Living a Dream with Quantum’s Racing Sails

Len John and Peter van der Wel and the Portimão Global Ocean Race
Quantum Sails in Cape Town is very proud to be the sail supplier to the home-grown Capetonian double-handed racing team of Lenjohn and Peter van der Wel, who are taking part in the inaugural Portimão Global Ocean Race, starting on 12th October 2008 in Portugal.

The Portimão Global Ocean Race was founded by veteran sailors Josh Hall and Brian Hancock and can be entered solo or double handed. The fleet are predominantly Open 50’s, Open 40’s and Class 40’s.
It starts in Portugal in September 2008. The race organisers decided to start the race in Europe, making it easier for European-based competitors to compete and also avoiding potential problems with hurricanes, which would certainly be a risk if the event was to start from the east coast of the USA.

Living the Dream
Brothers Lenjohn and Peter van der Wel grew up sailing at Royal Cape Yacht Club in Cape Town and are now Living the Dream of many local sailors – a double-handed circumnavigation.

Lenjohn and Peter are Dutch and 40 and 43 years old respectively. They grew up in Cape Town, sailing at Royal Cape Yacht Club with the likes of Jan Reuvers. Lenjohn then got involved with mast building and rigging and was shore crew for Bertie Reed when he took part in the Vendee Globe. The brothers sailing experience took them overseas and today they are both super yacht captains ands based in the Bahamas.

It was always Lenjohn’s dream to do a Whitbread – or to complete a solo circumnavigation, and the Portimão Global Ocean Race is a great stepping stone to that goal. When Lenjohn and Peter got wind of the race about two years ago, they entered immediately and were in fact the 1st official entry! They did a lot of research, and within a week of entering had secured a yacht and a boat builder.

Lenjohn and Peter’s Class 40
Lenjohn and Peter have entered the race in an Owen Clarke Class 40.
The class 40 is a box rule that restricts the use of super-expensive materials and construction techniques as well as items such as canting keels and carbon hulls.
(For more information on the Class 40, go to www.class40.com )
The yacht is designed by Owen Clarke and built by Paul Metcalf from Sea Ventures in Cowes. Construction took around nine months.
Unlike many other Class 40’s, Lenjohn and Peter’s Class 40 is Category 0 compliant.
In basic terms, this means that she is completely self-sufficient for extended periods of harsh conditions, very low air and sea temperatures and heavy seas and storms. (i.e. the Southern Ocean!)

The Class 40 has a waterline length of 12.03 metres and a maximum beam of 4.15 metres. She draws 3 metres, has a displacement of 4.5 tons and the mast is 19 metres high.

The Class 40’s Sail Plan

One of the Class 40 class rules is the restriction of eight sails per boat and a limit of membrane sails on the boat at any given time.
In looking for a suitable partner to make the sails for the very challenging circumnavigation facing them, Lenjohn and Peter looked no further than Quantum Sails in Cape Town.

Quantum’s Membrane/Fusion M Racing Sail Loft boasts some of the most advanced racing sail technology in the world and was therefore the obvious choice for sails that were both very durable and high-performance

The sail plan for the Class 40 is as follows:

• Mainsail: 73.6 m2 , made from double taffeta with carbon Vectran
• Genoa: 40.1 m2, made from Fusion M
• Solent Jib: 23.9 m2,  made from double taffeta with carbon Vectran
• Storm Jib
• Code 0: 69.4 m2,  made from Fusion M with Twaron and Pentex fibres
• Spinnaker: 120 m2
• Code 5: 86.5 m2: A heavy-weather furling asymmetric, made from 2.2oz nylon, for use in the Southern Ocean

The Legs of the inaugural Portimão Global Ocean Race as follows:

Leg 1 - Portugal to South Africa:
The first leg is a tradewind run south from Portugal, skirting the Azores High until the doldrums, typically found at around 11 degrees N, are reached. Competitors will plan their strategy on where best to cross this difficult region based on the weather south of the equator and with an eye toward the first point gate, the island of Fernando de Noronha located at 3 54'S and 32 2'W. The gate will bring the fleet to the western side of the South Atlantic High, thus allowing the competitors to run the fine line between cutting the corner and heading for Cape Town or staying in more breeze but sailing more distance. Once south of the High, the skippers will get their first brief taste of the Southern Ocean as they head into South Africa in steady westerlies.

