A New 52' West Coast Movement Gets Rolling

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Pressure Drop caught wind earlier today of a rejuvenated interest in the TP 52's, aka the Transpac 52's which originated on the West Coast some 15 years back as a grand prix offshore thoroughbred racing machine. In an article published at Lectronic Latitude, Manouch Moshayedi
went on record to unveil plans to revitalize a class which for all intents and purposes never reached its full potential on the West Coast and by 2005, with such a wide discrepancy in boats, with a variety of handicap ratings the fleet dispersed. In 2006, the revised TP 52' Class formed in the Mediterranean with revised bylaws and and class rule. See History

Still the West Coast suffered and identity crisis when it comes to the TP 52', with gatherings of some of the older boats showing up for the offshore races to Mexico and Hawaii, and a couple perhaps for a Big Boat Series or two. But when you have a recently built rocketship like vesper leaving her older predecessors well behind her wake, the racing was anything but close.

We spoke with Frank Slootman, former owner of the RP 63' Invisible Hand, who is one of the leaders in this revision, on his take on the future of the class on the West Coast, which for the record,
no longer can call them TP 52's or Transpac 52's. (They were considering the Pacific 52, but the name, er, is spoken for!




PD: We read in the L-38 online piece, you are interested in the new 52' class being aligned by Manouch, Are you already both feet in?



FS: I am in 100%, contracts signed, funds committed, the boat has moved into construction at Cookson in New Zealand. Per schedule, we should be shaking things down in New Zealand around December, with the boat coming stateside beginning of the year. We will likely use Cabo in March as our off shore shakedown for Transpac in July.


PD:You had some great results with the RP63 Invisible Hand and last year after the Spinnaker Cup donated her to Orange Coast College of Seamanship. It appears you still have some offshore desire in you, what makes this class appealing?

FS "To be blunt, I am done with handicap racing. It is frustrating at so many levels, and it is depressing the evolution of big boat racing. We liked our one design J/70 ‘Little Hand’, and we will also be launching an Invisible Hand C&C30 mid-year which will serve as a one design platform that we can travel with. We also see that boat as a terrific training platform for the 52."


PD: Will the boat be primarily in the Nor Cal area or do you intend to participate more in the Socal scene?


FS "We will be up and down the West Coast. We will do NorCal races. BBS next year should be a sight to behold on the Bay if we get 5-6 boats up here, or better."


PD: If so, which So Cal races in particular?

FS "There will be 3 of these boats in Southern California next year, so no doubt we line up for SoCal300, Yachting Cup etc. The schedule is still under development and discussion."

PD: Are you personally lobbying any other perspective owners from Norcal to sign up?

FS "That is ongoing. I think there are folks on the sidelines waiting to see if the action will materialize. You can’t blame them for being skeptical, it is a feat to get multiple owners to commit at this level. Somebody has to be first. We will have enough class by early next year to show on the water what this is about. We have indications that 52 programs from elsewhere will then take an interest in racing here. Definitely think it is possible that we can see fleets of 10-12 boats toe the line eventually. Be nice to get some partners-in-crime up here in Northern California."

PD: You have a shortlist of guys, pros and non pros you have sailed with, is the potential crew list already gestating?

FS "Yes, there will be a lot of old hands on the new hand!"

PD: Have you already appointed an boat manager?

"There are quite a few people involved in spec’ing and designing the boat as well as overseeing the entire process of getting the boat race-ready. Many of the folks that we worked with on the RP63 Invisible Hand are also engaged on this project, and will be on an ongoing basis."

PD: As for offshore events, do you envision seeing a class of 52's participating in the OYRA events?

"Not out of the realm of possibilities."

PD:The J-70 provided an excellent platform for high performance one design racing, will you continue with that program to an extent?

FS"The C&C30 will by and large replace the 70. We are quite excited about the potential for one design racing of the C&C30 on the Bay and elsewhere."


PD Thanks Frank, we look forward to seeing the "New Hands" on the bay!

