News

Chris Herman’s Rogers 46 Varuna has just completed the 130 mile SoCal Island Race and successfully scooped Class and the overall trophy, winning by some 15 minutes on corrected time.

In the final results, the next 11 places behind Varuna were made up of 2x TP52s, 5x 70’, 1×63’ and 3x 50’-52’. After 115 miles sailed, they were still within 3 miles of the TP’s and Santa Cruz 70’s.

All great preparation for one of their main events of the season – the 48th edition of The 2015 Transpac Race. This starts on 13th July in San Francisco and kicks off with a challenging reach down the coast to find the best weather. Boats will then turn toward Hawaii, for day after day of incredible downwind sailing, culminating in the thrilling Tradewinds to the finish.

To date there are 62 competitors signed up and amongst those is also Varuna’s sistership Bob Pethick’s Bretwalda 3. Good luck with the build up!

It was back in 1994 that the small but perfectly formed pocket rocket, Sticky Fingers – the first ever Whitbread 30 to be built, smashed the first leg of the Round Britain race by over 11hrs, a record previously held by Ocean Leopard . She was the smallest boat in the fleet and gained line honours on every leg thanks to legends such as Mark Turner, Neal Macdonald, Timmy Haynes and Jez Fanstone joining Simon for what amounted to nothing short of a joy ride! All speak very fondly of the experience.

20 years on and we are now proud to have been the designers of two out of the five new World Record smashing boats who were taking part in the recent RORC Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race.

RYD would like to congratulate all the crew of the Open 60 Artemis-Team Endeavour, skippered by Brian Thompson, who broke the Monohull 60’ (and below) World Record by 19 hours, 48 minutes and 16 seconds, in a time of 5 days 14:00:54. This record was previously set in 2011 by Marc Guillemot and the crew of Safran.

Huge congratulations also to the crew of the Rogers Class 40-Swish, skippered by Roderick Knowles which broke the Monohull 40’ (and below) World Record by over 18 hours, in a time of 8 days, 19:06:49, a record previously set by the Class 40- Concise 2 in 2010. Particularly impressive was the fact that out of the five Class 40 starters, Swish was the only Class 40 finisher.

Take a look at the Highlights here: Highlights

It’s been over a year since this little gem has been launched and much like her 2012 Cultural Olympiad sister ship – The Boat Project, she has turned heads wherever she goes.

This is Arbor Yachts most recent promo video: Click to view on Vimeo

If you would like a test sail or would like to make an enquiry click here

Launched in December 2010. A full on luxury super yacht to cruise and a full on bullet to race. An acclaimed 2010 ISS Design Award Winner. Rolex Maxi Cup, Sardinia: 2011 2nd overall Maxi Cruiser/Racer division. 2012, crowned Champion of Cruiser/ Racer Division. 2013: Crowned Champion of Racing Division, despite not having raced on the first day. It was a glittering come back.

Congratulations to Brian and his crew for another speculator win in Port Cervo recently!

Sam Haynes and his team have continued to successfully campaign Celestial (ex Shogun– Rogers 46) based out of Sydney. Their latest modifications have seen a new fixed bowsprit and square headed mainsail: The Rogers 46, Celestial, has proved to be very versatile, being competitive in IRC and ORCI in a wide range of conditions. We have had a lot of successes against really high quality competition. We have had her in all conditions, from hard downwind running holding constant 20-22kt with tops of high 20s to 10 hours of gale force conditions around Tasman Light in the 2012 Hobart, carrying 2 reefs and a #5 jib in 45-55 knots and big seas. We have a full program ahead this year, Hamilton Island Race week starts in 7 days, and then we will be back for the CYCA Bluewater Pointscore series and then Hobart.

Celestial must be congratulated on yet another recent podium result having competed in the Brisbane Keppel Race: 1st IRC and ORCI, plus 2nd PHS division one. Good luck with your build up to the Sydney Hobart! We will all be watching.