1st Stop: Cape Town, South Africa
The first stopover will be in our beautiful Mother City, which has hosted almost all around-the-world races since their very inception. We are very conveniently located at the foot of Africa and Cape Town has great facilities and services for boats, competitors and sponsors. Here the competitors will rest and regroup before the first challenging Southern Ocean leg to New Zealand.

Leg 2 – Cape Town to New Zealand
The first Southern Ocean leg!
Leg 2 will take the competitors straight into the Deep South. The great circle course from Cape Point to the point gate at Eclipse Island dips below 50S. The point gate will keep the fleet from going too far south. There is an island, Albany, a port in Southern Oz, should the competitors need to strop of any emergency repairs. Once around Albany, the fleet will head for Wellington either through the Cook Strait, or around Tasmania, depending on the conditions at the time

2nd Stop: Wellington, New Zealand
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and is located in the Cook Strait at the foot of the North Island, making it the perfect city for a mid-Southern Ocean stopover. Wellington is not a huge city, so the event will not get swallowed up, yet at the same time Wellington is large and dynamic enough to host an international yacht race and has all the facilities and services the competitors will need to prepare for the Cape Horn leg.

Leg 3 – New Zealand to Brazil
The second Southern Ocean leg takes the fleet around Cape Horn, a tiny island at the tip of South America that has captured the imagination of sailors for centuries. The Horn will also be a point gate for the leg. Once around the notorious Cape, the competitors will face a tricky sail up the east coast of Argentina to Ilhabela, Brazil.

3rd Stop: Ilhabela, Brazil
Ilhabela is located off the coast of Brazil near the port city of Santos and is a beautiful island, home to many rich and famous, and a perfect sanctuary for the fleet after a gruelling leg from New Zealand. With 85% of the island set aside as a rain forest ecological reserve, the miles of tropical beaches and lush mountains will be a welcome respite for the sailors as they prepare for the final two legs of the race.

Leg 4 – Brazil to the USA
This leg includes trade winds, a second equator and doldrums crossing and careful negotiation of the bulge of Brazil where currents and variable winds can provide some challenging sailing – in short, a minefield! Once the boats are clear of the equatorial region, they will have a straight shot to the scenic seaside town of Charleston, South Carolina, which is located on the East coast of the United States.

4th Stop: Charleston, United States
This penultimate stopover in the US coincides with the Charleston Maritime Festival in May 2009. The Executive Director of the South Carolina Maritime Heritage Foundation, Brad Van Liew, himself a top sailor, is managing this stopover. Brad won the Class 2 of the last Around Alone aboard Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America. Brad and his wife Meaghan will manage the Portimão Global Ocean Race's visit to the USA, so the stay in Charleston promises to be a spectacular and memorable one!

Leg 5 – USA back to Portimão
This is the shortest leg of the race and is a transatlantic sprint back to Portimão, passing through the point gate located off Pico, the highest point in Portugal and one of the spectacular Azores Islands.

The Start Dates for the various legs are as follows:

• Portimão, Portugal : October 12th, 2008
• Cape Town, South Africa: December 7th, 2008
• Wellington, New Zealand : February 8th, 2009
• Ilhabela, Brazil : April 5th, 2009
• Charleston, South Carolina, USA: May 31st, 2009

Lenjohn and Peter van der Wel’s home town of Cape Town can look forward to welcoming the fleet at RCYC around the 21st November, and what a welcome this dynamic duo can expect then!

For more information on Quantum Sails in Cape Town’s Fusion M and other racing sails, contact Tony Strutt at Quantum Sails in Cape Town on telephone + 27 21 5931620 or at email tony@quantumsails.co.za

For more information on Lenjohn and Peter van der Wel’s entry, go to http://www.vanderwel-racing.com/

For more information on the race, go to at http://www.portimaoglobaloceanrace.com