What the fleet has seen
The Orion 50, as the fleet has seen it
Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.
The Orion 50 is a 15.1-meter staysail ketch designed by Gary Mull and built by Ta Shing Yacht Building in Taiwan between 1983 and 1987. It features a fin keel with a rudder on a skeg, a 4.4-meter beam, a 2.0-meter draft, and displaces 16,601 kg. Aboard *Distant Shores TV*, Paul and Sheryl Shard sail their Orion 50 on long offshore passages, including a 2,200-nautical-mile transatlantic crossing from Cape Verde to Antigua and a 450-mile trip from the British Virgin Islands to South Caicos.1:02 The crew uses a twin-pole downwind rig with two jibs for extended periods in trade winds, sometimes for over a week without adjustment.15:34 The boat's hybrid electric propulsion system, which includes propeller regeneration, has maintained power for onboard systems despite engine and gearbox failures mid-Atlantic.1:00 The Orion 50's swing keel, which adjusts draft from 11 feet to 4.5 feet, allows access to shallow waters like the Caicos Bank, where eyeball navigation is used to avoid coral heads.9:36 The pilot house provides protected watch-keeping during overnight passages in cooler climates.10:05
