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Take a tour of supermaxi Comanche, a yacht so beamy she’s called ‘the aircraft carrier’

Yachting World

  • December 26, 2015

Crosbie Lorimer takes a looks at Comanche, the 100ft super-maxi yacht that created such a stir at the last Rolex Sydney Hobart Race

comanche sailboat cost

Comanche races in the Rolex Sydney Hobart. Photo: Carlo Borlenghi/Rolex

“The design office were told specifically by me that if this boat wasn’t the worst rated boat in history they have failed,” Dr Jim Clark said about his new raceboat. Not exactly the sort of remark you might expect, perhaps, but Clark, founder of software company Netscape, is well known for his singular approach to his many sailing ventures.

For Clark, owner of the 295ft three-masted schooner Athena and the replica J Class Hanuman , the goal for his brand new 100ft super-maxi Comanche is first and foremost to break records.

At her first major outing in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2014, she caused something of a stir, although she was pipped for line honours in the 650-mile offshore classic by the well-sorted and immaculately sailed Wild Oats XI .

Not surprising that Clark should look to his regular skipper Ken Read and the French design team collaboration of Verdier Design/VPLP to create his new master-blaster. Despite a punishing one-year timeline for the build team, project managers Tim Hacket and Brandon Linton worked with boat captain Casey Smith – all three were involved in Read’s previous Volvo campaign – to see the new boat launched on time from the Hodgdon Yard in Maine in late 2014, given an impressive first run in heavy airs and then put on a ship to Sydney.

Under sail, first impressions of Comanche  inevitably draw comparisons with IMOCA 60s and the globe-circling multihulls in which the design team excels. With massive beam at the stern, long reverse sheer, the mast well aft of 50 per cent of the boat length, towering narrow mainsail and a long boom overhanging the stern, everything is built for speed when the wind is abaft the beam.

In anything above eight knots of true wind Comanche starts to move out of displacement mode and at 25° of heel she has the same wetted surface as the 100ft supermaxi  Wild Oats XI – the more remarkable when you consider that you could fit two of Wild Oats ’s sterns into Comanche ’s.

Helming Comanche requires a different mindset, according to Read: “You sail the boat a bit like a multihull in a way, it’s so wide you rock it up on its ‘leeward hull’.”

So beamy is Comanche that she was given the nickname the Aircraft Carrier

So beamy is Comanche that she was given the nickname the Aircraft Carrier

The photos below show exactly what this remarkable yacht looks like on deck and below.

Specifications

LOA 30.50m/100ft 0in

Beam 7.80m/25ft 6in

Draught 6.50m/21ft 4in

Mast height 46.00m/150ft 0in

Displacement 31,000kg/68,343lb

Mainsail 410m 2 /4,413ft 2

Downwind sail area 1,022m 2 /11,000ft 2

Upwind sail area 350m 2 /3,767ft 2

Largest spinnaker 1,100m 2 /11,840ft 2

IRC Rating 1.958

Designed by Verdier Design/VPLP       

Built by Hodgdon Yachts, Maine, USA and Owner’s build team

Mast/boom Southern Spars

Sails North Sails

Hydraulics Cariboni       

Foils Re Fraschini

Winch System Harken with Jon Williams

Rigging   ECsix

STERN Comanche ’s beamy stern swiftly earned her the tag The Aircraft Carrier. Her optimum heel angle is anything over 20°, while at 25° she has the same wetted surface as Wild Oats XI . The fitting of an escape hatch and the liferaft stowage in her stern are a direct result of lessons learned from the capsize of Rambler in the 2011 Rolex Fastnet

Comanche

MAST As with the IMOCA 60s, the mast is positioned well back in the boat; sited directly above the canting keel, the mast is deck-stepped on a triangulated mast post integrated into the same frame as the keelbox. Static loads on the mast base are in the order of 75 tonnes, increasing to 150 tonnes under sail

Comanche

DEFLECTORS The 150ft (46m) four- spreader rig features two running backstays and three deflectors, precluding the need for checkstays for mast bend control, and also reducing windage and weight aloft. Mast height was limited to be able to pass under Sydney Harbour Bridge

