6-24-2016
by Tony Beale, Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design, San Diego for August 2016 Seahorse Magazine
San Diego-based maxi and superyacht design maestros Reichel/Pugh have entered the fast-growing world of the large performance multihull
For 33 years designs from the Reichel/Pugh studio have produced unparalleled results for their owners and made a distinctive mark on the sailing industry. With an average age of 38, the Reichel/Pugh team has a strong passion for design, naval architecture and engineering as well as sailing whether in monohulls, multihulls or kiteboarding. The company’s impressive portfolio ranges from the 1992 America’s Cup winner, America3, to groundbreaking one- designs for Melges Boats (the 32, 24, 17, 20 and the Melges 14).
The Reichel/Pugh portfolio also boasts purpose-built offshore record hunters including Transpac record breakers Pyewacket (76ft, 1999) and Alfa Romeo (100ft, 2012), as well as the 100-footer Wild Oats XI with eight line honour wins in the Sydney Hobart and record setting trifecta (line honours, race record and overall handicap) wins in 2005 and 2012. The studio has also produced breakthrough Superyachts including the 45m Visione, the 34m Nilaya, the 67m Hetairos and two Wallycento designs; Magic Carpet3 and Galateia. Now Reichel/Pugh is looking to a new market, one which is quietly exploding in popularity: performance multihulls.
The motivation to design this 45ft offshore performance catamaran started with a question from a prospective client. The client wanted a fast yacht for shorthanded offshore racing that also featured genuine cruising capacity; he initially asked us to offer a recommendation in choosing between a Class40 monohull and a custom multihull design. There may have been an expected response from a design firm with such long and successful pedigree in monohulls, but recent hires by the company have tipped the balance somewhat and, with nearly half of the design team owning performance catamarans themselves, the discussion was spirited and the conclusions divided. To explore the trade-offs in proper depth it was decided to develop a new multihull design. (more…)
6-23-2016
Last week, team members Will Cyr and Adrian Sawyer toured Westerly Marine with the local Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers (SNAME), where Alive (Ex. Stark Raving Mad) was built in 2006.
Alive formerly known as Black Jack, was acquired by Tasmanian businessman Phillip Turner from Peter Harburg early in 2014 and is currently racing out of Brisbane and registered with the Derwent Sailing Squadron, Tasmania. Alive was originally launched in the US in 2006 as Stark Raving Mad and owned and campaigned by Jim Madden. At 66 foot Alive fits into the ‘mini-maxi’ size category. Her narrow, light and canting keel combined with a powerful new Southern Spar rig makes her a technically advanced and challenging boat. (more…)
6-16-2016
Genoa, Italy (June 16, 2016) – Congratulations to Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones and the crew of the Reichel/Pugh-designed/engineered and Wally Yachts-built 100-ft Superyacht Magic Carpet 3 (GBR) as they celebrate line honours at the 64th edition of the Giraglia Rolex Cup. The first was in 2013, and was followed up last year with an overall win on corrected time. (more…)
5-20-2016
This past week two RP team members traveled to the Baltic Yachts Shipyard in Jakobstad, Finland to visually inspect the build progress of the RP68. This performance cruiser has been designed for a repeat RPYD customer and will be sailing in the waters off Southern California. The design features an aft transom deck for easy access to the water and transfer to the tender.
