GP42 class at crossroads, 2007 looks very promising

While the spotlights of attention of the international sailing community are all focused on Valencia and the America's Cup, another major sailing class is steadily advancing and growing both in number of yachts and, equally important, top professional sailors involved. The GP42 class held its meeting right here in Valencia a month ago and the first impressions are very promising and encouraging for the future of the box rule format.

Right now there are 14 boats that have been built or are under construction from six different nationalities (6 ESP, 3 ITA, 2 CRO, 1 POR, 1 NED and 1 NOR). The first ever GP42 was a Farr design built by Latini Marine in Italy and made her debut in the Trofeo de la Reina in Valencia, last year. The second boat was built by Croatian boatyard Murtic Yachts and designed by Botín & Carkeek.

The advantages of the GP42 class reside in the considerably lower financial costs. The construction costs (excluding sails and electronics) of a GP42 boat are between 400 and 450 thousand euros, while the annual budget of a team is well within reach of an owner and his sponsors that look for boats that can be competitive, fast, attractive, fun and can draw the interest of top-class international sailors. A rough estimate for an annual budget of a top-level team is 400 thousand euros. In addition, one of the basic concepts of the rule is to keep it stable for at least three years, further reducing the costs.

The GP 42 is aimed at the owner who enjoys pure racing on elapsed time. In order to win races the level of design, engineering and construction needs to be at the highest level. In terms of engineering, the rule limits displacement together with weight restrictions on the keel, mast and internal ballast, which in turn dictates the allowed composite weight. The designers role is to utilize this ´allowed` composite weight in the most efficient manner. i.e maximum stiffness with minimum vcg. The sail plan is dictated by the rule, however with no limitations on maximum sail area the early testing stages will prove important as crossover charts are developed.

The calendar of the first ever racing circuit of this growing class was also finalized and confirmed last month.

The International GP42 2007 Racing CircuitCres, Croatia June 21st – 23rd
Valencia, Spain July 13th – 15th
Palma de Majorca, Spain July 28th – August 5th
Cascais, Portugal August 30th – September 1st
Besides this official international calendar, the GP42 are invited and included as stand alone class in the following national events:

Melilla, Spain August 11th – 15th
Bayona, Spain September 7th – 9th
Sanxenxo, Spain September 14th – 16th
Cala Galera, Italy September 21st –23rd
Puerto Calero, Spain October 17th – 21st

Given the increasing importance of this class, Valencia Sailing will begin a more extensive coverage, starting from the months of March and April when the bulk of yachts is expected to come on stream, most of them right here in Valencia.