SUPERYACHT #505
May 2004
Article selected from our quarterly magazine dedicated to the largest
and most luxurious boats with information, interviews, technical
articles, images and yachting news
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Article by
Angelo Colombo;
Photos by
Onne Van Der Wal
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WHISPER... OF THE WIND
The whisper of the wind belongs to sailors, like the flavour and
smell of the sea itself, elements which, when you are back on
land, call to you and come to the fore whenever sailing is the
subject of your dreams or even only a mnemonic reference. The
music of the wind is a symphony whose conductor seems to improvise
each time, music for which there is no score, a jam session played
with the aid of the elements: man can only be the audience.
"Whisper" is the name of this splendid sloop we're about to
describe, that whisper which a sailboat leaves in its wake and
which blends in harmoniously with the wind. A discreet whisper,
the result of waterlines that caress the sea, thanks to the
powerful sail plan that carries them and from which they obtain energy.
"Whisper" was developed entirely by Fountaine Design Group and
built at the Dutch boatyard Holland Jachtbouw. The design and
fitting out were conceived with basic elements of classic
inspiration, side by side with a modern profile and a powerful
sloop rigged sail plan. The owner of this "lady of the sea" is an
American enthusiast with a track record in important international
competitive events. What he had in mind was a top performance boat
with a high level of comfort for himself and his guests under all
conditions. Another fundamental aspect determining design choices
was the owner's wish to have a yacht that was also suitable for
charter on the east coast of the United States and in the
Caribbean. The designers saw the demanding owner's requirements as
a challenge from which a unique boat would emerge, technologically
advanced and stylistically refined. These requirements may also be
observed on other yachts but, on each one, what changes is the
interpretation of those who have conceived it. We might say that
we are dealing with works on the same subject, but seen with
different eyes, like a landscape by Monet and one by Van Gogh. Of
course designers have to respect the laws of physics, so the
Fountaine Design Group had to do various tank tests before
arriving at the definitive creation of "Whisper's" hull. It is
entirely in aluminium, as is the superstructure, the latter of
relatively modest dimensions to avoid disturbing the thrust of the
external layout.
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TECHNICAL DATA
LOA.: 35.46 metres
Length on waterline: 27.03 metres
Beam: 8.30 metres
Draft: 2.50/6.06
Displacement: 162.000 Kg.
Sail area: 565 square metres (mainsail + genoa)
Engines: 2x300 HP Lugger coupled to ZF gearmotor and variable pitch screw
Manoeuvring propellers: one at the bow (50 Kw) and one at the stern (30 Kw)
Fuel tank: 11.000 litres
Water tank: 5.000 litres
Classification: Lloyds Register Maltese Cross 100A1, SSC Yacht, Mono, G6, LMC M.C.A. Cayman Islands.
For further information contact Holland Jachtbouw; Vredeweg
32b; 1505 JJ Zaandam; The Netherlands; tel. +31 075 6149133; fax
+31 075 6149135; e-mail hjb@hollandjachtbouw.nl; website
www.hollandjachtbouw.nl.
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The line is clean and classic, each stylistic
element proportioned and harmoniously inserted into the whole,
precisely what the owner originally wanted. But to achieve such
harmony of forms the boat had to be lengthened with regard to the
size envisaged initially. The result is a design that best
expresses the experience and personality of the designer and the
owner's idea of "Whisper" when he first imagined it. Ted Hood,
America's Cup skipper, creator of the famous Hood Sails and mentor
of Ted Fountaine, persuaded the designer to increase the initially
envisaged size of the carbonium mast to its actual 46.50 metres
above water level. This turned out to be a winning choice:
"Whisper" can thus carry sufficient canvas to sail even in light
winds. The sail plan was studied and created to be handled by a
small crew, so all the running rigging can be handled from the
navigation area where there are two steering stations, complete
with instruments and with excellent visibility on all points of
sailing. The deck offers spacious relaxation areas: aft of the
cockpit there is a sun-deck while forward there is a spacious open
air saloon with sofas and tables, from which access is gained to
the pilot house. Inside the deckhouse are the saloon, the dining
room, the bridge, a bar and access to the lower deck. The
interiors, designed and developed by Andrew Winch, include an
owner's suite aft which runs the whole width of the beam and is
equipped with sofa, dressing table area, office corner, private
bathroom and independent access from the aft area of the deck as
well as from the central corridor of the night-time zone. There
are two guest cabins forward of the owner's suite, one with double
bed and a double room with single beds. Whisper's central zone has
another single cabin on the starboard side and a spacious
galley/pantry to port, as well as two guest bathrooms. Forward of
the mainmast there is a spacious saloon with a dining table on the
starboard side and a relaxation area to port. This area
communicates with the pilot house upper deck, and the two
environments are separated only by a balcony and a companionway.
The area forward is entirely for the crew: two double cabins with
bunk beds and a single cabin for the skipper, a small sitting
room, a galley and a dining area. Andrew Winch describes
"Whisper's" interiors as a combination of classic and modern in
which the furnishings correspond to classic stylistic canons with
decorative details that give the layout a more modern and original
aspect. As we said, Fountaine carried out numerous tank tests with
a 1:20 scale model at the University of Southampton in order to
check the hydrodynamic responses of "Whisper's" Deltaform hull and
the dagger-board keel which makes it possible to explore areas
with shallow waters. The rudder too has an electro-hydraulic
control for increasing/decreasing its depth thus facilitating
steering in various wind conditions and making for safe sailing in
shallow seas. The engine room, which houses two Lugger engines of
300 HP each, two 35 Kw generators, de-salting apparatus and other
mechanical and electrical systems, was designed in accordance with
MCA regulations which also prescribe the necessity of being able
to inspect and work on each individual system absolutely
independently. The sail plan includes mast and boom in carbonium
with a hydraulic sail hoisting system . The boatyard created the
hull and deck under Lloyd's supervision. Moreover, with regard to
respecting MCA regulations, the hull was divided into five
watertight compartments to ensure floatability even following
extensive damage to the hull. The choice of twin engines was
dictated by the wish to make "Whisper" suitably fast also under
power, to meet the typical requirements of charter sailing where
there are pre-established ports of call and time schedules to be
respected. Though there are two engines, "Whisper" can sail with
good averages on one engine only, bringing its range to no less
than 3.000 nautical miles. As for the sails, these were specially
designed and manufactured by North Sails and Tom MacLaughlin. You
need only take a glance to see that "Whisper" was not ordered by
an owner without sailing experience. In fact over the last 13
years he has sailed on a great number of 30 metre plus yachts,
noting all the details he felt to be worth remembering in order to
create what is now his own vessel. It should be pointed out that
from the design phase this splendid yacht took no less than five
years to build. But every work takes the time it needs, and in
these cases only the symphony of the wind may be granted
improvisation.
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