59° North Sailingvideo
Morten Landmark // Owning and Racing a Volvo Ocean 60
November 12, 2024 · 1h 20m · 231 views
What this video covers
Norwegian sailor Morten Landmark owns a Volvo Ocean 60 originally built as Toshiba for the 1997–98 Whitbread Round the World Race, later raced as Seb in the 2002 Volvo Ocean Race.5:56 He bought the boat from German owners at a price far below what his uncle assumed such a boat would cost, flying to Germany to inspect it and purchasing it on the spot.13:39 The hull is Kevlar — undrill-able, which created a bureaucratic problem registering the call sign, ultimately solved by machining it into a small aluminum plate.1:05:09 The boat retains its original aluminum mast after the carbon replacement was removed and transferred to another boat.40:42 Modifications include hardwood interior flooring, an electric bilge pump, and a cockpit anchor installation that proved dangerous in heavy offshore conditions; Landmark now keeps the large anchor below and uses a small racing anchor for rough passages.13:32 On a Bergen-to-Shetland Westbrook's leg, the boat took line honors but finished last on corrected time — a handicap problem Landmark considers unsolvable without brand-new sails, which he prices at roughly a third of what he paid for the entire boat.28:01 He has used the water ballast tank upwind in strong conditions and found it improved comfort more than speed.48:41 Buying a former grand-prix offshore racer cheaply is achievable, but ongoing sail costs and handicap racing disadvantages are significant practical constraints.
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