Georgia on his mind
17/10/2009

When the HSBC Coastal Classic sets sail next Friday, one of the frontrunners is sure to be Jim Farmer’s new TP52, Georgia. Mike Rose reports:

Jim Farmer QC is one of the stalwarts of serious yacht racing in this country.

His numerous yachts, all owned by Georgia Racing, a company owned and directed by him, and all called Georgia after his daughter, have competed in most of our major regattas (and Georgia One won the New Zealand IRC championships). He also serves as a director for Emirates Team New Zealand and many ETNZ crew regularly sail with him.

His latest steed, Georgia Racing, is a Transpac 52 (TP52) closely modeled on the all-conquering Emirates Team New Zealand boat that recently won the fiercely contested TP52 Audi Med Cup in such style.

Both yachts were designed by ETNZ designer Marcelino Botin and both were built at Cookson Boats’ North Shore yard.

Although Georgia Racing is an “almost identical” sistership to the Emirates T52, Farmer believes she will be faster and more versatile; capable of achieving speeds of up to 25 knots thanks to 350 square metres of sail area, a dynamic hull shape and lightweight engineering.

Farmer initially considered buying the ETNZ boat after its first year’s racing. However, he instead decided to build a new boat, using the same hull mould, and have it customised for IRC racing. IRC is a popular format in New Zealand and Australia and the change also allowed Farmer to add more interior space.

As a result the internal ballast found in the ETNZ yacht has been removed and replaced by a more comfortable interior. To compensate, a heavier bulb has been fitted. The sail plan is also slightly larger, there is a slightly lower overall displacement and the deck and cabin top have been re-designed.

There is no doubt that Farmer’s ETNZ connections have paid dividends.

“Because Marcelino Botin had designed the Emirates boat and is ETNZ’s America’s Cup designer, and because of my own association with ETNZ, I have got what I wanted: a customised IRC boat with the pedigree of a Transpac,” he says

“The fact that, thanks to the recession, Mick Cookson had no new boats under construction was also a great help. We were able to put together the project in a way that was cost effective for Georgia Racing and also enabled him (Cookson) to keep his best boat builders together.”

Farmer says he has long been an admirer of Botin’s work, even though the designer has a remarkably low profile.

“I especially admired the design work Marcelino did for ETNZ on its America’s Cup boats.

“His TP52 design is very radical, compared to other current TP designs. There were many who said it would not be successful but ETNZ’s results in this year’s Med Cup, where they annihilated the competition and the best sailors and designers in the world, has proved otherwise.”

(Shortened to fit - published courtesy of Mike Rose and the NZ Herald)