Blimey! Look what I woke up next too!

photodog

Lord High Commander of Upper Broughton and Gunthor
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8 Apr 2007
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Woke up this morning... stuk my head out of the companionway...

And this was parked next to me...

Leopard1sm.jpg
 
A lovely boat with a very entertaining owner, have a nose at some of the gear, I have a couple of great shots of her picking up said owner from Catherine's Cafe in English Harbour, quite a sight.
 
They've finished, then.

I wonder about the fun of racing Leopard. After a few hours the opposition is over the horizon astern, and they don't see another boat (at least not going in the same direction as them) until the start of the next race.

Good boat-to-boat stuff, don't tack until you see the whites of their eggs, it ain't.
 
Charter her for Antigua Sailing Week, that's the best charter they offer in my opnion, apart from when the boom snaps 2 mins before the first race.....
 
My bucket album has gone bonkers will attempt to post pic later, it shows the keel canting so the owners wife does not have to climb so high.
aaa
 
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I was lucky enough to sail Leopard3 on a jolly during Cowes last year. An amazing boat, incredibly powerful (even at the 2-thirds power they let us loose with). Sailing crew of 7 on board for our trip, most of the rest were out racing on TP52s that day. Once Cowes was over, she was being taken into dock and having her stern chopped off and made 380mm longer with twin rudders after the class rules changed on maximum length. At a cost of £100k.... New mainsail, $100k. Boat build cost £7m. £1m a year just to float, about £250k additional per campaign. They reckoned she would lose her competitive edge in 2-3 years max. Canted the keel while we were against the pontoon, laughed as half the assembled guests fell to one side. To sail, she was remarkably trouble-free, responded like a (bloody massive) dinghy, push a button on the helm to swing the keel to each side - apparently equivalent to over 100 guys on the rail.

Awesome bit of kit, and an extremely memorable day out.

PS, all my photos are a bit pants really, especially the one of me at the helm not looking where I'm going.....
 
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