The first County Wicklow designed Melges IC37 designed by Mark Mills, Afloat.ie's Sailor of the Year in 2009, arrived at New England Boatworks last Monday afternoon, and was out sailing Tuesday afternoon after fitting keel, rudder and rig.
Three days of sailing 001 in wind speeds between 6 and 20 with the development group including Harry Melges, Kenny Read and designer Mark Mills, key contributors from Harken, Spinlock, and Southern Spars, and NYYC members onboard produced unanimous enthusiasm for the new design.
North Sails President Read who was an integral part of the development of the class summed up the first sail as “Really amazing, the boat feels good!”. With no major issues arising it marked the smoothest assembly and initial sailing trials imaginable in perfect spring conditions in Newport.
Melges IC-37 for the New York Yacht Club
Designed to offer a stable platform for a wide range of crew skills to enjoy high performance sailing the IC37 combines the design DNA of the latest generation of raceboat with features to appeal to the widest cross-section of sailors and owners. Strict One Design limitations on the boat and crew, a deliberately limited sail wardrobe, and attractive pricing are key components in building a class with widespread appeal, built on the foundation of 20 boats ordered by the New York Yacht Club.
Mills was very enthused “Its probably the smoothest first week I’ve seen, going from a truck to getting a wide range of stakeholders out sailing on a fully debugged boat in less than a week is remarkable, I think the consensus is we have an awesome boat, and class, on our hands.”
