{"id":157245,"date":"2025-04-15T06:23:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T05:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/?p=157245"},"modified":"2025-04-16T15:51:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T14:51:05","slug":"extraordinary-boats-jv43-red-2-a-full-throated-racer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/extraordinary-boats\/extraordinary-boats-jv43-red-2-a-full-throated-racer-157245","title":{"rendered":"Extraordinary Boats: JV43 Red 2 – a full-throated racer with an adventurous cruising side"},"content":"Compared with the multihulls<\/a> and centre cockpit cruising yachts dwarfing them in Las Palmas, Mathias and Katharina M\u00fcller von Blumencron\u2019s yacht Red 2<\/em> really is extraordinary. The JV43 is compact by comparison and shorn of the many luxuries cruising boats customarily freight. It is clearly a full-throated racer, yet the couple have been cruising around the Med for months. \u201cA boat that isn\u2019t quite sure what it is?\u201d puzzled one observer.\r\n\r\nNot at all. Red 2<\/em> is absolutely certain of purpose. It is a cruiser-racer that harks back to simpler, less complicated times yet is supercharged by the latest design concepts and technical innovations. The full, blunt-nosed bow, flared topsides, pronounced reverse sheer and large cockpit cuddy are clear statements that this is designed as a powerful short-handed offshore racer. It resembles a Class 40, but with a twist.\r\n\r\nThe JV43 was born out of just this concept and style of sailing. The Class 40<\/a> box rule was devised in 2004 to provide a scaled down, more accessible alternative to the Open 50 or IMOCA 60<\/a> for short-handed offshore racing. The first example was launched in 2005, and one of the early entrants to this new pro-am circuit was Mathias M\u00fcller von Blumencron, a German-Swiss journalist, then editor-in-chief of Der Spiegel<\/em> magazine. In 2011 he bought a Simon Rogers design, named Red<\/em> (a journalist\u2019s pun!).\r\n\r\nOver the next decade and a half, M\u00fcller von Blumencron competed in four Rolex Fastnet Races<\/a>, won his class in the RORC Transatlantic Race<\/a> and competed in many other big offshore events such as the Sables-Horta race, Quebec-St Malo race, the RORC Caribbean 600 and several Normandy Channel races. He also cruised in the boat when not racing.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_157258\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Red 2 was conceived and built specifically as a very fast short-handed racer-cruiser. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr[\/caption]\r\n\r\nAs the years went by, his Class 40 became steadily outclassed by evolving design standards. If set side by side, the wide-bodied, scow-bowed designs of today would look radically different to the Red<\/em> of 14 years ago, and the new versions are startlingly quick by comparison. It was also, as he noted: \u201can empty boat\u201d.\r\n\r\nEnthusiastic as ever about racing, M\u00fcller von Blumencron wanted to capitalise on the available extra power, while also planning for extended cruising. He was not alone in wanting something new: his friend Wolf Scheder-Bieschin, a highly experienced racer who grew up campaigning for the Admiral\u2019s Cup on his father\u2019s yacht Vineta<\/em>, was also keen on a semi-custom design.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_157249\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" The hull is built with three-stage vacuum infusion with epoxy, E-glass and sandwich with strict attention to weight control. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr[\/caption]\r\n

