Reykjavik,ReykjavReReyReykeykjaeykjaveyeykjavik,kjavik,avik,avivikk IcelandIcIceIcelacelalandand

West Palmm Beach,BeBeaeaeacachch, FloridaFl rida

David Marlow

large sailing yachts broke free of the old wives’ tales regarding constraint of speed by length, and they doubled and tripled their speed dur- ing passages with increased safety and comfort. Prior to that, the industry A New Yacht, believed that a typical 50-foot sailing yacht was destined to a maximum A New Challenge speed under sail of about 6 knots. Forward-looking designers threw away MARLOW CHAIRMAN DEVISES 3,900-MILE TEST-DRIVE FOR the old rules that a sailing yacht had VOYAGER 76 LR; INVITES OTHER BUILDERS ALONG. to be round, deep and slow, develop- ing ocean greyhounds that waltz with avid Marlow had a plan. He wanted to build a long-range yacht that could the sea rather than engage in a slugfest. cross any ocean without refueling, but it had to make the crossing at faster Today’s offshore sailor is able to carry speeds than conventional long-range yachts, and it had to keep its occupants on with reduced sail in safety at far comfortable. The end result of years of shipbuilding and refinement is the greater speeds and under complete Marlow Voyager 76 LR, which debuted at the Miami International Boat Show control. in February 2010. It is the same for offshore power Marlow, chairman of Marlow Yachts, is so confident in his latest vessel voyagers. Round, deep and slow that he has concocted a contest, dubbed the Ocean Challenge. Marlow has yachts are at the mercy of whatever asked his fellow builders to put their longest-range yachts in the water at comes their way since they cannot West Palm Beach, Fla., this summer and race to Reykjavik, Iceland — a dis- break free of their own bow wave. As tance of roughly 3,900 miles — using only the fuel in the yachts’ standard- modest speeds around one times the size tanks. square root of the waterline length are He sees it as a harkening back to the days when yachtsmen engaged in exceeded, the resistance graph such competitions on a regular basis. Plus, he really likes being on the water. turns vertical and any semblance of fuel economy is lost. For the average Sea: What inspired the > Why is that competitive spirit 50-foot power yacht, DOcean Challenge? so important to you? that means speeds must be kept David Marlow: The Ocean Challenge Competitive spirit is part and parcel of around 5.5 or 6 knots or range is was inspired by the former days of the human experience, without which severely impacted. A yacht that might yachting — when adventurous men we would never have left the safety of have a 1,500-mile range at 5.5 knots showed pride and complete confi- the caves for the larger, more exciting likely would find that range halved at dence in their products, testing them world. Without that spirit, nothing could 6.5 knots and might get well under in the public arena against others to advance, nothing could improve. 400 miles at 7.5 knots. verify the printed advertising that Yesterday’s newspaper would be good A semi-displacement yacht de- extolled their capabilities. A voyage enough. It is now and has always been signed like the Voyager 76 has no such of this distance in the waters of the important to me in every endeavor. constraints and will provide equal or North Atlantic will separate the prop- better fuel efficiency at the lowest erly built and capable seagoing yachts > The new Marlow Voyager 76 speed ranges, 5-plus knots for exam- from the dock queens that cannot LR is your yacht of choice for ple, and will continue with far greater undertake such a test of their design, the challenge. Why? fuel efficiency than the full-displace- construction and character. It is similar to the mid-1980s when ment cruiser well beyond speed-to-

SEAMAGAZINE.COM 53 of ever-greater performance and technology.

> What will Marlow and the other builders learn from this experience? The limits of some equipment and the pathway to improve it. Just as today’s automobiles are equipped with supe- rior tires, outstanding braking and performance, and excellent accident The Marlow Voyager 76 LR is designed to be a safety due to innovations at NASCAR state-of-the-art ocean-crossing yacht, with the latest in technology and comfort on board. and other competitive performance events, marine components will length ratios of one times the square show their true colors under such root of the waterline length. As speeds endurance testing. I hope that leads increase to around 1.3 times the square manufacturers to improve upon the root of the waterline length (around current state of the art. 7 knots for an average 50-foot yacht), the resistance of the displacement hull > How long do you anticipate form skyrockets, while the semi-dis- the trip will take? placement design continues to gain We believe we can complete the voy- speed at a modest fuel increase. age in approximately 18-19 days with reasonable conditions. We pre- > How is the 76 LR different stainless steel “birds” that eliminate dict that other similar-sized yachts will from its predecessors at Marlow? the cumbersome and dangerous flop- require 30-35 days, assuming mod- The design focus was to sacrifice the per stoppers — yet are more power- erate sea conditions. ability to reach speeds near 30 knots ful and launch-retrieve at the touch in favor of extreme range at phe- of a button — provide approximate- > How big of a crew will be nomenal speeds in long-distance ly the same additional righting along for the ride? Will you be mode. This was accomplished by a moment as the automatic ballasting among them? slightly narrower waterline, system. One, both or neither may be I wouldn’t miss it for the world! I am refaired buttock lines that allow used by flipping a switch or pushing both captain and chief navigator for wave-making resistance to decrease a button. If weather deteriorates to the voyage, as well as the mechanic and a slightly deeper midsection. At gale-force conditions and worse, if need be. The crew will be five or six people to allow a fresh helmsman and watch on a reasonable schedule.

The design focus was to sacrifice the ability > What kind of technology to reach speeds near 30 knots in favor will the crew have on board to guide them? of extreme range at phenomenal We will have the gamut of navigational speeds in long-distance mode. gear, from radio direction finders to “ a sextant to sophisticated marine elec- tronics, including electronic charting the same time, the Voyager is of heav- sophisticated automatically adjusting backed up by deduced reckoning on ier displacement than the Explorer hydraulic stabilizers may be deployed paper charts. series of similar size, with addition- at a push of the button. ” al laminates of Kevlar and carbon fiber > The Challenge ends in for voyages in sea-ice conditions. > What do you hope the Reykjavik, far from the tropical The Voyager features multiple lev- boating public learns from climate of West Palm Beach. els of stabilization at sea or in rough the Challenge? Based on that, I think everyone anchorages. Some are passive, includ- That design is not a dead-end street, wants to know: Why is Iceland ing ballast that may be filled or jetti- as scholars and imaginative souls green and Greenland ice? soned at will to provide higher per- have shown us since time began. Maybe the Vikings who discovered formance yet provides a righting-arm What seemed impossible yesterday Greenland-Iceland got mixed up in moment of nearly 17,000 foot-pounds can become commonplace today — their ’s log. Perhaps a tot too much when in use. Automatically deployed with tomorrow holding the promise sundown grog.

54 SEA / MAY 2010