An Anglo-Saxon design
Designed by Owen Clarkes, it was assembled at the Hakes Marine shipyard in Wellington in 2007. Its design is the result of a collaboration between Dee Caffari and Mike Golding (then technical advisor). Its design is in fact very Anglo-Saxon, in particular with its two wheel bars (which have since been replaced by tiller bars). Equipped with fixed rudders (which cannot be lifted up) and two straight daggerboards, she is a reliable boat, which could enable her skipper to complete his first Vendée Globe.
A poor but honourable record of achievement
Skippered by Dee Caffari in the 2008 Vendée Globe, he took 6th place in the overall rankings. A very good ranking, when you consider that Dee spent half of the race trying to get his tattered mainsail back on the Sikaflex. In 2010, he finished 6th in the Barcelona World Race, still in the hands of Dee Caffari (with Spanish sailor Anna Corbella). In 2015, the boat is acquired by Alessandro di Benedetto, with the help of a sponsor, with the aim of racing the Vendée Globe 2016-2017. However, due to a lack of sponsors, the boat is put up for sale again at the beginning of 2016. It was bought by Arnaud Boissières, who sold it to Ari Huusela in April 2018. This Finnish airline pilot renamed it Ariel 2, then Stark (named after his sponsor, the leading Finnish chain of building materials) and took part in the 2018 Route du Rhum. During this race, he suffered a slight collision with another competitor in the middle of the Atlantic. Stark also finished 26th in the 2019 Transat Jacques Vabre, co-skippered by Michael Ferguson.
An Anglo-Finnish overhaul
When it was acquired by Ari, Stark underwent a thorough overhaul to make it more competitive. Reputed to be powerful, but heavy, the Finnish team has slimmed down in order to give it a little more reactivity and liveliness, in particular to better emerge from the transition phases of the doldrums. This work took place in Portsmouth, under the leadership of Jeff Brown, who worked for Mike Golding and Alex Thomson.
The only IMOCA to be based in Helsinki, it has already covered many miles in the cold and turbulent waters of the Baltic. It should not be out of place in the hostile conditions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Technical Data Sheet :
- Sail number: FIN222 -
- Former names of the boat: Aviva - GAES Centros Auditivos -
- Architect: Owen Clarke Design -
- Job-site: Hakes Marine - Wellington (New Zealand) -
- Launch date: 06 August 2007 -
- Width: 5.80 m -
- Displacement (weight): 8.5 t -
- Number of drifts: 2 -
- Foils: no -
- Sail area upwind : 270 m2 ·
- Sail area downwind : 580 m2
