The strongest aesthetic shower sets in at the same time as the first real heel. Upwind, the moderate beam, the lavish overhangs and the carbon rig with 130 per cent overlapping genoa work perfectly. Then the bow creates a wave that sucks the water along the aluminium hull. Of course, this can only be seen from on board to a limited extent, but it can be felt. The unbeatable aesthetics of sailing when "Topaz" shows large parts of her well-proportioned underwater hull, in the most beautiful turquoise colour, in keeping with the yacht's name.
Sailing on the almost 90-year-old J-Class crack feels almost contemporary. In contrast, the 170-tonne displacement long-keel yachts on aft courses have to plough through and not glide over, as racing yachts of the moment do with their increasingly flatter hulls, even on non-stop circumnavigations. Once again, it is extremely impressive to witness the sophisticated choreography of the foredeck crew, especially when the wind is blowing from behind.
Coastal race off Mallorca
While "Topaz" crosses the starting line, the on-board reporter sits in the centre cockpit, surrounded by winches the size of a mortar bucket for the headsail, the 3D hoist points, backstays and mainsheet. Aft of the metal compass house stand helmsman Peter Holmberg and his tactician Francesco de Angelis. It is the second day of the Superyacht Cup Palma, and Mallorca's thermals are producing medium winds of up to 15 knots.
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Today we have a coastal race, not rounding landmarks like Porto Cervo or St Barth, but buoys off the Mallorcan coast. Yesterday, only the J-Class yachts went out into the Bay of Palma for two races. From the start, the up-and-down courses were surprisingly close, and even when calculated, there were only a few seconds between the four racing beauties, which are separated by a 15-year age difference and in which the steel "Ranger" even differs in hull material. The race committee widened the starting line for today because the racing yachts, which were just over 40 metres long, had almost come close to each other the day before. Like "Topaz" skipper Peter Holmberg, many of the J helmsmen come from a match racing background.
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One first and one second place are on the books. The pre-start phase is not hectic, but the tension is omnipresent. The manoeuvres become faster, the mechanical rattling of free-running winches breaks the perceived silence. The J 8 turns two boat lengths away from the starting boat under "Velsheda", which appears to be parked, and immediately picks up speed while the foremost foreship man Mike Pammenter signals the distance to the line by hand. The boat takes to the course a little after the starting signal. "Nice", Holmberg motivates himself and his crew by radio.
Creation of the J-Class
"Topaz" was completed by Holland Jachtbouw in 2015 and measures 42.62 metres from the spearhead-like stem to the half-moon transom. The design, optimised by André Hoek, was based on a Frank C. Paine design drawn in 1935 that was never realised. After analysing all the J-Class lines still available, the Dutch design team found that the Paine crack would produce a yacht that was fast in virtually all wind conditions. The newer replicas all went through a calculation software (VPP) that predicts the performance potential using design and environmental data. The original plans were usually surprisingly sophisticated. For example, the legendary US designer Olin Stephens carried out tank tests for "Ranger" back in the 1930s and set the standard for the development of fast yachts with this pioneering work.
The nucleus of the J-Renaissance was the "Endeavour", built in 1934, which Royal Huisman helped to restore to its former glory together with Elizabeth Meyer in 1989. This was followed 15 years later by "Ranger", the first building based on the historical model. The youngest and longest of the six other replicas at 43.60 metres is the "Svea", completed in 2017 and taking part in the Superyacht Cup for the first time with Swedish co-owner Niklas Zennström ("Rán") and Bouwe Bekking as tactician. The last time more than three Js competed in the Superyacht Cup was in 2014, when there were six. At the peak of the premier class, seven met in 2017 for the America's Cup off Bermuda. After that, things went quiet and a dispute arose between the owners over measurement details, which even the class association was unable to resolve for a long time.