Comanche

COCKPIT AND WINCHES Sail handling is by grinder-powered Harken winches with customised drive shafts, grinder pedestals and gearboxes to cater for the substantial torque. The winch pedestals are placed inboard to permit stacking of up to four sails in the cockpit

Comanche

WHEEL POSITION The steering pedestals can be moved to a position at the forward end of the cockpit (ringed), just behind a detachable hard dodger over the companionways, affording the helmsmen and crew maximum protection if required for long passages

Comanche

DEFLECTOR RAMS The three deflectors controlling mast bend are trimmed by three hydraulic rams that work interactively. Although cheat sheets have been developed for basic settings, the crew is still exploring setting refinements for these

Comanche

CANTING KEEL The canting keel is controlled by a 350kg titanium ram built by Cariboni. The keel can be swung 35° either side of centre and moved through the full arc in about 25 seconds. A secondary slave cylinder can be used to swing the keel if the primary ram fails

Comanche

WATER BALLAST Manifolds, pipes and valves controlling water ballast are located behind the navstation bulkhead. Water ballast comprises 6.5 tonnes per side in three tanks on each flank. All pipework is built in carbon fibre

Comanche

COMPASS The cheapest fitting on the boat is a card compass that would look more at home on a Laser. Though the helmsmen and trimmers use the digital read-outs, the rules require a card compass to be fitted, so the team went looking for the simplest and lightest

Comanche

NAVIGATION STATION is located immediately behind the companionway bulkhead, also being the point from which all the boat’s electrics are controlled. The carbon fibre chart table can be tacked and the bench seat is long enough to allow the navigator to sleep or rest here if required

Comanche

TACKING HEADS There are two concessions to ‘luxury’ aboard Comanche , one being a carbon fibre tray for six coffee cups and the other a carbon heads that can be tacked! No privacy for the latter, of course

Sail Universe

Comanche Story: Across the Ocean in a Work Week

Shattering the transatlantic sailing record.

Even the most daunting world records are meant to be broken … eventually. For elite navigator Stan Honey and a crew of sailing all-stars, beating the prestigious monohull transatlantic sailing record was the ultimate accomplishment. And it was no easy feat. On July 22, 2016, the Comanche — a custom-built, 100-foot racing yacht — set sail from New York to the southern tip of England.

Precisely five days, 14 hours, 21 minutes and 25 seconds later, the Comanche’s crew shattered the world record … by more than a day.

Brave the high seas as we set sail on one of the most amazing and inspiring journeys ever to take place on film.

A Great Big Film dedicated to Comanche, made in partnership with Land Rover ( http://www.landroverusa.com/vehicles/… ).

southern wind 100

About Comanche

Comanche is a 100 ft (33 m) maxi yacht. She was designed in France by VPLP and Guillaume Verdier and built in the United States by Hodgdon Yachts for Dr. James H. Clark and christened as  Comanche . 

Comanche  holds the 24-hour sailing record for monohulls, covering 618 nm, for an average of 25.75 knots or 47.69 kmh/h. The boat won line honours in the 2015 Fastnet race and the 2015 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, under the leadership of skipper Ken Read. In 2017,  Comanche  set a new Transpac record, covering 484.1 nmi in 24 hours, for an average speed of 20.2 knots (37.4 km/h). In 2019, under navigator Stan Honey, the yacht won the 2225-mile 50th Transpacific Yacht Race, with a time of 5 days 11 hours 14 minutes 05 seconds.  Comanche  won the 2017 Sydney to Hobart yacht race, with a time of 1 day 9 hours 15 minutes 24 seconds, a record that still stands today.

At 5 days 14 hours 21 minutes 25 seconds, the sailing yacht holds the Monohull Transatlantic sailing record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, which they achieved on July 28, 2016.

In December 2017, was sold to Australian Jim Cooney, and was renamed to LDV Comanche, as part of a one-time sponsorship from SAIC Maxus Automotive Co’s  LDV  brand. The yacht later returned to its original, unsponsored title of Comanche. Under this name it won the Sydney-Hobart race again in 2019 in 1 day 18 hours and 30 minutes.

