SHARE
Wally’s newest sailing yacht makes racing debut
SHARE
The first wallyrocket71, named Django and owned by Giovanni Lombardi Stronati, has kicked off its racing calendar, which includes this year’s Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.
Wally’s first wallyrocket71, Django, made its competitive debut at the Loro Piana Giraglia in Italy in June. Like the first wallyrocket51, the wallyrocket71 is owned by Italian financier Giovanni Lombardi Stronati, with Vasco Vascotto (tactician) and Guillermo Parada (strategist) among the yacht’s all-star crew.
Also like its smaller sister, the 21.4m sailing yacht features a hull design by Botin Partners, the naval architecture firm based in Santander on Spain’s north coast. While the wallyrocket51 was conceived as a one-design class competing with the likes of the TP52s, the wallyrocket71 was created to compete with the Maxi 72s, and was built at the King Marine shipyard in Valencia.
Parada, the Argentine strategist, said: “The wallyrocket71 project started with the goal of competing against the 72-footers in the Maxi Worlds. We developed a boat about three tonnes lighter than our main competitors while maintaining similar power and sail area.”
Due to the wallyrocket71’s reduced weight of about 12 tonnes, the bulb keel can be smaller and the rig marginally shorter. This has helped create a twin-rudder boat “just as nimble as its competitors, but quicker in light airs and in response to a gust”, according to Wally.
Only the water ballast is heavier than its competitors, by about 35 per cent. Systems are such that the full 2,700 litres (2.7 tonnes) of water can be pumped from one side to the other in around six seconds, meaning the boat can tack short and fast.
Designed with 305sqm of upwind sail area and 630sqm downwind, the yacht was hitting its expected upwind speeds of 10.5-11 knots in sail trials and managing to match or even exceed wind speed going down.
Vascotto, a 28-time world champion and the yacht’s tactician, said: “After the experience with the wallyrocket51, sailing Django is truly exciting. I’m really impressed by both the construction quality and performance. The future for this kind of yacht looks brighter and brighter.”
The wallyrocket71’s schedule this year includes the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo (September 7-13) and Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez (September 27-October 5).
Alberto Galassi, CEO of Ferretti Group, which acquired Wally in 2019, concluded: “With the wallyrocket71, Wally sets sail into an exciting new chapter in competitive yacht racing, launching a vessel designed to be one of the fastest in its class. The yacht is a statement of intent, a leap forward that underscores our deep-rooted commitment to innovation, performance and design excellence.
“As the old saying goes, the pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, the winners adjust the sails. With wallyrocket71, Wally doesn’t just adjust the sails – it changes the race.”