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In preparation for the 2016 Newport to Ensenada Race, Reichel/Pugh engineers AJ Sawyer and Dan Flanigan joined the team of Mighty Merloe for its sailing delivery up the SoCal coastline, taking the opportunity to learn from its highly-accomplished crewmembers about the big trimaran’s performance and sailing systems along the way. (more…)
4-24-2016
MELGES 32 ‘ANARCHY’ ROCKS, PLACING 2ND OVERALL IN FLEET BY 25 SECONDS IN EPIC NEWPORT TO ENSENADA RACE
Ensenada, Mexico (April 25, 2016) – MELGES 32 ANARCHY finished the Newport to Ensenada with a course time of 12:45:21, and lost overall corrected time for Monohulls by 25 seconds. Read on for the race report by owner of Anarchy Racing Scot Tempesta. (more…)
4-23-2016
Ensenada, Mexico (April 23, 2016) – Of the one hundred seventy-nine boats that started, Reichel/Pugh-designed and Hart Marine-built 63′ Aszhou (formerly RP63 Invisible Hand and Limit) continued a legacy of winning by setting a new Newport to Ensenada monohull record with a time of 09:35:34 over 125nm, destroying the 2009 monohull record of 10:37:50 set by Doug Baker’s Magnitude. The record prior to this was set in 2003 by Roy E. Disney’s 76’ R/P-designed Pyewacket with a time of 10:44:25. (more…)
4-21-2016
Wishing Reichel/Pugh racers, R/P staff David Oliver on Blue Blazes (RP50) and Dan Flanigan on Aszhou (previously know as RP63 Invisible Hand and Limit), and all competitors, safe competition on the annual 2016 Newport-Ensenada Race which kicks off tomorrow. Pictured is the RP68 Taxi Dancer, originally built for Mitch Rouse of LA, which took 1st place in the 1990 N2E Race and won its Class in the 2010 race. Taxi Dancer was a custom ULDB 70 (West Coast Sled) built and launched in San Diego in 1988, winning the Big Boat Series ULDB 70 Class in 1990 after ULDB 70 Class wins in the ’89 Transpac and Newport-Cabo Race. She then went on to win the ULDB 70 Sled Class in the 1997, 1998 and 1999 Big Boat Series. “Reichel/Pugh designs have proven over the years to perform from launch, and have the longevity to continue winning long after.” Four decades after launch, Taxi Dancer recently won the 2012 Cal Cup Regatta is entered in the race tomorrow. (more…)
Reichel-Pugh’s next project to launch will be the 130’ Custom Racer/Cruiser with naval architecture and engineering completed in-house. The yacht is in the final stages of production at Baltic Yachts in Finland and last month was brought out of the shed to have the lifting keel fin installed. The high-strength lifting keel fin, bulb and carbon fiber keel trunk were engineered and manufactured in Italy by APM.
This marks yet another successful collaboration between Reichel-Pugh and Milan-based designers Nauta Yachts, who were responsible for Exterior Styling and Interior Design. The yacht will launch later this month, to be delivered this summer.
For more information visit Baltic Yachts and Nauta Yachts Design.
4-12-2016
Cape Town, South Africa (April 2016) – Last month R/P Naval Architect and Project Manager Tony Beale and Lead Engineer Will Cyr traveled to Cape Town to the Southern Wind Shipyard to visually inspect the build progress of the RP90. This design is the first fully custom build for the Southern Wind Shipyard and is for a recurring client of both SWS and RPYD. For this project RPYD is responsible for the Naval Architecture, Deck and General Arrangement and Structural Engineering.
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3-27-2016
Subic Bay, Philippines (March 27, 2016) – Philip Turner’s RP66 ALIVE sets new course record and takes 1st place in IRC Division 0. The Rolex China Sea Race 2016 is a 565nm Category 1 Offshore Race run under the auspices of RORC, and takes competitors from Hong Hong, China to Subic Bay in the Philippines. Title image © Daniel Forster (more…)
3-13-2016
Virgin Gorda, B.V.I. (March 12th, 2016) – Filip Balcaen’s NILAYA, the Reichel/Pugh and Nauta designed Baltic 34m, beat out rival Inoui to become the overall Class A winner, despite a a most spectacular spinnaker blow-out at the end of the first downwind leg in the final race. She also took home the Boat International Media Trophy 2016 for the top scored superyacht overall at the 2016 Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta in Virgin Gorda, B.V.I. Reichel/Pugh-designed and Baltic-built 67m ketch Hetairos finished second overall in Class B. (more…)
2-11-2016
Havana, Cuba (February 11th, 2016) – Owner-driver Marc Glimcher’s Reichel/Pugh 69 Trebuchet made history by setting the overall race record and outright passage record for the inaugural 254-nautical mile Miami to Havana Race yesterday with a time of 19 hours, 36 minutes and 10 seconds.
