By any metric, the RORC Transatlantic Race winning Baltic III Raven is one of the most remarkable new boats afloat. A creation of Botin Design and Baltic Yachts, she’s a performance-plus cruiser which combines a practical use of America’s Cup-style lifting foils with comfortable, if ultra-modern, accommodation.
The “practical” aspect of her foils is that they aren’t expected to lift the 111ft hull completely clear of the water, while nevertheless giving enough lift to achieve up to 50% reduction in drag, enabling her to complete the course from Lanzarote to Antigua in 6 days and 22 hours, with 550-mile 24-hour leaps par for performance.
The sail areas and engineering loads involved with a 34 metre boat doing this make it very definitely a Big Boys’ game, but Justin Slattery – originally of Wexford but now of Kinsale – has been long qualified at this level.
By not attempting to create an America’s Cup style foiling system that lifts the huge hull clear of the water, Raven has achieved a compromise that can provide up to 50% reduction in hull drag.
