Contessa 33.. what's the verdict?

[mrming]

There were only ever 20 or so 33s built, there are a lot more OOD/Contessa 34s around (the Contessa 34 is a slightly detuned version of the OOD) but they are both significantly different from the 33. All were designed to the IOR rule and have smallish mains and big headsails which really need large crews. You can certainly fit roller reefing headsails but that compromises windward ability in a blow and the mains are a bit too small to rely on non-overlapping headsails for all conditions. However that applies to most yachts built before designers realised that IRC favoured large mains and non-overlapping headsails.

I take it you’re referring to the OOD / 34s here? The Contessa 33 has a fractional rig like most of the Humphries designs of the time. I would happily take a 33 IRC racing today.

 

[doug748]

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The subject of Contessas and Fastnet 79 came up in an earlier response. I did not do that Fasnet but I did regularly sail on the RAFSA yacht Black Arrow, the UFO 34 that finished and won her class. I spoke to the crew afterwards and they attributed their success, not to the boat, but to the fact they had seven very experienced crew on board. None of whom got sea sick and all of whom could helm in those conditions. That meant they never stopped racing. They were still actively sailing to windward when the storm was at its worst, each of them doing short spells on the helm. The OOD 34s fared very badly but they were new on the market at the time and could not possibly have been well worked up and I believe most had resorted to defensive tactics.

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Excellent post.

Interesting that the Contessa 32 Assent kept racing and sailing upwind, as well. Willy Kerr, the owner, was not present but put their success down partly to the bulletproof sleeping arrangements he put into Assent so that off watch crew could genuinely rest. I think he had modified cots with lee cloths supported by dinghy mast sections.
He had many singlehanded adventures later and his favoured heavy weather tactic was always to sail upwind into it, usually under wind vane steering.

The Contessa 34 OOD fared badly in that race but it may have just been unlucky as a class. Certainly nobody has come up with any concrete shortcomings which did not apply equally to many boats of similar design.
It's often overlooked that one 34 rescued the crew of a French boat and arrived in Falmouth with 13 on board.

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