The helmsman comes from the US Virgin Islands
During the long upwind leg far out of the bay of Palma, "Velsheda" sets off to the right and thus, as on the previous day, on the wrong side. Navigator Nacho Postigo reports: "We are currently the second fastest boat." Despite consistent cover, "Svea" reaches the windward mark first. Although the barrel is close, Holmberg continues to shield "Ranger". There is a loud bang as the open foot of the mainsail breaks through, and the five-minute preparations for setting the asymmetrical sail, for which the spinnaker pole is driven just above the deck, begin immediately. Peter Holmberg stands lightly and firmly at the wheel. The helmsman comes from the US Virgin Islands, not to be confused with the British Virgin Islands to the north. He is American-cool, but not unpleasantly loud like some mainlanders.
At times it seems as if Holmberg is holding on to the Ferris wheel, for example when he lets himself fall backwards. Then he bends his knees low so that he can see under the genoa apron. Although there is only a small wave of wind, his hands are constantly in motion, usually from a sideways position and with his upper arms close to his body. When he is not moving himself, Holmberg directs the human "ballast".
For example, for roll tacking - as it is actually called here - which requires 20 people to stay on the new leeward edge for ten seconds. Or he speaks instructions into his headset almost in a whisper during lulls: "Half the crew to leeward and in front of the shrouds. Feet over the edge please." Radio communication is one reason why everything runs so smoothly. The other: Everyone is well-rehearsed and knows each other. "Almost 90 per cent of the crew have been sailing on 'Topaz' since 2016. A handful were already on the owner's previous yacht," explains Tim Kröger, who has been Race Crew Manager for six years. "Our average age is 48 years. We work with very heavy loads, so we need experienced people."
Yacht management by Tim Kröger
For some time now, the Hamburg native has also been in charge of yacht management for "Topaz", which includes planning the permanent crew together with the captain and coordinating shipyard visits. The race crew is hand-picked, Tim Kröger's maxim is: "They have to fit in sailing-wise, but also socially. We don't need big egos here, we want to have fun sailing in a regatta despite all the professionalism." The 57-year-old has also called on former companions. He himself was involved in two America's Cup campaigns, for France and South Africa. Holmberg even won the Auld Mug once with Alinghi. A total of 40 people are on board today, as the class rules do not allow more. The decisions of the helmsman and tactician are based on Nacho Postigo's navigation, weather and position data. The Spaniard is the only person who communicates with de Angelis in Italian.
The language on board is English, but the majority of the sailors are German. Thomas "Flomi" Zankel has been on board for 15 years and sailed on the previous yacht. Together with Dirk Neumann, he is responsible for the backstays. Eckhard "Ecki" Kaller from Lake Constance supports the French main trimmer Yann Gouinot. Kröger himself operates the halyards on the mast. He wears knee pads and his white Oakley sunglasses have a similar shape to models from the late nineties. And it is precisely from this period that he has reactivated former companions and brought them back to the Spibaum system, which is familiar to many from previous America's Cups. While the gennaker generation is often only familiar with the procedure with a fixed nose from skiffs, sports boats or TP52s, double spinnaker tackle is used here. Team "Topaz" has participated in 34 ACs - mostly in the more comparable pre-foiling era.
The team deserves its name
They are masters of their craft, which for jibes or shifts includes picking and unpicking the torpedo-sized spinnaker pole, which weighs over 150 kilograms and is 18 metres long. Jacek Wysocki from Poland, with the stature of a weightlifter, reports on the dock with his climbing harness on that four men are needed on the mast and three on the leech. They would drive the spinnaker at up to 25 knots, even in waves in the Caribbean. There is a certain pride in his voice that many of his team mates share. 90 years ago, J-Class crews dared for the first time not to retrieve the spinnaker before jibing, but to lead the spinnaker pole round and let it swing. Previously, this was considered an act of impossibility.
Spinnaker sailing also doesn't work without the eternal game with the topsail. Before the start, the team practises the optimum wind catch on the anticipated layline course; North sail designer Heine Sørensen records the performance values in his notebook. During the race, he passes on data and optimisations to the trimmers and helps out as a floater on the winches. "The carbon fibres make a huge difference," says the Dane about the upscale sailing wardrobe. Once correctly adjusted, the black laminate from North Sails stands like a rigid wing in the wind. "Topaz" relies on 3Di Raw, the lightest and most profiled cloth, which is less abrasion-resistant due to the lack of an outer coating.