Nearly 60 years have passed since the Southern Ocean Racing Conference last visited Havana. The Florida-based SORC has begun the next chapter in that rich history with the inaugural Miami to Havana Race. Hosted by the Coral Reef Yacht Club and Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba, the race boasted 46 sailboats crewed by some 350 skilled sailors finishing at Cuba’s storied Club Nautico Hemingway.
Results
Title Photo © Marco Aquendo
2-1-2016
Antigua (January 31, 2016) – The sixth edition of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua kicked off the 2016 superyacht regatta season and featured four races for eleven 80 to 151ft yachts all racing under the superyacht rule ORCsy.
In Class A: Corsairs, racing was incredibly close with seconds deciding the outcome in many of the races. The Reichel/Pugh-designed 112’ Nilaya took 1st place in Class A and held off 2015 winner Reichel/Pugh-designed 147’ Visione, which took 2nd place. Visione and Nilaya were built by Baltic Yachts and launched in 2002 and 2010, respectively. (more…)
1-29-2016
Designated as the sportboat of choice for the New York Yacht Club’s 2016 Resolute Cup, the progressive Melges 20 raises the bar and sets a new standard for Corinthian style, one-design racing.
(Newport, R.I.) “We are extremely excited to have the Melges 20 class involved in the 2016 Resolute Cup,” says event chair Patricia O’Donnell. “The name Melges has been synonymous with performance sailing for more than half a century. The inclusion of the company’s latest keelboat in the 2016 Resolute Cup will add a dose of speed and excitement to the regatta.” (more…)
12-31-2015
Congratulations to the owners and crews of the Reichel/Pugh designed yachts that competed in the 2015 ROLEX Sydney to Hobart Race.
Photos © Rolex
John Newbold’s RP 51 Primitive Cool (AUS), designed & engineered by Reichel/Pugh and built by Hart Marine, Melbourne, finished 4th overall and second in Division 1 with a time of 04:10:36:19. Primitive Cool was formerly the Secret Men’s Business which won the Sydney Hobart overall in 2010. (more…)
12-26-2015
Click to access the start of the 71st Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race here and follow Reichel/Pugh’s entries: RP100 Wild Oats XI owned by Robert Oatley and skippered by Mark Richards, built by McConaghy and launched in 2005 (now retired due to torn mainsail); RP78 canting keel performance cruiser Lupa of London (more…)
12-24-2015
The Melges 24 is designed by Reichel/Pugh and and built by Melges Boat Works and holds a unique position among the world’s one design sportsboats as one of the most successful classes of high performance yachts. The 2016 Melges 24 European Sailing Series, 2016 Melges 24 European and World Championships, Melges 24 future title events up to 2018 have been announced.
(December 23, 2015) – At the end of another great season the World Council of the International Melges 24 Class Association (IM24CA) met up for its Annual General Meeting to discuss about the feedback of the 2015 season and to draw the main line of the future events. (more…)
12-21-2015
(December 21, 2016) – Sailing World Magazine has announced that the Reichel/Pugh-designed Melges 14 has earned its stripes as 2016’s Best Dingy, explaining that, “Any discussion of a modern singlehander will inevitably lead to a comparison with the Laser, which is the ultimate in performance and simplicity, the most prolific one-design dinghy of all time. It’s the benchmark. The Laser, however, is creeping toward 50 years, and not much about it has changed…The Melges 14, the judges agreed, is a righteous challenger to the Laser’s kingdom. It’s a boat that will make you want to drop everything, rig up and go sailing when the breeze is on. Given Melges’ success rate with and the support of its other one-design classes, big-fleet championships are only a matter of time.” For specs, handling, price, demo availability and news about a one-design class rule draft read on at: sailingworld.com/best-dinghy
12-19-2015
How does a ten year old yacht remain at the forefront of one of the great ocean race classics?
