The Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt has taken delivery of its new yacht from New Zealand and test sailed it on the Elbe. YACHT was on board and gathered some first impressions
The racing yacht is brand new and a one-off. She is reminiscent of a TP-52 racer. Fresh from New Zealand, she arrived in Hamburg and was christened "Haspa Hamburg" in Hamburg's Sandtor harbour in May. The Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt has taken delivery of its new yacht. She is to be used for blue water cruising and youth training and will compete for the first time in the legendary North Sea Week.
Designed by Judel/Vrolijk & Co. in Bremerhaven, the yacht is a successful compromise between a racy racing yacht and an easily controllable club boat - no easy task for the designers led by New Zealand boatbuilding guru Paul Hakes. But even during the first test runs, the boat turned out to be a success.
The squaretop sail brings a lot of speed, in New Zealand the "Haspa" sailed at over 23 knots. The yacht is sensitive, but forgives mistakes, so that even beginners can familiarise themselves with this form of dynamic sailing.
YACHT author Matthias Beilken went on board and took a close look at the boat during a cruise on the Elbe. He discovered bare functionality, a tiny but effective sat nav corner, a tidy foredeck with no frills and sails from the new Code Zero generation. His conclusion: highly sophisticated sailing on an innovative ship that opens up great opportunities for ambitious young sailors in Germany and promises fantastic cruises.
The portrait of this special boat, impressions of the yacht and further background information now in the current issue of YACHT.
Marc Bielefeld
Freier Autor
