They say the new super yacht Comanche could average over 22 knots in the right conditions. Meanwhile, the published cruising speed of Hamburg Süd’s container ship Spirit of Melbourne is 21.5 knots. Very close, you might think – with the ship holding an obvious advantage. But in fact they’ll both arrive in Sydney at exactly the same time.
The 100-foot super-maxi marvel was crafted by the Comanche build team and Hodgdon Yachts in Maine for power-couple Dr Jim Clark (the Netscape-founder and yachting fanatic) and his Australian-born wife Kristy. Setting pulses racing throughout the yachting world, this latest marine excitement machine is now on its way down under on board Spirit of Melbourne. Mission: to mangle the competition in a world-famous race… and it will get there, measured in shake-down time, not one nanosecond too soon. On Friday, October 31 the newly built yacht arrived at Union Pier in Charleston, South Carolina where the mast was removed and the loading arrangements set in place prior to the arrival of the 254m, 3,630 TEU containership. It was a massive move. The total displacement for the Comanche shipment is 160 TEUs and the set-up included a cradle large enough to accommodate the yacht’s extra-deep keel. With their top-notch loadmaster attached to the Comanche crew, global marine transport leaders Peters and May helped to ensure the yacht’s safe loading. The cradle was lifted first, followed by the huge mast and then Comanche itself, with the benefit of an ultra-secure lashing plan designed by Peters & May. Murat Koksel (speaking on behalf of Hamburg Süd’s U.S. East Coast & Gulf operations team) stated that, “This was a major challenge which benefited from our collective experience – and a super joint effort. Credit for the excellent cooperation goes to everyone involved including the SCPA crane operator; Peters & May; the ILA Longshore Local 1422 gang and of course the vessel crew. For safety and efficiency everyone was linked up by radio throughout the operation, which took a total of ten hours. Good job – and go Comanche!’ Scheduled to arrive in Sydney on 28 November, Comanche will have one month to prepare for a dynamic debut at the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race starting on Boxing Day – December 26th 2014.