News
The new MAT 1180 has hit the water and been sailing, looking powerful and getting great reviews from the crew as they start working her up.
The new MAT1180 is coming together at the MAT facility outside Izmir, we will add more images as the fitout proceeds.
Andy Soriano and his Alegre team were crowned World Champions at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Worlds yesterday in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. In perhaps the best Mini-Maxi fleet yet assembled including previous champions Ran in their latest boat and past winners Bella Mente, Alegre remained on top of the 7 boat class from the first race to the last. “It’s a great achievement for the team to be World Champion,” said Soriano. “I’m relieved, it’s something we strove for, we’ve been (in this position) twice already and we finally were able to get over the last hurdle. We sailed our own race; loose, relaxed, confident like we have all week. This year the level of the competition has been raised, more than any of us could have imagined.”
Alegre, the second Mini-Maxi from Mills Design for this owner, was aimed at winning this event and showed her boatspeed and crew handling advantages by comfortably winning both coastal races. Having been forced into the runners-up spot on the last day twice in previous years, and with only three points between first and second going into the final day, the pressure was on the team in the worlds highest quality Owner-Driver event. Supported by tactician John Kostecki and a tight-knit crew they played the odds on the final day to ensure the series was wrapped up with a race to spare. “I am very happy for Andy and the whole Alegre team” said designer Mark Mills “It’s just reward for the dedicated and focused campaign that they have run. I can’t thank Andy enough for the opportunity to be playing and winning at this level. the success of the design would not have been possible without the involvement in the design team of R&D specialists KND and engineer Steve Koopman of SDK, and the passion of builders Longitud Cero ”
Our latest IRC 41 design is currently under construction at McConaghy’s, the result of a long and detailed R&D program aimed at optimising the performance for Asian conditions both inshore and offshore. The first boat is for repeat clients in Hong Kong, and reflects their experience racing locally in their previous custom Mills 41, as well as their views about the best way to approach the fleet with a new design.
The design process involved a comprehensive CFD driven VPP study with our research partners KND / Sailing Performance, looking at multiple hull shape options, foil configurations, and sail plan sizes. This work built on our previous studies for new designs based on increasing form stability when heeled, resulting in significant gain upwind in a breeze. The focus for this design was to ensure these gains could be combined with strength in light/medium airs, as well as breezier conditions offshore in events like the Vietnam Race. Since these ambitions are not always mutually compatible, it became clear that including as much modabilitiy as possible into the basic boat would offer a range of benefits: firstly it provides the client a far wider range of competitive configurations by adjusting the key components of Draft, Displacement, Trim, and Sail Area. Secondly in the light of the IRC rule’s transition in recent years towards accommodating lighter faster designs including wide modable ranges in as many parameters as possible opens up the ability to respond to future rule adjustments flexibly, extending the competitive life of the boat. Thirdly it allowed the basic hull shape to deliver a wider range of possibilities for other clients looking to optimise future builds of the design more significantly for different conditions.
Our latest project is the sleek and aggressive 62′ SuperNikka for Italian owner Roberto Lacorte. Built in semi custom series by Vismara Marine as the VISMARA 62 Mills she is a unique combination of light powerful carbon racer and fully featured family cruiser, based on a chined light offshore-oriented raceboat hull with tall rig and deep lifting keel, perfect for targeting Mediterranean racing with his existing team. A keen racer and creator of the 151 Miglia offshore race Mr. Lacorte also enjoys cruising every summer with his family, and needs his yacht to be as functional as it is fast to provide the best of both worlds. To help deliver this in 2013 he asked Mills Design to join the team producing his latest yacht, including builder and experienced designer Alessandro Vismara of Vismara Marine and North Sails Italy who have been part of his previous successful programs.
We were excited to join this group tasked with producing the exterior geometry: hull and deck surfaces, appendages, and rig, allowing us to focus on performance with our R&D partners KND in Valencia, while the Vismara team produced the interior and engineering, integrating her aggressive racing character with amenities such as the lifting keel, a dinghy garage in the transom, and underdeck dodger stowage. Due to launch in Spring 2015, hull lamination is complete and deck and bulkhead construction is well advanced.
The new C&C30 One Design was launched and went sailing this week, getting a lot of attention in busy Newport. A shakedown sail with top sailors Brad Read and Jesse Fielding and US Watercraft head Randy Borges provided a lot of positive feedback on the boat in 12-16kn upwind and down. The latest high performance One Design with a carbon keel fin, fixed sprit, and inshore and offshore capabilities proved to be an exhilirating and hugely enjoyable ride. More information at http://c-cyachts.com/.