A very interesting article worth reading:www.sail-world.com/Australia/Keppel-Tropical-Yacht-Race—Celestial-dominance/112855

Kaminami our latest carbon design was launched in late July in Finland. This sporty cruiser racer has once again taken performance cruising to a new level and her owner is thrilled with the results.

At 2700kg in sailing trim and 450 kg of water-ballast, she is able to sail efficiently short handed in the super light conditions of the Baltic Sea and then power up with the water ballast as the wind increases. Her interior is clean and efficient with a salon forward and large galley; she will be a joy to cruise in the Baltic! We look forward to hearing more from Antti and his wife about their sailing adventures!

Following a wonderful launch party in bright sunshine, this beautiful handcrafted wooden yacht has now completed her sailing trials. Her owner Jess Loynes had a few words to say: Her sailing performance bears all the typical hall marks of RYD being well balanced, agile and an absolute joy to sail. She has met all our expectations and we now have a great deal of interest to respond to.

There is little doubt that this is a great example of a 2012 Cultural Olympiad legacy, having evolved from The Boat Project. (see previous news item). For more information visit: www.arboryachts.co.uk

It was only last year that the Carbon Ocean 82- S/Y Aegir won the prestigious International Superyacht Society’s ‘Best Sail 24m-40m’ Design award, considered as the Oscars of the marine industry. There is little doubt that her ability to morph with relative ease (48hrs) from a luxury superyacht cruiser into a full on cruiser/racer is unique and had impact.

The original brief was for a world beating Maxi cruiser/racer – heavenly to cruise and exhilarating to race. The former has been confirmed time and time again over the last 18 months. At the recent 2012 Rolex Maxi World’s, Aegir and her crew were crowned Rolex Maxi Cruiser/Racer 2012 Champions in Sardinia, beating off stiff opposition from yachts such as Luca Brenta 100, Vallicelli 80 and Swan 90s. We do believe that this concludes our brief.

She is currently based in Monaco in readiness for the 2012 Monaco Yacht Show, which runs from 19-22nd September. For those keen to view her or book a trial sail, please contact us directly.

Jesse Loynes has spent a decade restoring classic yachts and was lead boat builder on ‘The Boat Project’. So inspired by his involvement, Jesse has now established his own company called Arbor Yachts, based in Emsworth, specialising in building beautiful, contemporary, performance wooden boats which will be an absolute joy to sail.

Having worked closely with Jesse, he then approached us in the new year to design his first yacht- The Arbor 26. She has a large cockpit, 4 berths, a full galley, heads and an inboard engine. She can be day sailed with 6 on board or overnighted comfortably with 4. The RYD hall mark of ‘performance’ is evident in her hull shape, another design which benefits from our extensive work in the Grand Prix arena with race boats such as the Class 40s and Open 60s. She is being constructed in cedar strip and encapsulated in epoxy/E- glass, allowing a high level of custom input as limited tooling is required.

We very much look forward to seeing the launch of this new 26’ modern classic, the first of a range to be developed in collaboration with us.

The Arbor 26 is uniquely on show part built, at The Southampton Boat Show. We would thoroughly recommend that if you are attending, stop by and chat with Jesse. The passion is plain to see and hear. She is on Stand A132 and positioned most appropriately next to The Boat Project.

To read more: www.arboryachts.co.uk

Design commenced in September 2011 for this 10m performance cruiser racer, which is now in build at Neville Huttons yard in Lymington. The owner is a professional sailor living in Baltic waters and he briefed us to design a private yacht that could be easily double handed for extended cruising in the Archipelago, or raced with a crew of between 2 -6 with the aid of water ballast.

This powerful design has been optimised for sub 12 knots and should be a delight to sail with the Rogers hallmark of an easily driven hull and beautiful balance. She is being constructed in full carbon pre-preg and due to launch in April 2013.We will continue to report on build progress.