New Mutua Madrileña TP52 boat presented in Valencia

Although Port America's Cup was definitely quieter today, a few miles down the road, the Valencia yacht club is buzzing with activity. A number of GP42 and TP52 racing yachts are being fitted out, getting ready for the start of the 2007 racing season in the Mediterranean.

The protagonist on Thursday was Vasco Vascotto's brand new TP52 boat, this year sponsored by Mutua Madrileña. After last year's very successful sponsorship of Peter de Ridder's Mean Machine, the Spanish insurance group chose to go with a brand new boat and team. In fact, in addition to Vasco Vascotto and Nacho Postigo, the absolute majority of the crew are Italians from the now-eliminated challenger of the 32nd America's Cup, Mascalzone Latino Capitalia.

The new boat has been designed by Botin & Carkeek and was built at the Longitud Cero boatyard, in Burriana, around 50km north of Valencia. According to Vasco Vascotto, the designers were asked to build a boat that goes fast upwind, sacrificing a little bit of its performance downwind.

Similar to Peter de Ridder's boat last year, the new Mutua Madrileña has a tiller instead of a wheel. The decision was taken because of various factors. First of all, weight is decreased by 15kg, windage is also smaller due to the absence of the two wheels and the fact the helmsman doesn't stand up, the helmsman's weight is pushed starboard and it finally helps push the crew weight further aft in light wind conditions. The tradeoff is that prestart maneuvers are more complicated and probably tacks could also create some difficulties. Nevertheless, Vascotto assumes the risk of the tiller.

Concerning the boat's rigging, the other major factor differentiating the TP52 fleet this year, Vascotto opted for a two-spreader Hall Spars mast. According to Nacho Postigo, a three-spreader mast clearly shows its advantage when winds are over 15 knots, a speed that will be infrequently seen during the racing season in their opinion.

The boat will go back to Burianna and on Sunday will go on her maiden test sail. After some further fine tuning, the first full training sail will be in around two weeks from now, in Valencia or Alicante. We will obviously cover that when it takes place.

The brand new Mutua Madrileña TP52 boat. Valencia, 10 May 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The brand new Mutua Madrileña TP52 boat. Valencia, 10 May 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The brand new Mutua Madrileña TP52 boat. Valencia, 10 May 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The brand new Mutua Madrileña TP52 boat. Valencia, 10 May 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The brand new Mutua Madrileña TP52 boat. Valencia, 10 May 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The brand new Mutua Madrileña TP52 boat. Valencia, 10 May 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The brand new Mutua Madrileña TP52 boat. Valencia, 10 May 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The brand new Mutua Madrileña TP52 boat. Valencia, 10 May 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The brand new Mutua Madrileña TP52 boat. Valencia, 10 May 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The brand new Mutua Madrileña TP52 boat. Valencia, 10 May 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing