The old Equation - fast but not fast enough...

Devout Caribbean racing 'snow bird' Bill Alcott and his crew are getting ready to return to the Caribbean with a new Equation for the 2003 season. They're going turbo with the recently-acquired '97 Andrews 70 turbo sled Magnitude. Recently repainted and renamed, the new Equation debuts January 14th in the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race.

After 180 miles bending west around the southern half of Florida it will then be on to Key West Race Week. It's then onwards February 7 from Fort Lauderdale to Montego Bay, Jamaica in the Pineapple Cup Montego Bay Race. The boat will be delivered from Jamaica to St Maarten for the Heineken Regatta.

"After the Heineken with time to burn we'll head west cruising toward the [Sir Francis] Drake Channel, aiming at the Bitter End, then Culebra - eventually ending up in St Thomas for the Rolex, then to Tortola for the BVI Regatta. Then of course Antigua," said Alcott.

Turbo'd Andrews 70 Magnitude, soon to become Equation

Sleds were designed to sail fast off the wind, downwind, to race in the Transpac from California to Hawaii. They were built to be light so to surf off the wind. Until recently sleds were all measured under the old "IOR" rule and therefore designed to take advantage of the credits available under that rule. Ultralights, (sleds), being designed to surf downwind, sacrifice upwind performance needed for windward/leward course racing. Over time, many of the sleds were modified with the intent to go even faster downwind - that by increasing sail area which in turn required increasing stability. So they were 'turbo-d' by increasing mast height and keel depth - the combination of these allowing increased spinnaker area. Thus turbo'd sleds carry more sail than un-turbo'd.

The old Equation, a standard rig Santa Cruz 70, was unmodified and therefore not turbo'd. The newer Equation is modified, or, "turbo'd". She's a sistership of Tom Hill's turbo'd Andrews 70 Titan (ex-Grins) that he sailed last year. "The old Equation being underpowered, non-turbo'd, was not quick enough to offset the speed advantages of faster, turbo'd, boats, so inevitably found itself in awkward strategic positions on the race course," continued Alcott. "My intent in acquiring Magnitude to be the next Equation was to become more competitive with tubo'd boats such as Decision, Donnybrook, Trader, Renegade etc. Those are the boats we expect to sail with up North."

Given the 7-foot waterline difference Equation won't be competitive with the new Titan but Alcott is looking forward to "mixing it up with her" on the race course. "We're told Titan was designed to be a newer even faster version of Pyewacket which as you saw burned up the Caribbean courses last year. Titan's designers, Reichel/Pugh, no doubt tinkered with her design so as to rate well under the CSA because the Caribbean is "home waters" for Tom Hill,"added Alcott.

And don't expect to see the old Equation down in the Caribbean anytime soon; she has been kindly donated to the Massachusetts Maritime Institute.