[Bitchin Bow Dude]

Great news!

[Aussie]

Victor Wild's Fox will be in the Bay towards the end of May for the start of the California Ocean Race week series on 5/27/16. http://www.offshoreraceweek.com/

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Making Waves: Manouch On The New 52's

Manouch Moshayedi is the driving force behind the rejuvenation of the 52' West Coast, having owned several boats bearing the Rio emblem,
His enthusiasm for fast moving monohulls is contagious. Recent adventure with Rio 100' has created a buzz in the offshore arena, and now Manouch
is steering a group towards reintroduction of the 52' Class, here on the West Coast where the whole concept was derived.

Manouch was gracious enough to provide us some insight into his previous sailing escapades and the new class which will be cited as the Pacific 52



Manouch and crew at the 2012 Big Boat Series.
Image © Daniel Forster


PD: Manouch, you owned a TP 52 in years past named RIO that you campaigned up and down the West Coast,
What can you tell us about Rio and the class at the time?


MM "At the time I had a 2007 TP52 (RIO) which we raced up and down the coast, there were several TP52s on the West Coast then but unfortunately they were all from different vintages and had to race under either IRC or PHRF handicap rating, even though it was fun, we never had the close racing that a class of similarly designed and vintage boats would have.
I later purchased a 2011 TP52 (RIO) which I campaigned in the SuperSeries in Key West, Miami and then in the Mediterranean, this was a different experience altogether, 8-12 similar boats on the line and very close racing where boats finished within seconds of each other, for me this type of racing was most challenging, fun and a great learning experience."





PD: More recently you moved onto RIO 100 and have had some incredible adventures with her, some of your favorite moments?


MM: "After the SuperSeries, we decided to build Rio100, this is an incredible boat, very powerful, fast and for an ocean racer, quite comfortable.
We built the boat at Cookson’s in New Zealand who always does a fantastic job with their boats, raced the boat in Yates Cup in NZ in which we were the first monohull to cross the finish line and then took the boat to Sydney for the Sydney to Hobart race of 2014.

The start of the Sydney to Hobart race is something that has to be experienced, in exact contrast to the reception sailing gets here on the West Coast, S-H race is treated as an event that Sydney residence make a point of watching. There are about a hundred boats participating in the race, there are at least ten times as many boats around the start line watching, there are thousands of people on the hills around Sydney Harbor in addition to multiple helicopters who are hovering above the racers. Of course this was a lot of fun and one of the most favorite moments but we have had a great time racing this boat, last year during SoCal300 once we turned the corner around the islands, we had a period of a few hours that the knot meter stayed in the mid twenties, it was a great experience and I think most participants also felt the exhilaration during that race."


PD: You have been instrumental in getting the SoCal 300 up and rolling, and by all counts has been receiving rave reviews, what was your impetus to get that rolling?

MM "Owning a 100’ boat, you can’t participate in most races except for the long distance ones so knowing that we only have two races a year that we could practically participate in, I started talking to SDYC and SBYC about setting up a 300 mile race from SB around the top of Richardson Rock and around all the channel islands to SD, we got approvals from the two clubs, at the same time I asked my father in law Jost Von Kursell who is a great sailor to donate one of his old silver trophies that he had received in 1960 to this race and he agreed and now the boat that corrects overall based on its ORR rating gets their name on a plaque on this beautiful perpetual trophy which travels between SDYC, SBYC and the club of the winning boat."



PD: The idea of reigniting the TP 52 class on the West Coast, what was your inspiration for that?


MM"I can not emphasis the great sailing that one gets out of class racing a TP52, these boats are powerful, extremely fast and agile and pound for pound the best sailing anyone can participate in so when FOX was built, I started talking to the other owners and found others who shared the same idea so that's how PAC52’ was started."



PD: In the Latitude 38' article, you mention some of the differences including taller masts, larger mains, larger jibs, larger spinnakers and lighter displacement, are there some Specs and line drawings we can share with our readers?