Soon after the completion of the 2019 Sydney-Hobart race, Comanche was reportedly sold to a Russian interest group. [7]  Details of the sale have not been disclosed as of yet.

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Texas billionaire launches superyacht that cost millions to build and can reach speeds of 40mph

  • Jim Clark, the billionaire founder of Netscape, has just launched a new  super  yacht, Comanche
  • The boat took a year to build at a cost of millions and can reach a top speed of 40mph
  • Clark plans on not just winning races but also breaking offshore racing records over the next two years, before selling off the yacht 

By Chris Spargo for MailOnline

Published: 15:14 EDT, 28 October 2014 | Updated: 16:01 EDT, 28 October 2014

View comments

American entrepreneur Jim Clark has seen his hard work and innovative ideas in the world of computer technology pay off big time, to the tune of $1.4 billion, and now he has set his sights on the sea - with a yacht.

The Texas born Clark, a co-founder of Netscape, has just launched Comanche, a super-fast super yacht that took a year to build at cost millions of dollars.

The 100-foot long cutting edge vessel is sleek, stylish and, according to CNN , can reach a top speed of around 40mph.

Scroll down for video 

Thing of beauty: Comanche is a 100-foot super yacht that took a year to build and had its maiden voyage in Newport, Rhode Island (above) earlier this month

Thing of beauty: Comanche is a 100-foot super yacht that took a year to build and had its maiden voyage in Newport, Rhode Island (above) earlier this month

Fast: The sleek and stylish vessel can reach a top speed of 40mph

Fast: The sleek and stylish vessel can reach a top speed of 40mph

comanche sailboat cost

Boating enthusiasts: Owner Jim Clark and wife Kristy Hinze (at their 2009 wedding on left and in Sydney this past May on right) are big racing fans

It is an investment that is well worth it for Clark if the yacht does what many believe it will do, and breaks a series of offshore racing marks.

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That being said, it does seem like an odd hobby for a man who grew up in Plainview, Texas, far from any coastline.

'People spend money on sports and I just don't do golf, I hate it,' said the 70-year-old. 

'But I love sailing and the technology aspect.'

He became interested in sailing while in the Navy, and bought his first boat in the late 1980s.

Video courtesy of Onne van der Wal    and Hodgdon Yachts

Not cheap: The boat also cost  millions to build

Not cheap: The boat also cost millions to build

Maiden voyage: The yacht's first race is expected to be the Sydney-Hobart in Australia this December

Maiden voyage: The yacht's first race is expected to be the Sydney-Hobart in Australia this December

Good crew: The yacht's skipper is Ken Read, the celebrated American sailor who grew up in Newport

Good crew: The yacht's skipper is Ken Read, the celebrated American sailor who grew up in Newport

Now, with Comanche, he wants 'to be a record breaker.'

He already plans on selling the boat in two years, and in that time has high hopes of not just winning events such as Transatlantic, Transpac, Fastnet, and Middle Sea, but breaking records as he takes the top spot. 

It had its maiden voyage off Newport, Rhode Island, on October 13, which was photographed by George Bekris , but Comanche's first race will be the Sydney-Hobart in Australia this December, one that is a particular favorite for Clark and his Australian wife, Kristy Hinze.

Busy schedule: The boat is also expected to compete in events including Transatlantic, Transpac, Fastnet, and Middle Sea

Busy schedule: The boat is also expected to compete in events including Transatlantic, Transpac, Fastnet, and Middle Sea

Not competing: 70-year-old Clark has said that he will not be on board for some of the more competitive races

Not competing: 70-year-old Clark has said that he will not be on board for some of the more competitive races

In his place: His much younger wife Hinze, who is 35, will likely be part of the crew in Sydney

In his place: His much younger wife Hinze, who is 35, will likely be part of the crew in Sydney

That being said, the Sydney-Hobart is also one of the most difficult and competitive races of the year, and will be a true test for Comanche and its 21 person crew led by skipper Ken Read, the very accomplished and celebrated 53-year-old sailor who grew up in Newport.