The MAT1180 is an exciting next-generation IRC raceboat design which is the product of a long and careful design, engineering, and development process initiated by long term clients Alp and Cem Somer of MAT. Mills Design and MAT have worked together very successfully in the past on the MAT1245 and MAT1010 IRC designs, and we are looking forward to continuing this relationship with the new MAT1180. MAT’s interest in taking their successful production operation to the next level began with a preliminary design exercise in 2013 to investigate fully the changes in IRC affecting lighter designs in the 39’ size range. It became clear that there was space in IRC for an aggressively light and fast design if well-engineered and well-built to produce the right weight and distribution of mass. more
Welcome to the NEW Mills Design Website. We hope to use this new platform to better communicate Mills Designs’ successes around the world with more regular News and Results updates. With the help of the guys at xava.ie we have developed a new format website which retains the feel of our previous web presence while opening up more screen space to make for a brighter, more exciting, and more informative experience. It is fully responsive for optimal viewing across a range of platforms so we hope you will become a regular visitor using your tablet, phone, or PC. If you notice any problems or have any suggestions on how we can improve the experience, please contact us.
Mills Design is excited to have been asked by C&C Yachts, now part of US Watercraft, to produce the design for their new high performance One Design the C&C 30. More information on the design is available at c-cyachts.com, with tooling pictures regularly posted to their Facebook page.
Mills Design scored a remarkable first and second in IRC 0 at the Rolex Giraglia Trophy series in St. Tropez with our latest launching Alegre winning on her first outing. She was followed by Alex Schaerer’s IRC69 Caol Ila R in a light-medium air inshore series boasting the majority of the IMA Mini-Maxi racing fleet in the 27 boat class. Designer Mark Mills said “For two of our boats to top a full strength table is a vindication of the team we have assembled and the work we are doing.”
More on Alegre 3
Our latest design, the IRC 72 Alegre has been launched for owner Andy Soriano. Boasting an innovative deck layout and numerous unique solutions to produce a cleaner, lighter, and stiffer design which is easier to sail, Alegre enjoyed a week of workup and crew training prior to joining the Mediterranean IMA race circuit. A feature in the June Seahorse Magazine describes the design process and we are privileged to use the images of Jesus Renedo.
More on Alegre 3
When Nick Burns and Fred Kinmonth continued their excellent run of form by winning their second straight China Coast Regatta it marked more than just their ongoing success in the most competitive annual inshore regatta in Asia. It marked the fifth year in a row that a Mills Design boat has won the IRC 1 class, comprising perhaps the most competitive 40′ IRC fleet anywhere in the world. Mills Design wants to thank the owners and crew of the three boats responsible for this extraordinary domination: Drew Taylor and Joachim Isler of Ambush 2008 and 2009, Helmuth Hennig in Blondie 2010, and Nick and Fred in 2011 and 2012.
The Mills 39 Dignity was part of the victorious 2012 Commodores Cup winning Team GBR Red, the boat’s second back-to-back win in this event having previously raced as marinerscove.ie with the winning Irish team in 2010.
We started counting the Quarter Tonners we have been involved with, and found that in the 2012 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup 7 of the top 11 boats used our original Espada keel design (below), and for 4 of them we had designed the sail plan. 5 of the last 7 Quarter Ton Cup winners have benefitted from our performance input, as well as some Half ton Winners. If you are interested in upgrading an old IOR design please get in touch.
Andy Soriano and the Alegre team repepated their 2010 performance to be named the International Maxi Association 2011 Season and Offshore Mini-Maxi Champions. Here is a YouTube video to remind you of what an Offshore in the Mediterranean can be like.
Mills Design is excited to be developing plans with Summit Yachts for a limited-series build of our latest 45′ raceboat design. The product of extensive CFD research and built of carbon in female molds by a leading raceboat builder, this light and exciting design offers a Grand Prix raceboat at a significant cost savings, achieved by sharing the start-up costs. The final configuration of the design (flush deck, wheels, etc) can be adapted for each clients needs, for more details please contact us or Summit Yachts directly.
More on the Summit 45
Our Mills Design Facebook page is now up with the latest news and results from Mills Design, offering a chance to comment and ask questions about our latest work, please come join.