Everyone has their own specialised area, and yet no one acts alone. "Everyone is important and has their job," emphasises Kröger. Even the stewardess, who accompanies all manoeuvres on deck and walks around the stations, some of which are 40 metres apart, with a bag full of chocolate and muesli bars, always crouching so as not to obstruct the view. For some, it's nourishment for the nerves, for others a steady supply of energy.
Strong human and mechanical forces
It takes the most manpower to haul in the headsails. A dozen sailors quickly line up and pull and tug the light cloth or stiff laminate onto the deck before it can become a brake chute. They don't even shy away from kiwi drops: like on a sports boat, they boldly jibe into the recovery manoeuvre and catch the balloon flat upwind during the short dead spot. Holmberg steers the bow around the barrel wide, and the schrick remains in the genoa sheet for a surprisingly long time to bring "Topaz" back up to maximum boat speed.
All winches turn at the behest of buttons that are embedded in the deck like trip hazards. Incidentally, the main engine runs continuously during the race, but can only be heard on aft courses. During downwind manoeuvres, when up to four drums rotate in a race, over 600 litres of oil per minute run through the hydraulic pumps, reports First Engineer Dunco Kaplan from South Africa. Nevertheless, it takes three men to free the 122 drum, which is traditionally made of metal, from the seven-layer stranglehold of the thickly sheathed Dyneema sheet.
The South African Mike Giles removes the first coil with both hands, but when the nervous slagging starts and the sail shoots onto the new leeward side, it has to be done quickly. Now the last three layers are fired down like a lasso and into the hands of Hans Eric Ståler. The 62-year-old Swede, who has been sailing regattas with the owner's family since 2008, takes over the sheet, the thickness of which is somewhere between a garden hose and a fire hose.
Ståler passes the loose material on to the cockpit to floater Heine Sørensen, who places the high-performance rigging in figure eights on the dyke. This is done in close proximity to the reporter, who spends most of his time trying not to get in anyone's way. His finest hour comes when Holmberg says: "Tell that guy in the cockpit to clear the display from that line." Pushing aside the staysail sheet reveals the view of the log on the deckhouse. It feels a bit like joining in.
If someone goes overboard, they are collected by the chase boat
Tim Kröger repeatedly emphasises that safety comes first. In March 2020, there was the Pre-start crash with "Svea" during the Superyacht Challenge Antigua. One year later, during training for the regatta, a crew member died on another maxi yacht as a result of an exploding block. To prevent this from happening, the backstay crew check after the race to see if any bolts have come loose on the blocks. In addition, all winches are disassembled and greased daily.
Minimising danger even influences the weight trim. Sitting on the high edge is not really good or safe without a railing anyway. But team manager Kröger also doesn't allow the horizontal clutching of the bulwark with flying legs, as practised on starboats or metre-class yachts in the past. Instead, everyone snuggles up to the deck. This has a huddled, yet at the same time very graceful feel to it and, in addition to visually spoiling the golden ornamental mould, prevents the boat from going overboard.
Should it happen anyway, the tender is on hand. "The rib is our life insurance policy," says Kröger, who considers driver Piet Dabelstein to be highly relevant. "In the Caribbean, a MOB manoeuvre is possible for us in a wave, but we would be on site far too late and wouldn't be able to find the person who went overboard." Most of the crew have an inflatable buoy hanging from their belts. Above all, however, the "Topaz" tender is permanently in the shade, naturally also loaded with spare sailing gear and, for the first time in Mallorca, with its own cameraman, Eike Schurr, who normally films the TP52 events. Before casting off, Holmberg asked him to record the start in order to have evidence in the event of a protest.