The 1998 race featured a freak storm that ultimately left six people dead.

'We want records but we have to win the races first and then think about the records,' said Read. 

'But to do that the conditions have to be right. You can have the greatest thing since sliced bread but you won't go record breaking if the weather's not right. But if we get into the record books -- and we believe we will - then it's job done.'

Priorities: Read has said of breaking records with Comanche, 'We want records but we have to win the races first and then think about the records'

Priorities: Read has said of breaking records with Comanche, 'We want records but we have to win the races first and then think about the records'

Tough start: The boat's first race, Sydney-Hobart, is considered one of the most competitive and had one of the most difficult courses

Tough start: The boat's first race, Sydney-Hobart, is considered one of the most competitive and had one of the most difficult courses

Late start: Read did not even buy his first sailboat until the late 1980s

Late start: Read did not even buy his first sailboat until the late 1980s

And while Clark may be too old to be on board for some of the more competitive races, his 35-year-old wife seems more than ready, starting on December 26 in Sydney.

'My wife's an Australian and a very competitive lady and she wants to sail in Sydney-Hobart,' said Clark. 

'I say "we have the boat, do as you wish." I'll let her run the show.'

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Published on December 14th, 2017 | by Editor

Comanche finds new owner Down Under

Published on December 14th, 2017 by Editor -->

Comanche, the innovative record-breaking 100 foot maxi yacht designed by VPLP and Guillaume Verdier and launched in 2014 for Jim and Kristy Clark, has been sold to Australian Jim Cooney.

The yacht was to compete in the 628 nm Sydney Hobart Race as LDV Comanche under partnership between Clark and two-time race winner Neville Crichton, but the last-minute sale now will have Sydney skipper Cooney at the helm.

“I have stepped down as skipper, we still have sponsorship for the boat, and if for any reason he can’t do it, I will step back into this shoes,” Crichton said.

Crichton had assembled a world-class crew for the race – including America’s Cup skipper James Spithill and many of the men who raced her to victory in the 2015 Hobart race. The crew will stay aboard while Cooney, daughter Julia, son James and Waratah Jeremy Tilse join the crew.

comanche sailboat cost

“We are all just so excited about doing the race on her, she is one not the most remarkable yachts in the world. I’ve actually never sailed it before. We are all going sailing on Tuesday (Dec. 19) to understand what sort of beast she is.’’

The new ownership means every supermaxi on the start line of the Sydney to Hobart will be racing for an Australian victory. The other three are Black Jack (previously Alfa Romeo), Infotrack (previously Perpetual Loyal), and Wild Oats XI.

“How amazing that pretty much the four fastest boats in the world are now all Australian owned,” said Cooney, chairman and major shareholder of TCI Renewables, a wind energy development company.

“This year competition is fierce, with the strongest line up of super maxis ever seen in one race. Depending on conditions, any of the 100 footers could take line honours, it threatens be one of the best races in the history of the event.”

The race starts on Boxing Day at 1300hrs AEDT and will be broadcast live on the Seven Network throughout Australia.

Event details – Entry list – Facebook

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Source: perthnow.com

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Built to win: On board sailing yacht Comanche with Jim Clark

Software mogul Jim Clark wants yacht racing line honours. But does his new radical supermaxi sailing yacht Comanche have what it takes to go up against the best? Marilyn Mower finds out...

Comanche is a superyacht that belongs at the front . The image below shows her tearing along – ahead of Sydney Hobart legend Wild Oats XI , a feat that surprised everyone watching. It was an advantage the brand new 30.5 metre Hodgdon speed machine was able to maintain all the way to the Bass Strait during the 2014 Rolex Sydney Hobart. But when 30-knot winds failed to materialise, the more slender Wild Oats slipped past Comanche and into the lead, a position she held all the way to Hobart for victory and her eighth line honours . Second place is never going to be good enough for Comanche ’s owner, software mogul Jim Clark, but it was a minor miracle his yacht was there at all. She was only launched in September , so the famously brutal race represented a kind of masochistic shakedown for a yacht designed for one thing – to win.