The first MAT1010 arrived in the Hamble to be assembled and campaigned by top Solent yachtie Louise Morton. After an hours practice they went out and won their first race. Hull 2 is on its way to Scotland, with orders to Hull 7 under construction.
More on the MAT1010
Andy Soriano’s IRC 69 Alegre won the 2010 IMA Mini-Maxi title after a tremendous season, sailing and winning in places such as Palma, Portofino, St. Tropez, Porto Cervo, and Capri, culminating in a close run second place at the Maxi Worlds.
More info on the IRC 68
On the final day Mariners Cove stormed around the last inshore race in winds over 25kn to record another race win by 3 minutes, and thus win Class 2 and help secure the 2010 Rolex Commodore’s Cup for Ireland. David Dwyer’s (second from right below) Mills Design IRC 39 along with teammates Antix and Roxy decisively grasped the prestegious biennial title by dominating the mix of inshore and offshore races competed for by 10 three-boat teams from around the world.
Hong Kong secured second place, sailing intelligently in the double-points final race to record a major upset over teams such as previous winners France and Great Britain. Team members Summit 40 Blondie and the Mills 41 Mandrake meant that 3 of the 6 boats in the top two teams came from the pen of Mark Mills, the designer with the largest representation in the fleet, with boats sailing for GBR and South Africa, including the last days big boat class winner the Landmark 43 Windpower.
Mills was excited by the success of the Irish team: “They meant to bring it back this time, which was reflected in the preparation, the boats, and the execution. In particular I am very happy for David and his team who deserve this after setting such a high standard with the extraordinary success of the boat”.
See Final Results
Andy Soriano helming his IRC 68 Alegre has won the 57th edition of the famous 243 mile Giraglia Race from St. Tropez to Genoa via the rocky outcrop of Giraglia off Corsica, as well as the preceding Giraglia Rolex Cup inshore race series held in St. Tropez. Alegre finished at the head of a tightly packed Mini-Maxi fleet composed of the worlds latest Grand Prix IRC Racers, most of whom owe her time producing a significant IRC win in her class. Alegre earlier won the intense three race Giraglia Rolex Cup inshore series held in St. Tropez over the weekend, including a coastal race corrected time win by 7 minutes. Owner Soriano said “the racing was truly tight all the way through, with all the mini-maxis coming up to the windward mark even on port …amazing”.
More on the IRC 68
Mark Mills was honored with the Asian Marine & Boating Best Designer Award 2010 at the Louis XIII-sponsored China International Boat Show (CIBS) Gala Dinner in Shanghai last week. The award was collected on Mills’ behalf by the Irish Vice-Consul in Shanghai John Lynam, below.
Mills Design has racked up a string of IRC Championship titles this year Mariners Cove has been crowned the Overall British IRC Champion as well as winning the Irish Championship, Argie Bargie won the Scottish IRC Championship, and Ngoni took the Italian IRC Championship. These and other successes for both custom and production designs at events like the NYYC Annual Regatta, Scottish Series, and Red Funnel reflect the balance in IRC and bodes well for future projects.
More on the IRC 39
Mark Mills was honored with the Irish Independent / Afloat.ie Sailor of the Year Award: “Globally successful yacht designer Mark Mills of County Wicklow is the Afloat.ie/Irish Independent ‘Sailor of the Year 2009′ after a year of exceptional achievements which built on his original accolade as Sailor of the Month a year ago.”
Mark Mills was a featured speaker at the International Yacht Forum 2010, the Future in Offshore Yacht Racing held in Hamburg on February 13. A very positive event organised by the German Offshore Owners Association with a tremendous turnout from all around the Baltic requiring a relocation to the city’s convention centre, this meeting represented the major interest in reviving Big Boat events in the Baltic, starting with the new Hanseboot IRC Baltic Open series in 2010.
Summit Yachts have announced their latest project, the Summit 35 . Designed to follow in the footsteps of the successful King 40, the Summit 35 is already underway with milled tooling completed and construction underway.
More on the Summit 35
Soozal the King 40 owned and driven by Dan Woolery with a strong team including Robbie Haines and Scott Easom has continued her winning streak in Florida with wins in the Montego Bay Race-Pinaeapple Cup and 8 bullets in the Acura Miami Grand Prix. She now returns to a busy season in the Bay Area.
More on the Summit 40
The Mills Design website has been upgraded with the addition of a Proposals page to showcase the design work we have performed on preliminary and proposal designs. New ideas often show up first in these plans intended to get design discussions underway, without the pressure of implementation to limit creativity. Perhaps they will form the basis of a new design discussion we can have with you.
