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Owner of the MOST LOADED Leopard 50 on Earth | Video Podcast Series
18 February 2024 · 1h 35m · 920 views
What this video covers
Mark O'Leary, an Irish engineer and former Salesforce.com salesperson, bought a new 2023 Leopard 50 in Cape Town and sailed it over 10,500 miles in the first year of ownership — a record for a new Leopard owner according to Leopard's Isabel.1:07 The route ran Cape Town to Fort Lauderdale to Annapolis, with a stop at St. Helena, sailing downwind for most of the Atlantic leg with experienced offshore sailor Paul Badenhurst as captain.5:11 O'Leary brought the boat to the Yacht Rigger in Saint Petersburg for outfitting, where co-owner Stephen Lloyd's team is installing systems to ABYC standards with breakers throughout.0:45
The conversation covers the new-versus-used catamaran buying decision in detail. O'Leary argues that first-time catamaran buyers benefit from ordering new: they know the delivery date, can time the sale of their house and plan homeschooling, join the Leopard 50 owners forum before taking delivery, and arrive with a warranty Leopard actively honors.33:55 He compares the Leopard 50 against the HH 50 and Balance, noting the Leopard's solid steel cross-beam as a structural differentiator and its interior volume as a deliberate trade-off against pure performance.20:36 Thermodynamica air conditioning is mentioned as Leopard's current charter-fleet choice for reliability.56:22 The Barefoot Doctors YouTube channel is cited for footage of the Cape Town test sail in 34 knots with full main and full genoa.19:39
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