Think Laser dinghy or 49er morphed with rocket ship and you’ll get some idea of the qualities of Comanche . At the yard, the racer was partially hidden behind two larger yachts with immaculate pedigrees, Meteor and Artemis , but Comanche ’s square bow and carbon sprit jutted out beyond them, drawing the eye away from the varnished teak of her neighbours to a lean sailing machine intended to go as fast as possible powered only by the wind.

Sailing legend Ken Read, who also happens to be the president of North Sails, managed the project from day one for Clark. Built at Hodgdon Yachts in Maine, Comanche had a hand-picked design and engineering team of international experts. It also had a construction schedule that raised eyebrows from the first day Clark talked to_ Boat International_ about the radical project during the America’s Cup Superyacht Regatta in San Francisco, September 2013.

Comanche launched one year later and after stepping the mast in Newport, Rhode Island, and just two weeks of sailing trials, including a 600-mile qualifying sail to Charleston, South Carolina, the boat was packed aboard a cargo ship and sent to Australia to compete in the Sydney Hobart, which starts each year on Boxing Day.

Clark and his Australian wife, Kristy Hinze-Clark, met the boat in Sydney for its short re-commissioning, Hinze-Clark racing aboard the boat in a harbour tune-up event on 9 December 2014, where the yacht placed second despite poor conditions. The tabloids had a field-day, captioning photos with, “The supermodel and the supermaxi” and “She’s got legs” in reference to Hinze-Clark’s modelling career. These days she is a businesswoman, director for the Australian Nature Conservancy and the mother of two girls.

In our exclusive interview with Clark, shortly before the race begins, we ask simply: “Why?”

“It’s a hobby,” he says, “I like the supermaxis, they are like Volvo 60s on steroids.” Clark appears to be done with the J Class – his 42m Hanuman is up for sale – and is not a huge fan of what he calls the “multihull phase” of the America’s Cup with its reduced crew numbers. “The old sailing community is in monohulls and it’s nice to keep the guys engaged – there are lots of good sailors in the supermaxis and the guys are a lot of fun.”

When Clark decided on a supermaxi sailing yacht, his plan was to go for line honours rather than wins on corrected time, and speed/distance records that could be set for yachts with human powered winches. “I don’t want any of that record stuff with an asterisk that says push-button winches,” Clark scoffs. With this target, Clark and Read embarked on a “design experiment” for a yacht that could sail 30 knots or more on a broad reach. The experiment pushed them to some extreme stats, which Clark says were run through CFD tests and simulations time and again.

“The 25-foot (7.6 metre) beam saves weight,” Read says. “By going wider, we can have less weight in the keel to keep the same righting moment, thus we will go faster.” This thinking is carried over into the keel itself, which is solid stainless steel and not welded. With a 6.7 metre draught, the keel can be two tonnes lighter than a comparable keel on a boat with half the draught. The governing factor was the depth of Rhode Island’s Newport harbour where the boat will be based when not chasing records. “With the keel canted to one side we can just get to our berth,” Read says.

The downside to beam is increased surface drag when sailing flat in light air. “Being considerably wider than other boats, we need to be heeling at 11 to 13 degrees to present the same beam,” says Clark. “In light air, we are at a disadvantage. When the wind cooperates, there is no question the boat is explosive.”

Hodgdon, the oldest boatbuilding business in the US, might seem like an odd choice if you don’t know that part of the yard’s annual output is high-tech military vessels and another part is carbon fibre limo tenders. In fact, Hodgdon is quite skilled at innovative construction techniques and when Tim Hodgdon agreed to build an oven to cook Comanche ’s carbon fibre hull, the deal was struck. The yard’s location also made it a good gathering stop for its far-flung team.

Some critics have said the superyacht is too extreme and too powerful to handle, but Clark just laughs at this and suggests we “ask Kenny”. “Yeah, it’s still an unknown but I’m not overly concerned,” he adds. “The hull is well baked and it’s been ultrasounded and X-rayed. There is a fuse in some of the loads so that nothing super bad can happen. But you can’t have a fuse in the rigging… Some of those termination points on the rig are kind of scary,” Clark says.

