Solo Act
Races like the Vendee Globe are fuelling our passions for short handed or solo sailing. If you’ve caught the bug Jeanneau’s new SunFast 3200 could be the ideal medicine, reckons racing editor Andi Robertson. ARE WE influenced by races like the Mini Transat, the Route du Rhum, the TJV, the Vendee Globe? As they are brought ever more into our homes by the increasing range and reach of media, do more and more people hanker after a bit of solo or short-handed adventure? Almost certainly the answer is yes, but we are talking about a small number of people who will actually seek to fulfil that ambition. In the north of Britain there are only a tiny number who will go off and race round our island short handed and there are one or two semi-serious mini programmes which are perhaps more attractive. Jeanneau’s new SunFast 3200 is targeted to what you might call the recreational amateurs who want to experience the challenges of racing short handed at speed in coastal, offshore and crossing ocean conditions, but it is also a fast sporty cruiser ideal for those who want to make miles in comfort and speed short handed, perhaps for the adventurous, sporty couple. The key event for the SF 3200 is the Transquadra, a two stage race across the Atlantic in bite sized chunks. It is built around the typical holiday times in Europe, with a leg from St Nazaire in Brittany to Madeira in the Autumn and then this February from Maderia to the St Barts. Classes are solo and two handed. The entry is huge. It has struck a seam of interest which is primarily French, but more and more overseas competitors are feeling the lure of this type of racing. In effect it is as much for those who are either time rich or time poor. Why faff about taking weeks to do regattas here and there, spending time, effort and money on organising crew, delivery, logistics, and getting there when it is still an arms race? In northern Europe it’s as likely to be raining, no wind or too much wind. Instead why not have your SF3200 which is perfectly decent for weekend fast cruising, but every couple of years you take off and do the Atlantic, sunshine, fast downwind sailing in a big race fleet with like minded people. It is definitely not the ARC. What the SF3200 is not, is regatta racing under IRC. Which is not to say it won’t. The IRC is competitive, but being set up for short handed means all the controls are back to the helm and with seven or eight crew it would neither be fast nor fun. Euroyachts’ supremo Angus Scott sees the SF3200 as a niche seller, a very sporty and exciting product just as the JOD, the Selection 37 and so on were, but not a boat he expects to sell in great numbers. More’s the pity, because it is a great fun boat and if we all had them life would be incredibly simple and enjoyable. The Daniel Andrieu design had an eye on IRC when it was designed, selling over 50 units and the orders are bucking the economic climate. The SunFast 3200 is European Yacht of the Year. A Class Association is already active. One of the principal desires is to keep racing weights close. They are calling it an Isotype, but basically racing under class rules is based on an IRC TCC, so boats must have a valid IRC Cert. Boats will weigh between 3,420 and 3,500 kilos and Jeanneau are proud that they can maintain a tight tolerance on weight, plus or minus 40 kilos thanks to their carefully controlled resin infusion process. ROACH LINK The ISO concept is delivered by making all up weight aligned to mainsail area. Thus the lightest empty IRC measured weight hulls will have the smallest roach on the main, and the heaviest will have the largest. There is a standard inventory of equipment supplied which must be carried under class rules. Boats are supplied with a certified weight compliance certificate by Jeanneau. The appendages are carefully controlled. The standard rudder is polyester or vinylester resin fibreglass, and the keel is a simple L shaped iron fin with a lead bulb. Otherwise the class rules err on simplicity of sail handling with standard genoa and spinnaker dimensions. Under class rules only one Group 3 sailor under ISAF Classification is permitted on each boat, unless the boat is being sailed single or double handed. And the pro cannot steer at the start, round the first mark, up the last leg or across the finish unless he or she is the owner of the boat, or ‘syndicate head’. Hydraulics are prohibited, other than autopilots; no titanium, no carbon sail battens, no strain gauges. The hull is infusion injected over a balsa core, while the deck is infusion moulded foam cored, as is the mast supporting bulkhead, and the substantial forward watertight bulkhead. The rig is easily tuned, aluminium 19/20ths fractional which offers the next best thing to a full