Steel plates, rough screws, rust, scratches: the airbrushed armoured cruiser design is in stark contrast to the hull construction. "Platoon" was created at Premier Composite Technologies made in Dubai from a Nomex carbon fibre sandwich, vacuum compressed and baked in the oven. The TP 52 rockets weigh just seven tonnes, 300 kilograms less than last year following a revision of the class rules. The sail area has been increased and the carbon rig slimmed down by 60 kilograms.
The class is experiencing an upswing: eight newbuilds are in the works. Like the "Platoon", the "Provezza" (Turkey) and the "Ran" (Sweden) also come from the computers of the Bremerhaven designers Judel/Vrolijk & Co. However, the three ships differ in nuances - boats of the TP-52 class are subject to a so-called box rule, a limiting rule within whose tolerances yachts can be designed according to personal preferences or expected conditions.
The ships, currently the most highly developed monohull racing boats in the world, compete in the so-called Super series in the Mediterranean, starting in Valencia in May. The "Platoon" boasts an international professional crew. In addition to owner and helmsman Harm-Müller Spreer (NRV, Hamburg), Markus Wieser as tactician, Michael Müller as mastman and Holger Lehning as floater are on board from Germany.