That rig, which rises 47 metres above the waterline, is more than 50 per cent of the length aft from the bow, a surprising configuration but based on model testing for best all-around performance with the foil and appendages.

Also innovative are the daggerboards outboard of the mast and slightly forward of it. By canting the keel and putting the lee side daggerboard fully down, the boat generates enough lift to keep the angle of leeway to a minimum or crab up to a mark.

The wide cockpit, full of grinder pedestals, hydraulic sail controls and sophisticated LED panels, gives the impression of a workhouse with modern instruments of torture. In a way, that is what they are. Grinders will work these six pedestals to turn the Harken winches. The only push-button winch on board is used to raise the mainsail. Once that sail is up the halyard is locked off and the winch isn’t used.

The winch pedestals are set slightly inboard and Read explains that when sailing on other 30 metre yachts he found that waves coming inboard at 30 knots or so would sweep the helmsman or winch grinders off their feet. “I have fetched up in the corner of the cockpit with pieces of steering wheel in my hands,” he says. Thus, by having 10 feet more beam than other 30 metre boats, there is space to put people and gear in a safer location with the added benefit of space for sails to be temporarily stored outboard of the pedestals on the high side.

Another interesting option is set right into the deck. Small black plugs cover screw holes that allow a dodger to cover both hatches. “On long distance races, we wanted the option to erect a dodger to keep the crew safe when on deck,” Read says. A slot in the cockpit sole just aft of the dodger allows the steering wheel to be moved forward, allowing the helmsman to stand behind the dodger for more protection.

Step below the superyacht's deck and you can see how much weight has been saved. The single-skin carbon fibre hull and foam cored framing is fully exposed. It is mostly black with white non-skid patches. The forward end of the vessel is totally open, to store sails. Directly under the cockpit on either side are the crew berths, which keep the crew centre of gravity aft, close to the position they would be in when on deck; thus the trim of the yacht is not affected by off-watch crew moving around.

Directly under the cockpit sole is the navigator’s area with barely space to sit up. “The only requirement that navigator Stan Honey had was that we made the navigator’s seat 1.8 metres long so that he didn’t have to fight the crew for a berth,” Read says.

Talking to Read one gets a sense he is completely at ease with a project of this magnitude and the commitment it will take to sail it to its potential. He has sailed around the world with several of his present crew and all had input into the new boat’s design. That counts for a lot of experience, in addition to the French design team of Guillaume Verdier and VPLP (Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost). “Without the designers we would probably have built a far more conservative boat,” Read says, “but with their help we have taken a leap forward.”

On deck, Comanche is also radically different. All halyards go to the masthead, where they are locked off in the same style that was pioneered in the 12 Metre Class. But on Comanche, tension is applied on the sail luff by hydraulic rams mounted on the foredeck and by pulling on the sail at the tack. “It reduces weight aloft,” Read explains, “and allows complete sail adjustment from the [safety of the] cockpit.”

Another advanced feature not often seen on smaller sailing craft is that the jib tracks run transversely instead of fore and aft. “The clews for each headsail are in the same place and we might use the same sail for going hard to windward and when easing off onto a reach. With this arrangement all we need do is ease the track car to leeward when coming onto a reach. This enables us to keep power on without altering the shape of the sail when changing course relative to the wind,” Read notes.

The deck-stepped carbon fibre mast has swept spreaders to eliminate the need for adjustable running backstays. In some ways this is a disadvantage in that the masthead cannot be moved fore and aft when sailing up and downwind, but it eliminates the need for checkstays and runners. The masthead position is controlled with backstays to each corner of the transom and lines that are led into the mast from the backstays to control the rig bend.

“I started this boat thinking I could race it,” says Clark wistfully. A degenerative condition in his ankles that makes standing uncomfortable has recently cropped up in his wrists as well. “They made a seat for me where I can drive it,” he says, but he opted out of the Sydney Hobart to make room for America’s Cup-winning skipper Jimmy Spithill to assist Read on the helm.

