NEW WORLD
New
8 JuneShow less
The ocean racing schooner New World was launched in New Zealand about 1971. 69′ x 13′, of light plywood construction, with a displacement of 30,000 lbs, 11,600 lbs of ballast, flush decks and no engine, she was pretty different. Her design was a collaboration between designer/builder John Spencer, and owner George Kiskaddon, with input from the most skilled West Coast racers of the day. Kiskaddon’s previous boat was Spirit, an 33′ ultralight S&S design that was campaigned world-wide with crew including Gary Mull, Ron Holland, Tom Wylie, and Doug Petersen. New World was a far more ambitious project, but never found the success that the smaller Spirit enjoyed. She completed the Transpac and Bermuda races, with middle-of-the-pack results. Sold off, she burned somewhere in the south pacific. A shimmering might-have-been…..
Pretty obviously the concept for New World owed a great deal to the tremendously successful 1967 Pen Duick III (57′ x 13’8″) created and sailed by Eric Tabarly. In many ways New World was a superior boat to Pen Duick, faster and more powerful, but lacking the driven owner/skipper (Kiskaddon was ill by the time the boat got going) and superb crew, never found her feet. This raises all kinds of thoughts about the numerous might-have-beens in racing or competing of any kind, and all the things that need to go right for success.
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