With her distinctively slim and elegant hull, Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats XI has taken line honours in eight out of the last ten Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races. In collaboration with Reichel/Pugh, her original builders McConaghy Boats have recently completed her most radical evolution yet. On the eve of the 628 nautical mile 2015 RSHYR on December 26th, McConaghy TV shares a film about forging this new reality. Additionally, Reichel/Pugh’s Jim Pugh breaks down the carefully calculated modifications to boost her performance in up-range conditions. Calculations that will hopefully place Wild Oats XI ahead of the 110 yacht fleet into Hobart for the ninth time in 11 starts.
Visit the builder’s site at mcconaghyboats.com
facebook.com/McConaghyBoats
Title photo from August 2015 © Andrea Francolini
12-18-2015
Riccardo Simoneschi Wins 2015 Melges 24 World Ranking, Miles Quinton/Geoff Carveth Claims European, Steve Boho North American and Chris Links Australasian Ranking
2015 Melges 24 World, European, North American and Australasian Ranking Results
The 2015 Melges 24 World and Continental Ranking series featured 14 events across Europe, North America and Australia including the main title event of the year – Melges 24 World Championship incorporating National Championships and major regional events all around the world. Every continent hosted 4-6 ranking series events in conclusion of which the winners of continental rankings were found out and World Ranking consisted of all events from three continental series. 213 competitors from 23 countries took part. (more…)
12-15-2015
Sydney, Australia (December 14, 2015) – After a perfect start in light winds at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s annual SOLAS Big Boat Challenge bash around Sydney Harbor, Bob and Sandy Oatley’s super maxi 100-foot Wild Oats XI steadily drew away from the bigger, wider, more powerful 100 footers, Ragamuffin 100 and Perpetual Loyal, on every leg of the 14 nautical mile course. In the end, 3 minutes 50 seconds separated the slim and elegant Wild Oats XI from the fleet as they crossed the finish line off the Opera House first. (more…)
11-30-2015
Bay of Islands, New Zealand (October 27, 2015) – The Coastal Classic Yacht Race from Devonport Wharf to Russell Wharf in the Bay of Islands, is New Zealand’s premier fleet race and has been held annually at Labour weekend since its inception in 1982.
RIKKI, Ray Haslar’s R/P designed 42’ was the Overall Winner of the 2015 race – 64 boats finished the race with 49 DNF’s. (more…)
11-1-2015
https://vimeo.com/142676045
James Martin Mitchell
April 6, 1932 – July 29, 2015
Owner of RP52 Vincitore and native Chicagoan James Mitchell passed away this July leaving a beautiful sailing legacy sure to continue. The head of a family of sailors, he raced with his two sons and two grandsons on the Great Lakes and around the world. Vincitore was named Overall Rolex US IRC National Champion in 2009 after winning: the 2009 International Rolex Regatta (St Thomas), 2009 Nanny Cay Cup, 2009 BVI Spring Regatta, 2009 Chicago Mackinac Race, 2009 Bayview Mackinac Race and the 2009 Big Boat Series.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Discover.
Title photo © Photo by Rolex / Daniel Forster
10-22-2015
Reichel/Pugh launches the second generation of their ultra-fast 100ft performance cruisers into the Wallycento class with GALATEIA. The Wallycento box-rule was developed during Reichel/Pugh’s collaboration with owner Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones when he initiated the wallycento project for Magic Carpet 3. Key points are lightweight planing hulls, a powerful sailplan and high stability combined with a lifting keel and strict cruising interior requirements defined by the Wally Class rules. (more…)
10-1-2015
Reichel/Pugh’s latest creation, design #260 the 35-meter Superyacht, combines grand prix racing speeds with an ultra elegant cruising program.
