa, aka Stratis G-Zero either of which should be a major improvement in the boats tight reaching ability expected at the start of the Puerto Vallarta or Transpac, which the boat is scheduled to compete in. Along with new headsails and the main replaced late last season, the quiver is some 13 sails deep, which coincidentally matches the number of sailors who will be aboard for the racing:



Along with Bill Erkelens and Frank Slootman, the Big Hand will sport a mixture of pro's and Corinthian sailors: Bill Colombo, Norman Davant, Paul Allen, Rufus Sjoberg, Jeff Causey, Daniel Alvarez, Rod Daniels, Jay Crum, Patrick Whitmarsh, Ben Allen and Dominic Marchal round out the crew. " We were looking for a good mix of pros and non pros to fill out the roster says Bill Erkelens "And I think we have a good rounded group of solid sailors, I'm really looking forward to the races!

Now there has been talk in recent months of some bureaucratic boat abductions of American boats in Mexico, and that has caused some concern with racers and cruisers. "The Race Committee has been working very closely with Mexican Authorities in Puerto Vallarta and elsewhere to make sure everything is in order, and there are no hiccups that might be cause for concern" indicates Bill. "But were gonna anchor away from the marina, just in case, he chuckles"

Plans after the Pac Cup? " We'll have to wait and see where the other boats are racing and what Franks schedule allows" Bill says. A return to the Hobart? A Caribbean or Med Circuit? Time will tell what lies ahead for the Invisible Hand

[Buzz Light Beer]

AWESOME!!!!!

But my name isn't on the list. Who's leg does a guy have to hump to join the band?

[Prince of Whales]

Who's leg does a guy have to hump to join the band?

Not mine

[Charlie Tuna]

Looks like a great Norcal offshore program!

Good luck to Mr Slootman and crew! Kick some PV/PC bootie!

[Tom Mc]

What happened to Solo?

[solosailor]

no longer involved.

[Photoboy]

Bits and Pieces















Look familiar?

[Photoboy]

Ready to Rumble



Splendid pre-frontal conditions for shake-down of Invisible Hand today with testing of of 3 new
Doyle Stratis sails and components on the RP 63. High teens pushed the oversized gennakers to their
upper limits and fun meter was just a knot or two under windspeed. The boat is certainly ready for any
tight reaching the PV race can throw its way...full report and video to follow...

[BobJ]

Much less interested now that my non-pro friends are off the boat. It's just another big-bucks program that will come and go.

I guess the win in the LA TransPac wasn't good enough for the owner.

[Thing-Fish]

As my college history prof used to say, "nothing fails like success."

[Buzz Light Beer]

There are still several of the previous crew sailing, Corinthian. The boat came back in pretty rough shape after Transpac,
can't blame the owner for wanting to step up to the next level.

[BobJ]

That's good to hear (the Corinthian crew). I got a kick out of seeing a handful of socially-challenged shorthanders (said by another one) work together to get such a good result.

"I wanna steer."

"No, I wanna steer!"

"Me first."

"But I ALWAYS steer on MY boat!"

"You single-hand."

"Yeah SO?"

(etc.)

[Prince of Whales]

I think its great to have a program that's geared to win some races and represent the Bay Area.

A number of the current roster sailed together on Criminal Mischief and they kicked ass on the Pac Cup in 2010!

Now if they can beat Limits time of 6d 16:19:00 that would be a statement.