Sailing News

FASTNET 2007

Lewmar powered Leopard Posts Record Time

300 boats, the biggest entry since 1979, waited an extra 25 hours after the Fastnet's first ever postponement to battle Force 8 winds and 5 metre seas. 197 boats retired before line honours went to Mike Slade's new 100ft super-maxi ICAP Leopard (GBR), in a new race record time of 44 hours 18 minutes - breaking the Rolex Fastnet Race monohull record by 8h 50m (or 17%) faster than Ross Field's Grand Mistral 80 in 1999.

Congratulation to Mike Slade and crew whose performance, endurance and incredible speed took Leopard into the record books. With a full inventory of Lewmar push button carbon winches, Chris Sherlock, the boat’s skipper explains, “Lewmar’s hydraulically operated 4-Speed winches were crucial in offering us very high line speed and power combinations during crucial A-Sail and mainsail gybes. With carefully tuned power to weight ratios and custom hydraulic motors, Lewmar’s carbon grinders and winches have proven their pedigree under gruelling conditions.”

Leopard has followed the trend of other successful maxi sleds, such as Wild Oats X1, by utilised the 4-speed capability of the Lewmar’s 120 primary and mainsheet grinders. Having recently arrived in the UK after being built at McConaghy Boats, Australia, the Bruce Farr-designed ICAP Leopard is 24 ft. wide, 100 ft. long, has an 18’6 ft canting keel, a 15 ft. fixed bowsprit and a 154 ft. mast.

Dockside in Plymouth, Slade was presented with a Rolex Yachtmaster timepiece in steel and platinum and the Erroll Bruce Cup for his Line Honours win by Lionel Schurch of Rolex SA and RORC Commodore David Aisher.

ICAP Leopard was launched in June 2007 and was sailing in only its first proper offshore race. Slade recounted a great race with the first day match-racing out of the Solent and along the coast with Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo (NZL) in 25 - 30 knots (with Alfa later retiring from the race). Recalling the awaited match-up between the two similar length super maxis, Slade said, “You’re always looking over your shoulder. The race against Neville would have been a heck of a struggle, even though the conditions and point of sail favoured us…But to have his old boat (Rambler is the former Shockwave/Alfa Romeo) come and pip us would have been hard to forgive.”

Slade said the worst of the weather was off the Lizard where, “we saw 40 knots, more in the gusts…it’s at night, and it’s hard to gauge the seas.” He continued, “But the boat is very solid, you put water (ballast) in the back and lift the bow…it’s like a Volvo 70 stretched out to 100 feet. We never had to back off, on the contrary, you can push the boat.”

ICAP Leopard had a few dramas during the race including a genoa that fell out of the track, dragging overboard when they were off Portland Bill, and later halfway up to the rock the boat hit a shark, which then hung up on the rudder and required a plucky Australian crewmember to go into the water to free it.

Leopard will be shipped to Australia/New Zealand in September in preparation for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

photo © Carlo Borlenghi / Rolex

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