The Design and Build of Kiwi Spirit

My desire to build one of the world’s fastest ever cruising yachts came from a number of sources. First, I have cruised some 60,000 miles, including three North Atlantic crossings, three from Alaska to New Zealand and one circumnavigation. At all times, once I left the dock and set out for the next destination I wanted to go fast. Fast meant that I would have more time in port. Yes, it's great being "out there" but being at a fascinating port or anchorage in Alaska, the Pacific or in a Norwegian fiord - well that's better. Additionally, a fast boat can often out-sail the weather systems. So fast is important to me. Next came my interest in solo sailing, which began when I followed my son’s sailing in the Around Alone Race in 2002-3. His race had five compulsory stops for service and for the sponsors to showcase their businesses. The experience made me start to think of a fast yacht that I could handle solo, and that such a yacht would no doubt find a market if I could possibly break certain solo circumnavigation records. YES, I had my next challenge.

It was not too many years ago that while working in your own backyard a decent yacht could be built in a few short years. It could even be somewhat competent. But not today! Kiwi Spirit has taken more than 44,000 man hours to build. That's twenty two years of one person laboring, yet no one person today has all the talents necessary to build a modern yacht and taking twenty years — well it would be out of date before being launched.

So, I put together an owner’s brief of some thirty pages that defined what I wanted in a fast and safe yacht that could be singled handed. I elected an architectural firm namely Farr Yacht Design in Annapolis, Maryland an then together we selected Lyman-Morse in Thomaston, Maine to build the yacht. The build started in the fall of 2011 and was due to be launched in September, 2012.

However, there have been inexcusable delays in the delivery of the keel. A well-known keel maker has flubbed the job. It should have been here three months ago. A sailing yacht cannot be launched without a keel, as it would simply fall over given the weight of the mast and sails. Thankfully my prayers were answered yesterday, when the keel finally arrived and it looks as though it will fit.

Although these are happy and busy days, the keel delay poses a serious problem. I had scheduled to sail to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands for the start of the ARC Rally on November 25 and race to St. Lucia in the Caribbean. In 1998 I won line honors (first place) in Class A out of 212 boats. This time around there are 300 boats for this 3,000 mile race and I want to be there. The keel delay means we will not have enough time to fully test the yacht with sea trials before I need to leave Maine for Las Palmas. I would need to leave Maine no later than the 9^th of November to hopefully arrive two days before the start of the ARC. The builder nor the sail maker think that it is wise to rush this process. They need more time. We shall see. Kiwi Spirit will be launched in a mere 2 days on Thursday, November 1^st.  Stay tuned!

Cheers,

Stanley

 Photo by Billy Black

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It's a Tough Question

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Why?

This is the toughest question to answer and there is no one answer. I have three answers: First, I have always sought out and lived adventurously.  Life is not without risk, be it in business or pleasure.  I do what I can to live a full life and to minimize the risks. Kiwi Spirit has a number of life saving ideas and technology aboard and I will share these with you. Second, my life has been in the “footsteps of heroes” and I honor them by following them, and where possible exceeding what they achieved – as they would wish. Third, because I love the sea - I enjoy gales and even storms for the challenges and the exhilaration they provide - and for the fine weather that follows.

Dodge Morgan, whose record I am challenging, did this as a Corinthian effort.  He accepted no outside funding, no sponsors which typifies most sporting events today. He was as amateur as he could be and I shall repeat that experience.

Who's Watching?

I have signed a Cooperation Agreement with the City of St. Augustine which coincidentally will be celebrating its 450^th Anniversary as I begin my voyage, being the nation’s oldest City. We hope to meet certain educational goals, sharing the world I experience aboard Kiwi Spirit with students. The lessons will aim to put a “real life” spin on textbook material, with topics such as geography, weather, navigation, the environment, ocean life, and many others. The educational materials will be directed at the senior high school student and thus should interest armchair sailors and those that choose to live vicariously through the efforts of others.

What will you gain from my blog?

That all depends on your interests. It will be about sailing, yes. But more importantly, it will be about the human spirit and what at my ripe old age it can achieve by appropriate training.

