The remains of Pete Goss' Team Philips are steadily washing up on the Icelandic foreshore.

Nautor Challenges' T-keeled Frers VO60 is swung into the water for the first time

Philippe Kahn's latest Pegasus, a Reichel-Pugh sled

Editorial

It can't have been lost on many that this year has seen a growing number of Open 60 events for fully crewed teams. Certainly it has not been lost on the organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race, who now plan a wholesale review of their classic contest in time for an early announcement about their next event, probably in 2005/6.

Even the race date is not set in stone - yet. It would obviously be better to avoid another clash with the America's Cup, but given the vagaries of that event such planning is probably pointless. More relevant is the fact that recently the America's Cup has driven up crew costs so much, and drawn away many of those who could not just have crewed a VO60 but attracted backing for more entries.

So the Volvo will go its own way and build attractions of its own. This year there has been a queue of people trying to get aboard Open 60s for the EDS Atlantic Challenge. Bernard Stamm's Atlantic monohull record and the fast pace of the last Vendée Globe have highlighted the excitement of sailing a modern Open 60. Such boats have pulling power of their own - you don't just need to see the cheque book.

So for the next Volvo a major switch in boats is on the cards. Not necessarily to Open 60s, but certainly to something faster and more 'modern' than the current VO60.

Some want bigger boats - and such a concept once looked attractive. 
However, 2006 is not far away in campaign terms, and it would be wise 
to bear in mind that, though The Race had a lead time of some seven years, it still only managed six starters. The bigger the boat the bigger the bill. And the smaller the fleet. Simple.

In fact, the Open 60 class is currently getting itself so well organised that careful consideration should be given to using it for the Volvo. Creating another new class just means the same old problems; two boat campaigns will be much better than one and budgets will soar.

The Open 60s recently announced a freezing of their class rule for three years - very smart. The boats have safely come through many different events since the 1996 Vendée Globe exposed some obvious failings. And the fleet still has lots of development left in it. The boats are just getting faster and faster - the way in which the older boats were outclassed in the 2000/1 Vendée was pretty special.

And there's still plenty in the class to keep the technologists happy - not least in getting the boats upwind rather more quickly than at present.

Inherent in the Open 60 rule-freeze was maintaining the ban on swinging rigs. Proven in multihulls, in monohulls the swing-rig will also certainly be faster, but there are safety aspects that need more research. There are more than enough other areas of development open at present - this one can wait a while.

Maybe the Open 60 class is getting a little cautious in its old age. I think it's just getting smart.

Roland Jourdain's best 24-hour solo run in the Vendée was 436 miles, just a dozen short of Silk Cut's mark in the last Whitbread. Open 60s are called monomarans by some routers, because this is the performance concept you must use to balance best speed against best course. Sailing a modern swing-keeled Open 60 at speed offshore is a desirable experience (and this from a multihull fan).

Clearly Volvo has in mind the need to reinvent its race. This is an exciting development. Somehow the gravitas that this great event always had seems to be slipping away, with sprint legs and boats that are becoming very esoteric in the detail of their refinement. This should be a fast, furious and principally an ocean race, preferably also with the chance to get back some of that broader technical development lacking from recent events.

The Open 60 is one possible solution; the class may even be deemed an interim step before something more radical is risked four years hence. Whatever, having had their chosen period of reflection, while maintaining the status quo, Volvo has decided to grab the proverbial bull for themselves. In the nick of time.

For the full version of this commentary please see the August 2001 edition of Seahorse International Sailing....

© 2001 Seahorse Magazine. All rights reserved.