“I feel confident we’ll start getting line honours and next summer we’ll do the transatlantic race and see how that goes,” promises Clark. “I’m optimistic.”

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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023

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Andoo Comanche

Andoo Comanche

John ‘Herman’ Winning Jr has chartered the Sydney Hobart record holder, Comanche . In their first hit out, Winning took Line Honours from Black Jack in the fluky 2022 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race. She took Line Honours in just under 20 hours and won the inaugural 260nm Tollgate Islands Race. Herman has prefixed the boat’s name with ‘Andoo’ for Andoo Products, which partners with his Appliances Online. This is the boat to beat for Line Honours.

American Jim Clark and Aussie wife Kristy bought brand new Comanche for her first Rolex Sydney Hobart in 2014 and finished 49 mins behind Line Honours victor, Wild Oats XI , ahead of her Line Honours victory in 2015 after scoring Line Honours in the light and fluky 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race. She also smashed the 2225 nautical mile Transpac monohull record in 2017. Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant bought her just prior to the 2017 Rolex Sydney Hobart and as LDV Comanche , she took Line Honours and the race record after a protest against Wild Oats XI . In 2018, Comanche was pipped for second over the Rolex Sydney Hobart finish line by Black Jack after a race-long battle between the four 100-footers, won by Wild Oats XI . Cooney last took her to Hobart in 2019 and took Line Honours after doing the same in the 2019 Transpac Race.

Competitor Details

  • Line Honours

Full Standings available approximately three hours after the start.

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VIDEO

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  3. The Near-Disaster that Could've Cost Us Everything

  4. Sailboat vs Bridge fail

  5. Comanche Bow Hunt #comanche #bowandarrow #archery #hunting #history

  6. We towed a Compac 16 across the country to boat camp in Florida

COMMENTS

  1. Comanche, a yacht so beamy she's called the Aircraft Carrier

    Beam 7.80m/25ft 6in Draught 6.50m/21ft 4in Mast height 46.00m/150ft 0in Displacement 31,000kg/68,343lb Mainsail 410m 2 /4,413ft 2 Downwind sail area 1,022m 2 /11,000ft 2 Upwind sail area 350m 2...

  2. Comanche (yacht)

    Comanche is a 100 ft (33 m) maxi yacht. She was designed in France by VPLP and Guillaume Verdier and built in the United States by Hodgdon Yachts for Dr. James H. Clark. Comanche held the 24-hour sailing record for monohulls until May 2023, covering 618 nmi, for an average of 25.75 knots or 47.69 kmh/h.

  3. Comanche

    Comanche launched one year later and after stepping the mast in Newport, Rhode Island, and just two weeks of sailing trials, including a 600-mile qualifying sail to Charleston, South Carolina, the boat was packed aboard a cargo ship and sent to Australia to compete in the Sydney Hobart, which starts each year on Boxing Day.

  4. COMANCHE yacht (Hodgdon, 30.45m, 2014)

    COMANCHE is a 30.45 m Sail Yacht, built in the United States of America by Hodgdon and delivered in 2014.. She has a gross tonnage of 72.0 GT and a 8.0 m beam. She was designed by VPLP Design, who has designed 14 other superyachts in the BOAT Pro database.. The naval architecture was developed by Guillaume Verdier and . VPLP Design (16 other superyachts architected) - she is built with a ...

  5. Comanche Story: Across the Ocean in a Work Week

    About Comanche. Comanche is a 100 ft (33 m) maxi yacht. She was designed in France by VPLP and Guillaume Verdier and built in the United States by Hodgdon Yachts for Dr. James H. Clark and christened as Comanche.. Comanche holds the 24-hour sailing record for monohulls, covering 618 nm, for an average of 25.75 knots or 47.69 kmh/h.The boat won line honours in the 2015 Fastnet race and the 2015 ...

  6. Yacht COMANCHE, a Hodgdon Superyacht

    Superyacht Comanche is a majestic 100-foot carbon race vessel, launched in 2014. Sailing yacht Comanche was built by the US shipyard, Hodgdon Yachts. Luxury yacht Comanche is constructed with aerospace technology that comprises the usage of pre-impregnated composite fibres, "pre-preg". With black and red paint, the vessel features an ...