A new concept<\/h2>\r\nDuring the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 the two friends had plenty of time to think about the concept. They made a sketch and went to designers Judel\/Vrolijk to ask: \u201cIs it feasible? Could we find a compromise with a modern shaped hull and more comforts?\u201d\r\n\r\nDesigner Antoine Cardin appreciated what they were after and looked at an extended, roomier version of the Class 40 concept. Over nine months he developed the hull shape with them, evaluating 15 comparison models with surprising results. \u201cThe fuller we made the bow shape, the faster it was \u2013 and not by a little, by one or two knots,\u201d says M\u00fcller von Blumencron, \u201cand so we ended up with a scow bow.\u201d\r\n\r\nHe and Wolf Scheder-Bieschin looked at yards that could build the pair of JV43s and chose Ocean Tec in Slovenia. \u201cThey made a good bid and had built some Class 40s and the HH42 Oystercatcher 30<\/em>,\u201d he says.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_157259\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" The 3m deep keel is made out of high strength steel fabricated at Irons Brothers in Cornwall with a composite fairing connected to a lead bulb. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSince he\u2019d always liked the deck layout of the original Red<\/em> for short-handed sailing a similar arrangement was adopted, but with more space and a larger protected cuddy. There are two companionways into the cabin, separated by a central pit console, and all lines and halyards are run back to five winches, which can be operated in the protection of the cockpit.\r\n\r\nThe Axxon carbon mast is 1m higher than that of the first Red, and the sails proportionately bigger. To fill performance gaps at all angles of sail, Red 2<\/em> has an inventory comprising a genoa on soft hanks, a Code 0 (a runner) set from the bowsprit, a staysail on a furler and two spinnakers, a fractional and an A2, both in socks and set at the bowsprit \u2013 technically both gennakers. There is also a jib top, or high clew reacher that is the go-to headsail when reaching in stronger winds.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_157260\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Large double bunk in the owners cabin with simple shelf stowage. There\u2019s no bilge, but soft foam panels sit directly on the hull moulding. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThe headstay is carbon but the rest of the standing rigging is conventional stainless rod \u2013 \u201ca good compromise which saves weight,\u201d he says.\r\n\r\nThere are twin rudders, a deep 3m steel fin keel with lead bulb. The boat is water ballasted with up to 750kg of water, trimmable with three tanks on each side.\r\n

All the necessities<\/h2>\r\nInside, Red 2<\/em> is set up for comfortable but plain living to avoid unnecessary weight. The saloon table and nav area is designed around the engine box (uninsulated to save weight). There are foldable seating and sleeping bunks outboard on each side and pipe cots aft, under the cockpit coamings. There are no sole boards, inner shell or bilge, but softer flooring underfoot in the form of EVA foam.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_157254\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Saloon bench seats each side can be lifted up to form two adjustable bunks with leecloths. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr[\/caption]\r\n\r\nForward and to starboard there is a galley with a gimballed gas burner\/bottle, an Ikea single-ring induction hob and a removable cool box. The owner\u2019s double cabin and en suite heads are in the large forward compartment. The doors between the cabins are made of zipped mesh fabric and the cabins have some details in wood veneer. Remote controlled hidden LED lighting creates a cozy atmosphere at night.\r\n\r\nThere is no pressurised water system, no shower, no hot water. A 60lt flexible tank provides fresh water to the galley and heads sinks, operated by foot pump. For longer passage-making the total tankage is supplemented by bottled water reserves. For the ARC the crew took 220lt of bottled water.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_157255\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Very much a racing boat down below. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr[\/caption]\r\n\r\nFuel capacity is 50lt, which allows for two hours of battery charging a day (the autopilot and Starlink are both quite power hungry) or flat water motoring at around 5.5-6 knots. Red 2<\/em> also has solar panels, which can keep the lithium batteries topped up when hand steering.\r\n\r\nEquipping the interior for cruising added around 250kg but the all-up weight is nonetheless a comparatively featherweight 5.3 tonnes.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_157252\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Plenty of stowage for sails. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr[\/caption]\r\n

Clocking the miles<\/h2>\r\nSince the boat was launched in late 2023, he has cruised and raced over 10,000 miles and done the Aegean 600, the Palermo-Monte Carlo race (mostly upwind) and most recently the ARC rally and the RORC Caribbean 600. Last May he and Katharina took time off work to cruise through the Greek islands, Sicily, the C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur, Balearic Islands, southern Spain, and Morocco, going home for 10 days every two or three months.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_157256\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Red 2 does have some creature comforts including soft foam flooring and padded saloon bench seats. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSince crossing the Atlantic and arriving in the Caribbean they have spent January and much of February island-hopping.\r\n\r\nThis is unabashedly a sailors\u2019s boat, perfect for an owner who loves racing a boat like a dinghy and a couple who prefer life afloat to be freer and less complex than on shore.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe feel we have this wonderful compromise between sailing fast and living well on board,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have speed, space and simplicity \u2013 the simplicity is very important. We don\u2019t want to be mechanics all the time and we don\u2019t need to duplicate what we have at home. For our taste, we have found a real sweet spot. We said let\u2019s build the fastest cruiser-racer we can imagine in 2023, and then enjoy sailing it, and we have.\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_157246\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Halyard locks, barber haulers, outhaul, mainsheet, Cunningham and reef pennants all led back to a central winch pedestal under and behind the protection of the cuddy. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr[\/caption]\r\n

