Offshore Log: Open Class Monohulls

While the attention of much of the sailing world in February was focused on the America's Cup matches, a very different but equally innovative group of boats was leaving Tauranga, a small port south of Auckland, on the next leg of their 29,000-mile odyssey around the world. Practical Sailor caught up with the 11-strong fleet before departure and took a close look at these singlehanded racers.

Graham Dalton’s Hexagon is one of the latest examples of the Ocean 60 class. The boats are wide in beam and low in freeboard—characteristics which encourage inverted stability—not exactly a desirable feature for either racing or cruising. Skippers must prove that they can right the boat from an inverted position without assistance.û

The International Monohull Open Class consists of boats between 40 and 60 feet which are designed for shorthanded long-distance racing. The toughest event for this class is the Around Alone race, 29,000 miles of singlehanded racing following one of the classic round-the-world routes: North America to Europe, Europe to the Cape of Good Hope, Africa to Australasia, Australasia to South America, and back to North America. The legs are long and difficult, and feature every type of sailing, from tropical doldrums to the high-latitude hell of the extreme Southern Ocean. This is not a race for the faint of heart or weak of arm.…