BLACK SEA 40 -  BOC /Around Alone Boats for Bob Adams and Viktor Yazykov

Designing  a boat for experienced offshore sailors is something very personal, but you get the feeling that you are learning something new all the time.  Bob and Viktor came to me in 1995 for a 40' design for the BOC, following my experience as chief designer for COYOTE and my involvement with  the designs of DURACELL and GRINAKER.  They already had a very good idea of the philosophy behind the boat, and had a sketch of a lines plan, deck layout and rig.  This first "cartoon" had a lot of thought put into it, and I'm happy to say that the final product has deviated from this first draft only in detail.

This level of involvement in the design process is necessary for any single-handed boat.  If you are going to sail around the world solo, you want the RIGHT boat for the job, and one that you feel comfortable with.

The outcome of all this is the BLACK SEA 40, a very light BOC-minimum boat, capable of speeds rivalling the 50-footers which will be her main competition.  Planing is possible on all points of sail, and the Black Sea 40 will be able to get up on a plane far earlier than her bigger sisters.  This ability should give her a slight edge on the competition in the right winds, while her easily-driven, moderate hullform will allow the skippers to spend more time concentrating on speed, and less time just hanging on!

With a displacement of around 8,000 lbs, and a sail area of over 1200 sq.ft, these boats should fly in all conditions.  They are being built at Viktor's boatyard in Sochi, on the Black Sea.   Valuable engineering assistance was provided by Dirk Kramers, one of the most capable and understanding engineers in this field.  A great deal of the success of these boats lies at his door.

Due to the nature  of the project and  the nationalities of the skippers, the campaign is to be known as the WIND OF CHANGE.  Such cooperation between Russia and the USA indeed brings a fresh breeze to this sport.

Since this page was first written, the partnership has dissolved.  Bob was unable to compete in the Around Alone, leaving Viktor as the sole representitive.  His time from Charleston to Cape Town in rthe first leg set a new 40-foot record of just over 44 days, only 4 days slower than the leading 50-footer.  During this time, he also achieved the longest day's run for a class II boat in this race of 239 miles, an average of almost 10 knots.  This record was achieved while Viktor spent 22 hours down below recovering from surgery to his elbow performed following e-mailed instructions from the race doctor.  There was no power for autopilots, so the boat was literally sailing herself.  This sort of  control and balance is exactly what the boat was designed for.  The pictures and renderings below will give more of an idea of the shape and configuration of this boat.  The sailing shots are of Bob's boat in Newport, RI.    

Home, James.