Sleek and tidy

Merfyn Owen project-managed the build of Mike Golding's previous Finot design, at the time regarded as the neatest and best-detailed Open 60 yet seen. Owen went one step further with Golding's new Ecover ­ but now as chief designer

As I write this Mike Golding Yacht Racing's new Open 60, Ecover, has just completed without problems its 1,000-mile qualifier for the Transat Jacques Vabres, which starts on 1 November. I'm not going to tempt fate by saying anything about how ready the boat is because, with only 1,500 miles or so on the clock, it's way too early to make predictions about how she'll perform against the most formidable fleet of Open 60s yet assembled. Hopefully, providing that the fleet make a clean getaway out of Biscay, we may have a glimpse of that potential by the third week of November. It's a time of anticipation for the large group that have played a part in the design of the yacht and hard work for the preparation team, whose responsibility it is to get her to the start in tip-top shape.

To read the remainder of this article please go to the December 2003 edition of Seahorse, available at selected newsstands or by calling: + 44 (0) 1590 671899 or by email at: info@seahorse.co.uk

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