Yachting: Sturdy veteran steers clear of keel innovation

Konica Minolta is the only super maxi in this year's race not to use a canting keel. Picture / Daniel Forster

The thunderous crack came in the middle of the night as the yacht powered its way through torrential rain, driving hail and heavy seas.

The 27-tonne yacht climbed to the top of a wave at least 10m high then smashed into the trough that followed.

The horrifying sound of their boat breaking is still a fresh memory for the crew of Konica Minolta and, as a result, sailing manager Simon Meikle says they are more than happy to go into the Sydney to Hobart without the new in-vogue canting keel system.

"I think at the end of the day it is still reasonably unproven. After last year when Skandia crashed and burned and lost all control of their canting keel and they fell over ... from a safety point of view is it the sort of thing you want to do, and are these boats going to continue to have these problems?

"Of the seven competitors in the round-the-world race three have suffered canting keel problems. So it is a pretty high attrition rate."

Of the five super maxis in this year's Sydney to Hobart, only Konica Minolta does not boast a canting keel, where the keel can be mechanically swung sideways, reducing the heeling of the boat and increasing the effectiveness of the sails.

Meikle said Konica Minolta owner Wellington businessman Stewart Thwaites considered fitting the mechanism but decided to stick with a fixed keel.

The Boxing Day race is Konica Minolta's third Sydney to Hobart. The yacht finished second to Skandia in the 2003 race but was forced out of last year's race after the cabin top cracked. Rough seas made it impossible to prevent further cracking which could have put the yacht in a similar situation to 1995 America's Cup syndicate One Australia, which folded and sank off San Diego in just 90 seconds.

For the past two years the $6 million yacht has been one of the latest-generation super maxis in the race, but this time it takes a back seat to Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo and Bob Oatley's Wild Oats - who represent the new breed.

"Without a doubt they are very quick boats. I suppose it has to be taken into context they are using the latest technology in a number of areas," Meikle said.

But Alfa Romeo has been sailing for four months and Wild Oats felt the flurry of water under her hull for the first time just over two weeks ago.

"Neither of them have had heavy offshore weather ... You just don't know how these things will perform. "They are just so technical and at the end of the day, the determining factor is going to be their reliability and whether they can see the distance.

Of their two major opponents Meikle is most impressed with Crichton's Alfa Romeo.

"Neville Crichton is a very professional, organised yachtsman. He has a well-drilled team and I would say of the two boats, certainly Alfa Romeo is faster and will probably have a better chance of getting to Hobart.

"They are particularly strong downwind. If it is a downwind race or a reaching race they will be there extremely quickly. If it is an upwind race, as it tends to get to in the Bass Strait, that could be quite a leveller. That is the opportunity that we would have of certainly making our mark."

New Zealanders Gavin Brady, Rodney Keenan and Ross Field will share the helming with Thwaites.

The other two super maxis in the fleet are last year's winner AAPT (formerly Nicorette) and Skandia.

Skandia has been rebuilt and fitted with a new rig and heavier keel. But with owner Grant Wharington competing in the round-the-world race, there are questions over how much time the team have put into testing.

After breaking their mast this year AAPT are struggling to fit a new one. They broke pieces off a new mast last week and there is some doubt whether they will make it to the start.

Understandably Meikle is happy Konica Minolta is the boat he is boarding on Monday

"If I was wanting to be on any boat, I wouldn't be on anything but ours. This is her third

KONICA MINOLTA

Launch year: 2003
Sail number: NZL10001
Owner and skipper: Stewart Thwaites
Club: Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club
Country: New Zealand
Type: Maxi 30m
Designer: Brett Bakewell-White
Builder: Hakes Marine Construction
Length: 30m
Beam: 5.25m
Rig: 38m
Mainsail: 500sq m
Spinnaker: 700sq m
Other features: trim tab on keel, water ballast