Red 2<\/em> Specifications<\/h2>\r\nLOA:<\/strong> 13.10m \/ 42ft 11in\r\nBeam:<\/strong> 4.50m \/ 14ft 8in\r\nDraught:<\/strong> 3.00m \/ 9ft 7in\r\nDisplacement:<\/strong> 5,300kg \/ 11,684lb\r\nBallast:<\/strong> 2,100kg \/ 4,630lb\r\nWater ballast:<\/strong> 750lt \/ 165gal\r\nMast height:<\/strong> 18.90m \/ 62ft 0in\r\nUpwind sail area:<\/strong> 124m2 \/ 1,335ft2\r\nDownwind sail area:<\/strong> 277m2 \/ 2,982ft2\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a>If you enjoyed this\u2026.<\/h2>\r\n
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","excerpt":{"rendered":"

Compared with the multihulls and centre cockpit cruising yachts dwarfing them in Las Palmas, Mathias and Katharina M\u00fcller von Blumencron\u2019s yacht Red 2 really is extraordinary. The JV43 is compact by comparison and shorn of the many luxuries cruising boats customarily freight. It is clearly a full-throated racer, yet the couple have been cruising around the Med for months. \u201cA boat that isn\u2019t quite sure what it is?\u201d puzzled one observer. Not at all. Red 2 is absolutely certain of purpose. It is a cruiser-racer that harks back to simpler, less complicated times yet is supercharged by the latest design concepts and technical innovations. The full, blunt-nosed bow, flared topsides, pronounced reverse sheer and large cockpit cuddy are clear statements that this is designed as a powerful short-handed offshore racer. It resembles a Class 40, but with a twist. The JV43 was born out of just this concept and style of sailing. The Class 40 box rule was devised in 2004 to provide a scaled down, more accessible alternative to the Open 50 or IMOCA 60 for short-handed offshore racing. The first example was launched in 2005, and one of the early entrants to this new pro-am circuit was Mathias M\u00fcller von Blumencron, a German-Swiss journalist, then editor-in-chief of Der Spiegel magazine. In 2011 he bought a Simon Rogers design, named Red (a journalist\u2019s pun!). Over the next decade and a half, M\u00fcller von Blumencron competed in four Rolex Fastnet Races, won his class in the RORC Transatlantic Race and competed in many other big offshore events such as the Sables-Horta race, Quebec-St Malo race, the RORC Caribbean 600 and several Normandy Channel races. He also cruised in the boat when not racing. As the years went by, his Class 40 became steadily outclassed by evolving design standards. If set side by side, the wide-bodied, scow-bowed designs of today would look radically different to the Red of 14 years ago, and the new versions are startlingly quick by comparison. It was also, as he noted: \u201can empty boat\u201d. Enthusiastic as ever about racing, M\u00fcller von Blumencron wanted to capitalise on the available extra power, while also planning for extended cruising. He was not alone in wanting something new: his friend Wolf Scheder-Bieschin, a highly experienced racer who grew up campaigning for the Admiral\u2019s Cup on his father\u2019s yacht Vineta, was also keen on a semi-custom design. A new concept During the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 the two friends had plenty of time to think about the concept. They made a sketch and went to designers Judel\/Vrolijk to ask: \u201cIs it feasible? Could we find a compromise with a modern shaped hull and more comforts?\u201d Designer Antoine Cardin appreciated what they were after and looked at an extended, roomier version of the Class 40 concept. Over nine months he developed the hull shape with them, evaluating 15 comparison models with surprising results. \u201cThe fuller we made the bow shape, the faster it was \u2013 and not by a little, by …Continue reading »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":448,"featured_media":157257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[976,159],"tags":[901,1633],"review_manufacturer":[],"acf":[],"introduction":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157245"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/448"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157245"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157452,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157245\/revisions\/157452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157245"},{"taxonomy":"review_manufacturer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_manufacturer?post=157245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}