New Ariel Speed Record !!!

[bill@ariel231]

Yup, that's Alberg's quote regarding his fiberglass boat designs (moderate beam & full keel with cutaway forefoot). Remember this was in the context of the 1979 Fastnet disaster where early to mid generation IOR boats with poor righting moments and were not up to the weather encountered on the race..23 of the 306 yachts taking part were sunk or disabled due to high winds and "mountainous seas". Something like 15 fatalities occured. This event lead to a rethinking of the stability requirements and safety gear required or offshore racing. I've sailed and broached in later generation IOR boats that learned from this race and some of the larger capedorys that share our hullform. Both types can be fairly stable and capable of recovering on their own if the designer had stability in mind from the beginning. That said, there is weather out there that will crush any sailboat.

There are just a couple boats I'd trade up to: CapeDory 33, Hinckley Pilot lead the full keel list. First Generation Swan 37 and if money were no object, the new NYYC Club Swan 42 lead the fin keel list.