Tactical no room for manoeuvre
There's no getting close to "Svea" on the long approach. In principle, she is allowed to cross the line first, as she has the highest time calculation factor of all starters and has to pay for "Topaz". The navigator is constantly trying to calculate how much using forecasting software. The wind drops slightly and after a short upwind leg, the final leg is on the cards. According to Nacho Postigo, "Svea" is only a few seconds ahead of us. It is even quieter than usual on board. The A2 is upwind and Christoph Podesta, the Maltese captain from the permanent crew, is driving the sheet. He is 33 and comes from a family of sailors with whom he won the Rolex Middle Sea Race on his own yacht. His compatriot Sam hangs the boom vang on aft courses and attaches it to the bulwark.
Tactically there is no room for manoeuvre, all that remains is to stay on course and hope for a nice gust. The usual jiggling of the spinnaker starts and Postigo brings the staysail into play. De Angelis is immediately on his side, as is sail designer Sørensen.
Only Holmberg doesn't want to commit himself. Suddenly the furled sail goes up. The helmsman tries in vain to intervene, but remains relaxed as it slides off the furler. His fear: it could cause more resistance than propulsion. A breeze nips the supposed staysail conflict in the bud; "Topaz" picks up speed and the gap to "Svea" shrinks. However, it is not enough to come close to the stern of the Swedes, but the hope of a calculated victory remains at the finish. Accordingly, everyone happily indulges in clearing the water. The reporter shows initiative and helps to lift the genoa sail bag, which the A 1.5 has buried, out of the cockpit with the Brazilian floater. In the end, three of us manage to get it out - it's an empty bag. When full, it takes nine people to transport it to the foredeck.
The majority of the race crew sign on to other sailing yachts
Drinks and wraps are handed out, Mike Giles, the neighbour from the Genuawinsch, leans against the shiny painted deckhouse. "I'm very glad that there are still owners who run campaigns like this. The effort required to cast off in the first place is immense. And then there's the safety aspect. There are 40 tonnes on the forestay and up to eight tonnes on my winch," reports Giles. The 49-year-old South African first joined the "Topaz" team for the Superyacht Cup and, like many of his colleagues, lives in Mallorca, the European hub for supersailor crews from all over the world.
The effort required to even take the exam is immense.
The majority of the "Topaz" race crew sign on to other sailing yachts in addition to the three to four J regattas per year. Tim Kröger has been a sailing professional since 1994 and is broadly based. He has already written a book on the complex interplay within crews and uses his knowledge of efficient team leadership and team building in lectures. He is also hired for large corporate events. Kröger's credo: "There is no better school of life than sailing."
The power of the collective is also evident in how much it radiates beyond the actual sailing mission. The crew live together in a house on Mallorca and stay in contact with each other for the rest of the year via a WhatsApp group. The on-board reporter feels a similar bond and longs for the day's result in the evening. But it wasn't enough to beat "Svea", and what's more: the following day, "Topaz" had a pitch-black day and finished in last place. Holmberg and his team managed to recover in the final race of the Superyacht Cup Palma and hold second place in the overall standings. Another goosebump moment, albeit a much smaller one than the actual sailing on a J.
By the way: It has just been announced that the 2024 J-Class World Championship will be sailed in Barcelona. The Js will take to the water on 3 and 4 October and from 7 to 11 October 2024 in the territory of the America's Cup!
Technical data of the "Topaz"
- Original design:Frank Cabot Paine
- Design:Hoek Design Naval Architects
- Shipyard:Holland Jachtbouw
- Material:Aluminium
- Torso length:42,68 m
- Waterline length:26,82 m
- Width:6,75 m
- Depth:4,55 m
- Displacement:178,3 t
- Sail area on the wind:959,7 m2
- Spinnaker:906,6 m2
- Theoretical torso speed:12.58 kn
- Sail carrying capacity:5,5
More on the topic:
- Superyacht Cup Palma: A European J-Class summit: XXL regatta cinema off Mallorca
- Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup: J-Class yacht "Svea" wins with aplomb
- Superyacht Challange Antigua: Dramatic J-Class collision off Antigua
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