| 2000-2007 |
New Zealander Jim Farmer examined a number of options with his 5th boat, none of which he thought to be entirely satisfactory. First, he wanted to develop a boat that was fast on the water and which would therefore be competitive against all comers in local racing. He also wanted a boat which, while not being optimised for any one of the various rating rules that were confusing racing yacht owners around the world, would nevertheless be competitive in all of them. Secondly, he wanted a boat that would be relatively easy to sail and which would have the rig security that the Corel and 40 OD boats provided, but without the light air weakness. Thirdly, he wanted to build a boat that looked good, inside and out, and which would have a deck layout which the world-class New Zealand sailors who had sailed with him could make work better than that put together on a designer’s drawing board. The impetus of the fulfilment of these objectives was to emerge with the Bruce Farr announcement of the new 52 OD. This boat was claimed to have faster downwind speed above 22 knots than Sayonara, the-World Maxi Champion and phenomenal upwind and downwind performance generally. Unlike many IMS rated boats, it was also predicted to be a fast reaching boat – important for passage and local racing. Farmer quickly made contact with his friends at the Farr Office, and travelled to the United States to inspect the first 52, built by Geoff Stagg, shortly after its launch early in 2000. Then followed the development of a new concept – a custom built 53 with numerous modifications all designed to make a faster boat, with special attention to engineering changes that would allow mast head spinnakers but with a lighter carbon rig than the OD allowed and a large overlapping genoa or code zero sail for the light. Having experienced particularly bad weather conditions in the 1993 Sydney to Hobart race, Farmer also wanted to make sure that the boat was as strong as possible, consistent with its lightweight carbon construction. He therefore commissioned Hi Modulus to design a composite carbon keel floor in place of the aluminium frame used on the OD boat. This was done in conjunction with the Farr Office and the result was a stronger, and lighter, space age construction. With the desire for absolute top finish in mind, Salthouse Boatbuilders, one of New Zealand’s oldest and most reputable boat yards, was commissioned to build the boat, with express instructions to undertake a 6-7 month construction time consistent with the standard required. A male mould which, though more expensive, ensures a better product, was employed and the new Georgia, complete with interior finish design from Grant Read, was launched in October 2000, and was the cover story for the architectural/design magazine Urbis in Spring 2001 (written by Zoe Hawkins). The whole project was put together and supervised by Jeremy Lomas, a current Team New Zealand bowman who had been involved with the Georgia programme from the beginning in 1993. Lomas worked extensively with Salthouse, Southern Spars, High Modulus and with other suppliers, as well as being in continual contact with the Farr Office. He paid particular attention to deck layout and boat systems, utilising the experiences that he and other members of the Georgia crew had had over the years on the different boats, as well as their combined experience on America’s Cup and Whitbread boats, to maximise sailing efficiency. Two weeks after her launch, the new Georgia blitzed a field of 330 boats in the annual 120 mile Coastal Classic from Auckland to Russell in the Bay of Islands, being first boat (monohull or multihull) to finish and first also on corrected time. Impressively, it led Ross Field’s 65 foot “Merit Cup” 1998 Whitbread 60 (now being trialled as “NewsCorp” for the 2001 Volvo race) – an unofficial entry because of its water ballast – for the first third of the race until stronger winds and the water ballast allowed it to get ahead. The next official monohull to finish behind Georgia was Hydroflow, an Elliott 52 – a colossal 48 minutes later- with Anteaus, a Davidson 65 a further 4 minutes away. The extensive research and development, added to Bruce Farr’s brilliant original design, had paid off, with compound interest added. Jim campaigned the 53 very successfully in both New Zealand and Australia. Triumphs included a third place at the 2003 Hamilton Island Regatta, under the stewardship of Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth. Ken Davern, a top New Zealand local sailor, managed the boat during this period and contributed greatly to its success. So too did Ricky Royden, one of New Zealand’s most successful sailors who runs his own sail-making business and who continues with the current Georgia Racing programme. |