MM "All of these boats are being built from the existing 2015 moulds of SuperSeriesTP52s, FOX was built out of the mould of SLED, two boats are being built out of the mould of Provezza and one is being built out of the mould of Platoon which are all current participants in the TP52’ SuperSeries. the masts are taller by 60cm, the sails are larger by about 5%, the engines are lighter by 100KG."


PD: How much wiggle room in design in the various builds will be allowed?

MM"I think if a boat is designed as a TP52 and has a mast that is not taller than what we have specified, would be able to participate in our class."



PD: There is also mention of a limit of pro's on board, has the number been solidified?

MM "We have tentatively agreed on having no more than five pros on the boats, this is in contrast to 12 on the SuperSeries boats which will significantly reduce the cost of racing these boats.


PD: Reaching out to perspective owners, especially former TP52 owners, how has the response been?

Well, we already have four boats and I think as the word gets out, there will be other interested parties.

PD: We were exited when we caught wind of the project, and looked up Pacific 52 on the interwebs and http://www.pacificboating.com.au/boat_class/pacific-52 popped up. Any revised thoughts in that regard?

"Thats a motor boat and doesn’t really effect our brand."


PD: Will Rio 100 stay in the family, or is she destined for another home?

"Rio100 is our long distance boat which will continue doing the three races per year, the PAC52’ is more of an inshore racing boat."



PD How soon do you expect to accept delivery of the new baby and your 1st projected events?

MM "All three additional boats should be in California by early next year, we are looking forward to doing the Yachting Cup in SD as our first class event next year."

PD: Thank you and the best of luck getting this rolling!

[Prince of Whales]

Opportunity abounds!

[Buzz Light Beer]

It will be extremely cool to have a fleet of evenly matched 52's on the west coast.

Nice work guys!

[Born 2 Sail]

Sounds like some of the major hiccups that occurred the 1st time around might be resolved.

Good on them for their vision!

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Victor Wild's brand spanking new Pacific 52 Fox is in the house (KKMI) after being trucked up from Southern California.

She will be practicing on the bay next week ahead of the Spinnaker Cup, Coastal Cup, SB in Port Race and SoCal 300!

Images © Dan Hill

http://www.offshoreraceweek.com/

[Nick G]

Times have changed when a 52' gets put on a truck for the trip north to SF. I wouldn't want the job with the breeze tonight, but it takes something away from the adventure of it all to me. Keeps people on the payroll I am sure.

[El Capitan]

Assuming it was just shipped over from NZ, putting it together at KKMI vs so cal and sailing it upwind was a prudent move.

Still, things can go south real fast on the highway.

[Nick G]

The boats been in San Diego a couple of months I believe. Hey if had the money I might preserve the beast too.

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Today, we visited tho boys putting together the 1st West Coast Pacific 52' FOX, and chat with project manager David Servais...

Stay tuned...

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A look inside of Victor Wild's Pacific 52' FOX....

Full report coming right up!

[Nick G]

Very nice kit. Thanks for the tour.

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A Tour Of The Pacific 52 FOX

Pacific 52 FOX

We were invited to a take a look see the 1st Pacific 52 to hit the West Coast, Victor Wild's FOX, built at Cookson's in Auckland and designed by Botin. She was being assembled by David Servais and Andrew Coates of SD Boatworks at the KKMI Richmond yard after being shipped via truck from San Diego so she could make the start of the 1st California Offshore Race Week which gets started this Friday with the Spinnaker Cup, and 88 nm downhill race from SF to Monterey.

FOX is a brand new breed of 52' pure carbon racing machine, which has taken the best attributes of the TP 52' and added additional bits and pieces including a taller, lighter rig and other customizations which we will discuss in this article.


