Atlantic Sails Again
The 69.24m schooner Atlantic left Rotterdam 23 June and has now finished her sea trials. The builder/ owner Ed Kastelein has achieved another milestone in reviving yachting history. The William Gardner designed yacht will no doubt one day have a crack at beating the record setting time the original yacht made crossing the Atlantic in 1905. Photo courtesy of Hugo Michel.
No one could have foreseen then that the schooner would gain enduring fame winning the Kaiser’s Cup from New York to The Lizard in the spring of 1905, under command of the renowned captain Charlie Barr. The Atlantic set the record for the transatlantic crossing at 12 days, 4 hours and 1 minute. A mono-hull record that would stand for 100 years.
The new Atlantic obviously misses the retractable exhaust pipe of the steam engine between the foremast and the main mast, but regarding her main features she is just the way she was. For the vast teak deck full advantage has been taken of the new fingerjointing technology in which the Royal Boogaerdt company has specialised. The solid teak deckhouses and skylights are authentical to the original design. All the deck hardware, like the anchor chain stoppers, stanchions, belaying pins and pin rails, has been custom manufactured by Absolute Projects in Portugal, using original plans and photographs to ensure the copies are as faithful as possible. Harken supplied the 36 powerful all bronze custom winches in the style of the bygone days. The immense spars stand almost 45 meters tall. Both the lower and the top masts have been built in alloy and the booms and gaffs were built in Alaskan Sitka Spruce. The U-shaped cockpit between the helm pedestal and the main deckhouse provides comfort for the owner and his guest under sail. The cockpit seats twelve and is also perfectly suited for a contemplative nightcap in port.