hoist kite. The shroud base is wide, with substantial, long swept back spreaders permitted by the 105% overlapping jib. Standing rigging is stainless Dyform. The hull shape is different; a subtle blend of what you would consider a fairly standard IRC style modern cruiser racer, but with a more pronounced slightly squat and powerful stern section, much more Class 40 or IMOCA influenced, but generally the beam is carried well aft. The plumb bow and rounded, slightly proud forefoot is sweet and conventional, the hull volume nicely distributed with quite a pleasing deck line. Overall it is a good looking boat, particularly under sail. Indeed, the more you sail it and more you see them around, the more appealing this boat becomes. The cockpit layout is different and it takes a little bit of getting used to. Twin rudders mean twin short tillers, and there are effectively two symmetrical helm positions either side of the large, central liferaft cover which is partially open at the back. Mounted at the front are a chunky set of deck speakers, so this gives the helm a little obstacle. The main track runs across the transverse stern beam, and is controlled by the helm, also the mainsheet is at the helm’s foot and the split cascade style backstay controls are double ended so they too fall to hand for the helm. So far, so good for the short handed sailing, but it does rather confine the mainsheet hand in crewed racing, but no worry, there are work rounds. Otherwise the deck layout is relatively conventional, other than the fact the primaries are well back in the cockpit to facilitate short handed sailing. On either corner there are big hatch locker covers which allow access to the twin steering quadrants. You would certainly want to keep these corners weight free anyway. The sail on a rather grey and moody Southampton Water was a short one, but it completely shattered preconceptions of what I thought would be something which was two thirds concept and one third pragmatic, and instead it was pretty much instantly likeable, certainly fun and definitely easy to sail. The abiding desire at the end was to chuck the crew off, go sail somewhere solo for a few days and experience a new challenge. We had between 9 and 14 knots TWS for the couple of hours we sailed and the SunFast 3200 proved a genuine performer. There was controllable power on tap from the generous main and, in fact, for the helm well used to taking the main as well, it was easy to settle into a groove and play the traveller occasionally. Upwind the boat seems pretty stiff, not overly so, but it would happily sit powered up on her ear and keep tracking OK, albeit with some early attention to the rudder. Certainly the twin rudder concept does deliver that little extra traction, though reaching when pressed with the kite up, we did see - rather than promote, a couple of broaches when the kite was over-pressed. Speed upwind was surprisingly good. We made 6.2, 6.4 knots without getting excited or anyone hiking really. Tacking through about 70-72° approx, the boat accelerated cleanly, liking to be driven a little free for a second and allowing a decent speed build out of the tack. On the helm the boat does track nicely. The short tiller takes a little getting used to, and while the helm is not overly light it does discourage sawing holes in the water and letting the powerful hull do the job, building speed and then gaining height. The foils are generous enough in terms of area and section, allowing a relatively comfortable, but well defined groove, especially important when racing long, short-handed offshore courses. Under spinnaker the SunFast 3200 comes alive, and while it is not over excitable it is actually quite manageable. We sailed with the standard symmetrical kite and it was impressively speedy and generally quite easy to handle. There is a large asymmetric gennaker which flies off the stubby, fixed sprit which we rather missed, but we still were impressed with the way the 3200 held her sail area and handled. We were making 11 plus knots in the puffs, though the boat does like to be pressed down as the gusts arrive to not only maximise the lift, but maintain maximum control. Below decks the SunFast 3200 is quite comfortable in a clean and functional way. There are two longitudinal saloon seats/berths with semi rounded back supports. Aft there is a good, fully functioning galley, typical of a modern cruiser, rather than a race boat, as is the nav station opposite. And then aft, thanks to the generous sections, there are two good sized aft cabins with big double berths. The cabins are fully headlined, and there are soft pack, integral lockers in sail cloth, a little hanging locker and stowage bags on the hull side. How practical they prove remains to be seen.