Following its arrival into Dun Laoghaire on Monday evening, maxi Round Ireland race entry Rambler 88 has been moored on St. Michael's Wharf, close to the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The special berth was arranged because the 23–tonne yacht's keel is nearly 20–feet deep, meaning she is just too big to go alongside the Dublin hosts at the Royal Irish Yacht Club or the town marina, both of which are currently catering for nearly half of the 65–boat Round Ireland fleet.
The boat is owned by American businessman George David, who made headlines off the Irish coast five years ago when an earlier boat Rambler 100 capsized off the Fastnet rock in August 2011.
His new boat has a powerful hull shape with a giant chine running the full extent of the hull and similarly a hull-deck chamfer running the length of the hull, it also has a substantial bowsprit. The boat has a canting keel and there is a VO70-style cuddy over the companionway. Her all carbon 135-foot mast can be seen from afar, towering over other yachts in the harbour.
Rambler 88's results last season included; Voiles de St Barths – overall winner, RORC Caribbean 600 – line honours winner (3rd overall), Rolex Middle Sea Race – line honours winner (7th overall) and the Rolex Sydney-Hobart – 3rd over the line.
According to website, The Daily Sail, The 88–ft long boat is too big to be called a 'Mini Maxi' and is also not a maximum length 'maxi' (ie 100ft) either.
The exotic yacht that has competed all over the world, has already drawn many admiring glances from local boats competing in last night's DBSC races.
Dimensions
LOA 27.00m/88ft 7in
Beam 7.10m/23ft 4in
Draught 6.00m/19ft 8in
Mast height 41.47m/135ft 10in
Displacement
(lightship) 22,890kg/50,463lb
Sail area:
upwind 512/638m2/5,511/6,687ft2
downwind 980m2/10,548ft2
mainsail 318m2/4,423ft2
IRC rating 1.88
Designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian Yacht Design
Built by New England Boatworks, RI, USA
Mast/boom Southern Spars
More on this extraordinary boat from Yachting World here