Members of the Patuharakeke Trust Board and its resource management unit led a blessing on Friday for the new pontoon built at Northport by Core Builders Composites.
Members of the Patuharakeke Trust Board and its resource management unit led a blessing on Friday for the new pontoon built at Northport by Core Builders Composites.
Construction of the world's most technologically advanced foiling catamarans is in full swing, with the flying machines expected to be put through sea trails off Northland in just a few weeks.
The six F50 catamarans will be identical in every respect apart from the crew who sail them and the colours in the livery. The boats are touted as the world's fastest, most technologically advanced one-design racing boat ever produced.
They are being made at Warkworth-based company Core Builders Composites and sea trails will be conducted off Bream Bay out of a base at Marsden Cove.
A blessing was held on Friday at Northport at a purpose-built pontoon. Sections of the catamarans will be lowered on to the pontoon, where they will be assembled for each of six international teams to trial. Each boat weights 2800kg.
Kiwi Russell Coutts and American software tycoon Larry Ellison are behind the new SailGp global racing league, which starts in Sydney next February.
Coutts said Northland was selected as it was a base close to the factory and provided adequate space for the technical facilities, with housing nearby and good conditions for testing.
"I think the overseas guys will be blown away by Northland. Obviously they'll be pretty busy getting as much time on the water as possible but they will no doubt get a few breaks to explore some of the other parts of Northland," Coutts told the Northern Advocate.
CBC managing director Mark Turner, from Kerikeri, said it was an exciting time for the marine industry in Northland.
The construction of the catamarans demonstrated that high-value manufacturing was happening in the region and was going to be used around the world.
"This wouldn't happen without the relationship with Northport and Marsden Cove and we need that co-operation to be able to do this sailing operation."
Turner, who has been involved in multiple America's Cup campaigns for Oracle Team USA since 2000, said the hi-tech on-board controls were like the flight control system for an aeroplane, and like anything using software or that was code-based, there were always gremlins. He said the systems would be tested and it would be ensured they operated in a safe manner.
The flying machines will only take five crew to sail them, as newly introduced batteries will free up one grinding position on board.
That has also led to a redesign of the cockpit layout.
Boatbuilder Craig McIntosh, of One Tree Point, works on the stern hull.
One Northlander working on the catamarans is Craig McIntosh of One Tree Point, who makes the return trip to Warkworth every day.
McIntosh said it was a great project to be involved in and even better to know the catamaran would be tested in his home waters.
"Normally all these big events and tests go to Auckland so for Northland to get a chance to prove itself is amazing. It will be a chance to put ourselves on the map."
McIntosh was a keen boatie and looking forward to seeing the catamaran design in action. Their top speed is expected to be 53 knots, achieved in 20 knots of wind speed.
Susan Lake, also a CBC manager, said there was cutting-edge technology at the factory site but they undertook other private jobs as well as marine industry work.
The company's first significant architecture project was the roof structure of Rore Kāhu, the Marsden Cross Interpretive Centre, at Rangihoua Heritage Park in the Bay of Islands, which was designed by Cheshire Architects.
The 2019 SailGP series will comprise five events, starting in Sydney (February 15-16) and continuing to San Francisco (May 4-5), New York (June 21-22), Cowes, UK (August 10-11) and finishing in Marseille, France (September 20-22).
According to a World Sailing announcement, each event will feature two days of competition involving five fleet races and a final match race to determine the overall event winner.
