Record breaking 180 inversion test for Ross & Campbell Field
by Oliver Dewar 2 Jun 2011 21:27 BST
2 June 2011
New Zealand’s Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR) duo of father and son, Ross and Campbell Field, successfully completed the mandatory 180 degree inversion test on their GOR Class40, Hupane, at Berthon Boatyard in Lymington on the English South Coast on Thursday afternoon: the first 180 degree inversion test undertaken by a racing yacht in the UK.
Following a five week voyage as deck cargo from Chile, the Field’s Tyker Class40 arrived in Lymington during the second week in May and following a speedy refit, the 2008 Verdier Design yacht is the sixth GOR entry to pass the mandatory, 180 degree self-righting test. In near-windless conditions, Hupane – meaning ‘step upwards’ from the Maori phrase included in the traditional Haka display made famous by the All Blacks rugby team – was manoeuvred into clear space between pontoons at Berthon Boatyard watched by a team of supporters including Campbell Field’s wife, Tracey, and their eight month-old son, Fraser. Once fully inverted, the New Zealand duo hand-pumped seawater into the yacht’s lateral ballast tank and swiftly self-righted Hupane in just six minutes: a record time for a Class40 180 inversion test.
Immediately after the test, Campbell Field gave his impression of the inversion: “It’s amazing how disorientating it is being upside down in a boat,” he explained. “There were no leaks and the ballast system worked perfectly,” Campbell confirmed. “Apart from a mobile phone flying about and a couple of wallets falling out of the chart table, everything stayed in place.” The Fields pumped the starboard ballast tank to one third capacity – approximately 250 litres: “We were certainly helped by around an extra 300 kilos of Kiwi in the boat!” added Campbell. For Ross Field, this was his second inversion on a boat: “The first time wasn’t intentional,” he recalled. “I was on a 52-footer going through the Bass Strait during the 1995 Melbourne – Osaka Race and the keel started to fall-off,” Ross explained. “This inversion on Hupane has been a lot less stressful!”
Read the full story on the Global Ocean Race website.