Whether it is performance cruising, offshore racing, or the Americas Cup, Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design has had unparalleled success at producing some of the worlds most distinctive and consistently rewarding sailing yachts including designs that have continuously won major regattas over several decades. The world-renowned naval architecture and engineering firm’s latest creation design # 260, the Fast 35-meter Superyacht, combines grand prix racing speeds with an ultra elegant cruising program in a modern, and truly versatile package. (more…)
7-26-2015
Congratulations to all the owners and crews of Reichel/Pugh yachts racing in the 2015 Transpac Race!
Reichel/Pugh designs currently hold the Transpac course records for both fixed and moveable ballast designs, have set new Transpac course records four times since 1999, and have taken elapsed time honors in eight of the last nine Transpacs.
Honolulu, Hawaii (July 26, 2015) – The overall winner is a Santa Cruz 70 Grand Illusion designed by Bill Lee and featuring Reichel/Pugh-designed the keel and rudder appendages. Grand Illusion has now equaled the record for most overall Transpac wins, joining the 88′ Lurline which won the first two races in 1906 and 1908, and again in 1912. However, Grand Illusion holds the status alone for winning overall three times under the same Owner/Skipper, Ed & James McDowell.
Roy Pat Disney’s and Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats XI had the fastest elapsed time of 6d 10h 37m 2s to win the 2015 Merlin Trophy and take first in Division 1 at the Transpac’s Diamond Head finish line. Wild Oats XI is a 100-foot custom design famous for its eight elapsed time victories, two overall fleet wins and is the current course record holder in the Sydney-Hobart race. (more…)
7-16-2015
photo courtesy of Lloyd images ltd
(July 16, 2015 / Day 18) – Congratulations to Reichel/Pugh 63 LUCKY owner Bryon Ehrhart, navigator Ian Moore and the rest of the crew as they have been confirmed winners of the Transatlantic Race 2015 by the event’s four organizers: the Royal Yacht Squadron, the New York Yacht Club, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Storm Trysail Club. LUCKY, formerly LOKI, was designed and engineered by Reichel/Pugh, constructed by McConaghy Boats and has won overall in the grueling Sydney-Hobart (2011) and now the 2015 Transatlantic Race. (more…)
7-5-2015
Middelfart, Denmark (July 5, 2015) – Swiss-American sailor Christopher Rast and his EFG team secured the title today at the 2015 Melges 24 World Championship. Following their brilliant performance with three bullets yesterday, Rast’s team posted a 7-2-1 in the 95-boat fleet, sufficient after 12 races to secure first place without needing to sail in the final two races. (more…)
6-20-2015
Photo courtesy of Carlo Borlenghi / ROLEX
SAINT-TROPEZ, FRANCE – GENOVA, ITALY (June 20th 2015) – A record fleet of 240 international yachts contested the 2015 Giraglia Rolex Cup, an edition ultimately defined by victories for the fleet’s two largest yachts. Igor Simčič’s 100-ft Maxi Esimit Europa 2 (SLO) sealed line honours while the Giraglia Rolex Cup trophy awarded to the overall race winner was claimed by Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones’s Wally Cento Magic Carpet 3 (GBR). (more…)
3-26-2015
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (March 26, 2015) – The 63’ R/P-designed Invisible Hand took 1st place in ORR Class 1 in the 800nm Newport to Cabo Race down the Baja peninsula followed by R/P-designed Bad Pak 65’ and Wizard 72’.
