It had it all: strong winds of up to 30 knots, sharp reaches, a long cross with a brutal wave, light winds and deep, rough channels. After 19 hours it was clear: the boat of boats was the new JPK 38 Fast Cruiser "Ratzfatz 3" from Andreas Rohde. The former co-sailor of the Admiral's Cupper "Rubin" and "Container" was delighted not only with the performance, but also the ease of handling of his yacht, which he usually uses as a family cruiser with his wife and two daughters: "The two rudder blades meant that the boat was always under control, even when many other opponents were shooting into the sun. And it was easy to steer using the autopilot. I was able to move the genoa sheet to windward and trim both sails there." The cockpit concept with the two tiller points therefore proved its worth. In fact, the boat from the small shipyard of Breton Jean-Pierre Kelbert in Lorient specialises in precisely this: ocean-going performance cruisers for small crews, with which Kelbert himself takes part in various transatlantic regattas.
Remarkable: Rohde completely dispensed with the use of a gennaker: "I didn't want to chop up the big one, I still need it for cruising. And I didn't have a smaller one." Against this background, the fastest sailed time among the 210 or so monohulls of 19 hours and two minutes for 134 nautical miles (anti-clockwise around Funen from Svendborg to Svendborg) is all the more impressive.
YACHT has already tested the boat extensively; the report will follow soon, first pictures here.
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Fridtjof Gunkel
Deputy Chief Editor YACHT