Browse our latest proposals
Mark Mills was named the January 2009 ‘Sailor of the Month’ by Ireland’s largest daily paper the Irish Independent, who mentioned the wide-ranging success of Mills Design in 2008, culminating in success in Key West this January..
The leading US magazine Sailing World has announced the King 40 by Summit Yachts as their 2009 Overall Boat of the Year. Topping the list of winners for Sailing World’s 25th annual Boat of the Year contest was this IRC Racer/Cruiser from Mills Design, which won the award from an independent panel of experts who inspected and sailed the 17 nominated entries during the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis earlier this year.
More on the Summit 40
Alegre the IRC 68 Mini-Maxi of Andres Soriano III sailed an extraordinary race to win a tough Rolex Middle Sea Race. This extends her record of success in major Mediterranean offshore events after first to finish victories and Mini-Maxi class wins in both the 2008 Rolex Middle Sea Race and the 2009 Rolex Giraglia Race. In very testing conditions with large waves and up to 40kn of wind producing significant numbers of breakages and retirements, Alegre led the fleet on handicap at each of the passing marks after Stromboli, approximately a third of the way into the race. Beating boats like the SuperMaxi ICAP Leopard and the 80′ Beau Geste on handicap and staying ahead of larger Mini-Maxi competitors such as the 72′ Ran II on the water was a testament to the non-stop team effort. Owner Soriano summed it up “this result shows what hard work, team spirit and supporting each other can do. We’re just friends sailing together and I’m so proud.”
More on the IRC 68
The first Summit 35 was launched on Sept 5 and after 2 days sailing went straight to the Newport Boat Show where interest exceeded expectations, boats sold, and she was awarded the Best Sailboat title. Pictured are the heads of the team responsible for the Summit 35 including Peter Truslow of Edgewater Boats, Tom Whidden of North Group, both partners from Summit Yachts, and Mark Mills.
More info on the Summit 35
A portfolio of IRC designs in the 40′-43′ size range we have produced in recent years is available for download. The large Acrobat (.pdf) file lists both our custom and production projects.
Download Portfolio
Soozal driven by owner Dan Woolery took the top spot from Tony Buckingham’s Mills 40 Ngoni after a tough ten-race Acura Key West Race Week . In a competitive fleet the fight for top spot went down to the last day, with the very successful Mills 40 Ngoni (ex-Tiamat) only needing to make up 3 points over the last two races, but Soozal looked rock solid and finished the day strongly for a series lead of seven points, counting a first or second in nine of the 10 races.
More on the Summit 40
David Dwyers IRC 39 Mariners Cove, one of the most successful IRC designs of recent years, was awarded the ICRA Yacht of the Year for 2008 jointly with ‘Rosie’.
More on the IRC 39
Ambush the custom IRC 41 by McConaghy’s China has lit up Hong Kong with back to back wins in the BMW Autumn Regatta and China Coast Regatta.
More on the IRC 41
Alegre has taken line honours in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, beating her Mini-Maxi rivals on corrected time in this Mediterranean offshore classic.
More on the IRC 68
The latest Tiamat for Tim Costello of Dublin has been launched by Vision Yachts. This 43′ IRC performer will be competing with No Naked Flames and Blondie as the Irish Green team in the Commodores Cup this July.
More on IRC 43
The first King 40 ‘Blondie IV’ did well in her first outing: a windy and truncated Red Funnel.
More on the Summit 40
Performance Cruiser with looks as well as pace for Cruising Division fun around the globe.
No Naked Flames, the first of the semi-custom Sliim 37 design, has been launched by Davie Norris Boatbuilders in New Zealand for Andrew Allen of the Irish Commodores Cup Green Team. Project Manager Chris Main reports “Boat is pretty F%$£&^%$ nice”.
More on the IRC 37
Now sailing in Dubai, the Landmark 43 has proved to be a stunner, both in visual and performance terms. The first reaction from Claus Landmark was “The first impression is great: the boat looks great and the balance of the boat seems to be perfect.”
More on the Landmark
The first md35 matagi was launched in the UK this summer for a UK owner who believed in the idea of a slim, stable, containerisable gentlemans daysailer. With performance, looks, and handling which has caused industry testers to gush with enthusiasm the md35 is poised to become a large and lasting success worldwide. More info on the md35