  7. 100-foot supermaxi Andoo Comanche returns to Australia

    Andoo Comanche is the latest high performance sailing team to carry the Andoo moniker, with the Andoo 18ft Skiff Racing Team winning the JJ Giltinan World Title earlier this year, crewed by Seve Jarvin, Matt Stenta and Sam Newton.

  8. Comanche sets a new RORC Transatlantic Race record and ...

    The 30.48m (100ft) VPLP Design/Verdier Maxi Comanche, skippered by Mitch Booth, has taken Monohull Line Honours in the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race, winning the magnificent IMA Trophy. Comanche has set a new race record for the 3,000nm race from Lanzarote to Grenada of 7 days 22 hours 1 minute 4 seconds. Comanche's new Monohull Race Record has ...

  9. Comanche first to finish Sydney Hobart

    (December 28, 2022) - John 'Herman' Winning Jr has set his sights on back-to-back Line Honors wins in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race with Andoo Comanche after the maxi claimed this year's...

  10. Comanche Yacht

    The 30.48m Hodgdon Yachts sailing yacht Comanche is currently not listed for sale. Visit our yachts for sale section to find similar superyachts on the market. Comanche yacht owner, broker or captain, use the Update Sales Info link to report any changes in the sales information.

  11. Comanche sold after Sydney Hobart win

    Since race record holder Comanche beat her four super maxi rivals to take line honours in the 2019 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, it has been reported that Jim Cooney and his wife Samantha...

  12. Comanche sets new Transatlantic Race record

    The 30.48 metre sailing yacht Comanche has set a new monohull race record after taking Monohull Line Honours in the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race.. Skippered by Mitch Booth, Comanche and its crew completed the 3,000 nautical mile race from Lanzarote to Grenada in seven days, 22 hours, 1 minute and 4 seconds (that's two days quicker than the previous record holder).

  13. Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race 2022: Andoo Comanche the boat to beat after

    Sydney to Hobart Dan Walsh is a sports reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald. Connect via Twitter or email. Andoo Comanche has emerged as the boat to beat in this year's Sydney to Hobart, but only after narrowly avoiding a $50 million, 60-tonne collision earlier this week.

  14. Texas billionaire launches $100 million super yacht Comanche

    American entrepreneur Jim Clark has seen his hard work and innovative ideas in the world of computer technology pay off big time, to the tune of $1.4 billion, and now he has set his sights on the...

  15. Comanche finds new owner Down Under

    Dock Talk Comanche finds new owner Down Under Published on December 14th, 2017 Comanche, the innovative record-breaking 100 foot maxi yacht designed by VPLP and Guillaume Verdier and launched...

  16. Built to win: On board sailing yacht Comanche with Jim Clark

    Comanche launched one year later and after stepping the mast in Newport, Rhode Island, and just two weeks of sailing trials, including a 600-mile qualifying sail to Charleston, South Carolina, the boat was packed aboard a cargo ship and sent to Australia to compete in the Sydney Hobart, which starts each year on Boxing Day.

  17. Riding On Comanche, Jim Clark's 100-Foot, Carbon-Fiber Speedboat

    The stern of the Netscape co-founder's bright red sailboat is 25.5 feet across, a menacing, flat plane of pure carbon fiber that gives Comanche the look of an aircraft carrier landing deck, or...

  18. Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023

    The Yachts 2023 Andoo Comanche Andoo Comanche Arguably the fastest monohull on the planet, Andoo Comanche returns to defend her Line Honours title in the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

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    This is the boat to beat for Line Honours. American Jim Clark and Aussie wife Kristy bought brand new Comanche for her first Rolex Sydney Hobart in 2014 and finished 49 mins behind Line Honours victor, Wild Oats XI, ahead of her Line Honours victory in 2015 after scoring Line Honours in the light and fluky 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race. She also ...

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    Andoo Comanche skipper John Winning says his supermaxi is unstoppable if sailed correctly in the right conditions, with the boat poised to create Sydney to Hobart history if it lives up to his name.