'Blink'... And You'll Miss It!
Saturday 17 August. 2013. Today’s launching of the 12m harbour/offshore race boat ‘Blink’, for Tony and Vesna Wells raises the bar for future keel-yacht racing on Port Nicholson, the harbour of Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city. Designed by rising star Robert Shaw of Auckland and built by Craig Partridge Yachts, in Kerikeri, Bay of Islands, north of Auckland, ‘Blink’ is a credit to all involved and should be on the front-line, in the battle for line and handicap honours at the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, ‘Blink’s’ home club.
The tempo of the launching at Wellington’s premier Seaview Marina, could have been dampened by the inclement south easterly wind and rain, but for the enthusiasm and excitement of owners, crew and supporters, thrilled to see ‘Blink’ in the water. There will no doubt be more written about this Shaw 12, during the coming season. Dockside rumour has it that offshore plans include the Around North Island race and in the future, the Sydney Hobart classic.
The design objectives were to maximise the performance potential of a 12m offshore mono-hull, with the capacity to sleep a full crew and with a usable interior. This is a versatile boat, set up for high performance racing either short-handed or fully crewed, both harbour and offshore. Blink is built with racing in the infamous Cook Strait in mind, with robust construction and systems, foam core, and options chosen with the wisdom that 'to win you must first finish' in mind: twin rudders, twin hydraulic rams, and dual hydraulic keel power sources (electric and engine pumps). Principal dimensions and details are: Length: 12m / Sailing Displ: 4.1T (8 crew) / Empty Displ 3.6T / Draft: 3m / Keel Cant Angle: 50° / RM (max): 7,687 kg/m / Mast: 19.8m
Fixed prod: 1m / Retractable prod: 2.5m / SA up: 110m2, down: 268m2.
Team / Suppliers / Consultants / Support
Designer: Rob Shaw
Builder: Craig Partridge Yachts, Kerikeri, New Zealand
Engineering: Mark McCafferty
Mast and Rigging: Hall Spars Auckland
Running Rigging: Fineline via Matt Stechmann and Duffy Yacht & Rigging
Hydraulic pumps and consulting: Greg Waters, Central Coast Hydraulics
Hydraulic systems installation and oversight: Dave Nance and Llewellyn Viljoen, McRaes Global
Hydraulic Rams, Keel Engineering and Fabrication: Paul White, Nortran Certification and Design; MS Engineering
Sails: North Sails via Josh Tucker; upwind sail design Magnus Doole, downwind sails designed by Gautier Sargent
Deck Gear: Grant Blewett, Harken Auckland
Instruments: Nexus from Kiwi Yachting, Raymarine e7 plotter, Standard Horizon VHF (incl AIS reciver).
Autopilot: Nexus
Carbon Prod: C-Tech
Code zero and top-down furlers: KZ Marine Group and Matt Stechmann
Anchors: Manson Racer, via Grant from Chains Ropes and Anchors NZ
Safety Gear and Liferaft: Safety At Sea, Auckland
Upholstery: Peter Boyd, South Pacific Marine Canvas and Upholstery
Marine Electrician: Bob Evans
Batteries: Lithionics via Stephen Tartaglia and Tasman Auto Electrics
Engine: Lombardini 30HP diesel via Scott McAlpine, Transdiesel
Graphic Design: Creative Mouse, NPC Signworx, Tony Wells, Vesna Wells
Graphics: NPC signworx
Ministry of the Interior: Rob Shaw, Craig Partridge, Vesna Wells, Tony Wells
Expedition Race Software: Nick White, Tasman Bay Navigation
The ‘Midwife.’
The delivery of ‘Blink’ from Kerikeri to Wellington, was carried out by John Klinac’s Exclusive Boat Haulage and his submersible, all hydraulic towing rig is certainly worth mentioning. ‘Blinks’ owners were certainly impressed and Tony Wells took the photo above, mid-journey