Results
Race Website
Race Photos and Interviews
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3-22-2015
St Barths, French West Indies (March 22, 2015) – Perseverance was the key to victory in four classes (Gazelles, Elegantes, Mademoiselles, Grande Dames) sailing their last and final race at the 2015 St Barths Bucket Regatta. Sailing the “wrong way around” course meant the 35 competing superyachts launched their massive spinnakers at the start and took a clockwise tour of the island, testing sailing skills with a particularly lengthy beat up the backside. And though the superyachts, for safety’s sake, sail by rules that keep them at least 40 metres apart at all times, the competition was as close as anyone could wish for. (more…)
3-15-2015
After a successful season winning in Sardinia and St Tropez Sir Lindsay Owen Jones sat down with Seahorse Magazine’s Blue Robinson to reflect on a passion for combining speed with elegance that stems from childhood dingy sailing, racing cars and love of family. In partnership with Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design and Luca Bassani of Wally, MC3 marked the peak of performance cruising technology and birth of the Wallycento Class.
Click here to read the full story from Seahorse Magazine
And click here to subscribe to monthly Seahorse issues
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3-8-2015
Gold Coast, Australia (Mar 8, 2015) – Alive, owned by Tasmanian Phillip Turner, have today been crowned the champions at Southport Yacht Club’s XXXX Sail Paradise Regatta for 2015. This is a back-to-back win for Alive after first competing in the inaugural regatta in 2014. (more…)
2-17-2015
“LADY G” Southern Wind 94 hull # 3 has launched this week at Southern Wind Shipyard, Cape Town. Style and in Interior by Nauta Yachts, Naval Architecture by Reichel/Pugh. (more…)
2-9-2015
Montego Bay, Jamaica (February 9, 2015) – George Sakellaris’s Reichel/Pugh-designed, McConaghy-built 72-foot Shockwave stormed through the Windward Passage in the wee hours on Feb. 8, taking aim to break the record set in 2005 by the 75-foot Reichel/Pugh Titan 12 of 2 days, 10 hours, 24 minutes, 42 seconds. (more…)
2-1-2015
Antigua (February 1, 2015) – The Reichel/Pugh designed 147’ Visione took 2nd overall and 1st in Class 1. The German flagged Visione was built by Baltic Yachts and launched in 2002. Considered a revolutionary design then, Visione’s performance is still unmatched.
Results (more…)
12-29-2014
Congratulations to the owners and crews of the Reichel/Pugh designed yachts that competed in the 2014 ROLEX Sydney to Hobart Race. Photo © Carlo Borlenghi
100’ Wild Oats XI – 1st to Finish – 8th Line Honors Win In 10 Years – Bob Oatley
40′ Chutzpah – 1st IRC Division 2 – 2nd Overall in fleet IRC – 2nd ORCi Division 2 – Bruce Taylor
52′ Scarlet Runner – 1st in Division 1 ORCi – 2nd Division 1 IRC – Robert Date (more…)
12-12-2014
Grenada (December 11, 2014) – Lupa of London, the Reichel/Pugh designed 78’ built by Baltic Yachts and owned by Jeremy Pilkington, crossed the finish line of the 2014 inaugural RORC Transatlantic Race, off Grenada (more…)
12-4-2014
Photo © Leslie Richter
(December 2014) – The Offshore Racing Rule has announced the top three finishers in the 2014 ORR West Coast Northern Series Championship. Boats must have raced in a minimum of two of the following races, including one distance race to qualify: Spinnaker Cup, Pacific Cup and Big Boat Series.
Overall Winner: Frank Slootman’s R/P 63 Mini Maxi Invisible Hand (more…)
9-30-2016
Saint Tropez, France (September 24 – October 2, 2016) Les Voiles de Saint Tropez is a regatta held annually the last week of September on the Mediterranean. The town of Saint Tropez, on the south coast of France, plays host to an incredible gathering of classic wooden yachts, high-tech modern superyachts, as well as a variety of production and custom boats of all sizes. In all, more than 300 boats will race next week in the gulf of Saint Tropez from September 24th to October 2nd in this classic regatta. 
Porto Cervo, Italy (September 14, 2016) – Winning the