So please enjoy, sail with me and live vicariously through my exploits. I will be lonely out there and so you can help by following the adventure and keeping me company through your blog comments. Feel free to email me at kiwispirit@usa.edu. 

Cheers for Now,

Stanley

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My First Blog for Kiwi Spirit

In this first blog I wish to provide some general background information. 

My boat is named Kiwi Spirit. I will attempt to break the record of Dodge Morgan, who circumnavigated the globe under sail non-stop and unassisted in 1986 at age 58 on American Promise. I will be 76 when I set forth on November 30, 2013 from St. Augustine, Florida.

My goals include being: 

• The oldest person to circumnavigate under sail non-stop  
• The fastest to circumnavigate in a monohull cruising boat  
• The first ever to circumnavigate non-stop entirely green

Let’s Get Personal:

We are of course all special if only to our mothers. Each of us has a life worthy of study but on occasion some of us, fortunate enough to be at a time and place of means, are able to engage in an activity that may be of interest to others.  Sailing around the world has been done now by more than a thousand people, mostly via the Panama and Suez Canals with few going around the southern capes including Cape of Good Hope and especially Cape Horn.   But sailing around solo, non-stop and unassisted and attempting to do it in record time – via the southern capes, well it’s just a handful that have done this. In addition, I have come to it at the ripe age of 76 – no chicken! But as a physical therapist I have largely led a life of wellness, of participation and of adventure. I have been fortunate in my profession of physical therapy, in business - principally real estate and education - and have taken the time to balance and enjoy life with family and sports, including sailing.

Risk and Reward:

While I write with confidence I am well aware that much can go wrong.  Far less than half the boats that set out to do a non-stop circumnavigation succeed. Dismasting, keel and rudder damage, running aground and being wrecked have all played a role in defeating the would be circumnavigator. Even in organized crewed events such as the Volvo Ocean Race less than half the boats finish without assistance. I must complete this journey non-stop and unassisted if I am to succeed. Anything less is a failure.

I do not underestimate the possibilities of failures and the risks that I take. But these pages will not focus on the negative. Know that a great deal of planning, design and construction have combined to make this project a success. However, I acknowledge that an element of luck will be needed to avoid striking a semi submerged container, log, iceberg or even a whale. All these can result in a dismasting, loss of keel or loss of rudder. Kiwi Spirit has two rudders and carries a third as a spare and even has a spare mast stored below and ready for assembly. Additionally it has a sacrificial bow that will self-destruct on impact leaving the true bow exposed. If ever a boat was designed and constructed to be a fast and successful cruiser - then Kiwi Spirit is the boat.

Boat Features

• Cutter rigged some 88 feet in height - a good height to carry plenty of sail
• Retractable bow sprit goes out 7 feet to add yet more sail to the boat’s length for downwind sailing
• Out riggers to hold the sails out rather than having a spinnaker pole.
• Displacement is only 32,000 lbs. - half the weight of the record holder. I shall be light and fast.
• Keel goes from 8'7" to 14'9" - this is for increased stability to carry the sails aloft.
• Four water ballast tanks again for stability – equivalent of 22 men sitting on the rail
• Solar panels, two wind generators and four water generators with energy stored in lithium ion phosphate batteries.
• Five water tight bulkheads
• Sacrificial bow

Kiwi Spirit is a truly state of the art yacht! The yacht is designed by Farr Yacht Design,  specifically addressing my desire to sail safe and fast, while also having the option to transition the yacht in the future to a family cruising platform. The experts at Lyman-Morse Boat Building were employed to construct Kiwi Spirit in Thomaston, Maine. On November 1, 2012, Kiwi Spirit will be officially christened by my wife Catherine and the adventure will begin as I head off for sea trials and one full year of training.

           

If you feel inspired to follow my journey as I prepare to circle the globe, please follow my blog and enjoy the future tales of adventure, which will be accompanied by photos and video. www.stanleyparis.com  will soon be a fully functioning website with route map, tracking of Kiwi Spirit, and news of my training from November 2012-November 2013, including the regattas I will compete in prior to the circumnavigation. 

Cheers,

Stanley

                                    

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