David is the boats project manager and spent the better part of 2 months in Auckland, New Zealand during the build process, alongside Gavin Brady who run the Beau Geste projects and was instrumental in getting the new 52's under development, as well as the testing that followed. David has been working closely with the FOX's owner, Victor Wild for 6 years now and is blazing the trail for the anticipated revival of the 52's on the West Coast.

The project began in earnest about 1 year ago, and this will be her 1st big test on the Nor Cal Coast. She is built for buoy and offshore racing, and is made with the ease of travel capabilities of the TP 52's holding court in the Mediterranean. The super light mast is 600mm taller than her predecessors, and boom 200 mm lower, yet only weighs 583 lbs, fully rigged. The mast is capable of moving fore and aft and up and down at the butt, and fore an aft at the masthead via Harken Titanium hydraulic cylinders connected to a rotary hydraulic pump on the aft coffee grinder, allowing for ideal adjustment for the given mainsail and wind conditions and sea state.




Her total gross is 15,342 lbs with 10,018 lbs being in the keel foil and bulb. The keel is designed for easy extraction and insertion and can be handled by 2 persons. Another unique feature is the keel pockets on the top of the bulb, 10" x14"x6" slots that allow the addition of up to 200 kilograms of weight for buoy racing and removed for offshore.

Fox rests on a custom cradle that can be assembled for keel in ( higher) and keel out for shipping. The cradle itself can be broken down and carried in a pickup truck. Simple.
Her cockpit is covered in SD' Boatworks Soft Deck, which come in two densities, a super soft made for kiteboards, sailboards and such, and as bit stiffer one, for the rigors and abuse taken by working crews dashing about.





Her grinders and winch package are all the latest Harken products. Aero Pedestals that have two gears and two chain links mounted on the head, and the latest hydraulic Harken gear boxes that utilized a sealed synthetic oil bath as opposed to grease that has a tendency to thin and pull away with constant abuse. The boxes have a clear bottom window for ease of inspection. Clever.



The cleanliness of the deck become quickly apparent as all lines leave the cockpit and are lead forward the mast in the cabin, where they can be inspected and changed with relative ease.





Another innovation is the halyard gobblers, carbon fiber spools located in the cabin just forward of the mast, which enable the crew to sky the halyard and its relative weight, neatly and cleanly. The spools are pre-tensioned via a wound up bungee. The deck hands can attach the head of the halyards to the cable, sky the halyard, and retrieve at will. Ingenious.

In the belly of the beast, a 96 to 1 jib lead purchase is mounted along the mid aft hull, under the bunks. this lets the crew adjust the height of the lead without taking up a winch, keeping things tidy and saving additional weight.



There is no dedicated seating for the navigation center, which is mounted over the engine cover. The navigator will a chair in which ever bunk is available and do his calculations via the his or her tablet or pad.

Accommodations below are spartan at best, the lack of furniture and dinning, and er, facilities will deter any but the hard core sailors, there is no confusing the boat for a cruiser. A bucket in the forepeak , ahead if the sewer ( aptly named) will discourage any crew from lingering on the head. Lone gimbaled single burner propane stove will do the heavy lifting for any cooking on board. It's dark cramped and very noisy in the after berths, and will be a challenge for crew to scramble out for firedrills, and one imagines only complete exhaustion will allow crews to get anything relative to solid shut eye while racing.



Back on deck, David shows the new Gorilla Foil on the forestay. Cuben Fiber is lighter and stronger than its plastic counterparts and the custom halyard lock strops with SD Boatworks soft attachments with stainless steel dogbones along with a Marlow Ropes running rigging package featuring SK99 MAX Cores and composite covers throughout.



The sewer hatch is also custom built with soft rolled edges and no sharp corners. Around 3 sides of the opening live a recessed pneumatic tube, that can be inflated when hatch cover is closed, providing a water proof seal.




Images © David Servais


Dave and Andrew Coates


The dawn of the Pacific 52 has arrived, and we look forward to building of the fleet, the innovations each brings to the table and the years of superb, one design grand prix racing on the West Coast!

Hurrah!!!