illbruck yacht crew

Aboard the one and only German Volvo Ocean Race Winner

• September 9th, 2020
• Sailing Yacht

It was a hot summer´s day back in June this year when I visited Oliver Schmidt-Rybandt in Rostock at his “Speedsailing”-base near the city center. I went there to take a closer look at Dehler´s new 30 OD One Design which had already caught my imagination back in Cannes on her world premiere. Upon walking along the pontoon I noticed three large sailing yacht. True racers for which Speedsailing initially was best know for: Prior to becoming a Sales Agent for Dehler 30 OD this company was founded to keeping alive legendary racing yachts and offer a true racing experience to people. Their crow jewel of course is the GLASHÄGER, better know under her previous name, ILLBRUCK.

After Oliver showed me around on the Dehler 30 OD for more than two hours in detail, we walked back to the shore and came by the yacht. “Wanna take a look inside?”, he offered. Well, what a question? Of course I wanted! So I climbed aboard that 60 feet behemoth and instantly felt kind of being drawn into the amazing story of that yacht. For me as a German the name ILLBRUCK has a very special tone to it: She is the first, one and to date only German boat to ever win the Volvo Ocean Race. As I said: A true legend.

Inside ex-ILLBRUCK

The boat has been drawn as part of the one-design V.O.60-class and was built prior to the 2001 race. The campaign however was financed by German businessman Michael Illbruck who in turn is the son of Wilhelm Gustav Illbruck, a sailing legend and sponsor of Admiral´s Cupper PINTA who won the race in 1983. So, here we are aboard that classic. When I went down into what on other yachts is called the “saloon” it was almost like a magic moment: How many hundred times must have the crew of 2001/2002 Volvo Ocean Race come down and up the Kevlar-made “steps” of the companionway?

Down below the boat shines in yellow. The unmistakable hint of the boat´s prime material: Kevlar. Before the Carbon fibres became common sense in boat building it was a class rule of the V.O.60-boats to be built with Kevlar. This was the state-of-the-art stuff as it had a much higher impact resistance – back in those days there haven´t been any route-limitations for the crews, called “ice gates”, and so the boats were made as strong as possible to withstand possible impacts with growlers. The ex-ILLBRUCK weighs in 13.5 tons which is half the displacement of the Oceanis Yacht 62 ! Her bulkheads cling, making a strange sound when I knocked on it. Like being under some kind of tension. The strange yellow color of the unpainted, bare material instills a feeling of raw, naked power. Made for one sole purpose: Going fast.

The ILLBRUCK – now re-christened GLASHÄGER in honor for her new sponsor, a German mineral water brand – had the top-equipment available back in the days. The early 2000 years, sounds as if they had been passed by just the other day, in reality, that´s twenty years ago. In 5 years that will be a quarter century! A modern boat of her time, the pinnacle of yacht design and materials, today a slight scent of being antiquated – in the best sense of the word!

Unimaginable living conditions

Just like humans in a WW2 uboat , the crew of ILLBRUCK was not the primary concern when the yacht had been conceived. Everything on this boat seems to be envisioned and then made to make her go fast. Living conditions, human demands, comfort – these are words which did not play a single role in construction phase. Simple lightweight, slim and most certainly uncozy berths made of pipes plaster the hull walls.

A net makes the mattress. That´s it. A simple lashing can adjust the berth to the heeling and tack of the boat, that´s it. The crew probably had simple sleeping bags, most certainly wet and cold, a makeshift pillow, maybe the oilskin . There is no privacy here whatsoever, no cabins nor simple curtains or blankets. It must have been a hard trial being part of ILLBRUCK´s crew for sure.

I contemplate the water closet, cramped in a somewhat shadowy corner, half shadowed by a bulkhead, recessed into the hull. The ceramics would have been adjusted to counter the heeling as well and – although I cannot see one – I hope the crew would had made up for a blind, a curtain or something: As a guy obsessed with having at least two closed doors between me and civilization when taking a dump, this WC would most certainly have been my “Nope, thanks!” when being asked to join the crew.

A racing veteran

Apart from that, the ILLBRUCK has some pretty impressive features still valid. The nav station for example. Navigation back in the day already had been satellite-driven and digital, weather routing and evaluating weather data the digital way by means of a computer was available. So the navigator had his dedicated “nav station” in front of a screen rather than sitting on an old-fashioned chart table .

The Diesel-tank which makes up for the seating of the navigator are tilted in a way that when sailing heeled the navigator would sit upright. I took the seat and closed my eyes for a short minute: I tried to imagine the sound of the waves smashing against the hull, the flow of water alongside – ILLBRUCK´s speed record still stays at whopping 39 knots, which is 72 kilometres per hour. Just try to imagine the sound, roaring winds in the rigging from above, crashing waters from below. Around the world!

Carbon indeed was part of the boat. I spotted the typical matte-black color in form of the power train from the huge grinders to the winches. Again I tried to imagine the sound when two people turn the winches with full power and the clacking and cracking noise of the tubes transmit throughout the boat. It´s a loud awkward sound in normal cruising yachts, just think of it manyfold stranger on this racing machine!

Keeping the legend alive

Oliver is seemingly proud: Along with ex-ILLBRUCK the company owns two more V.O.60, which is ex-SEB (now OSPA) and ex-TOSHIBA (which is now ROSTOCKER). Three V.O.60 yachts identical in construction: The boats can be chartered and match raced under real conditions, skippered by the Speedsailing team. The spirit of racing lives inside the boats, the team around Oliver is creating this worldwide unique atmosphere of high-class offshore racing – and it´s just a one hour drive from my home town!

When I left Oliver after thanking him for his time, I looked back onto this proud fleet. Well maintained and often raced, these veterans of offshore racing are not rusting on a pier or being put on dry stand, de-masted, de-capitated. They keep the spirit alive and – by judging from the atmosphere I was able to grasp there among the Speedsailing-staff – they all love what they do in providing a unique experience. Sitting in my car, driving back home I make a not to myself: “Ask the boss if we could do a match race on these as a big event for our staff.” Maybe as a company´s birthday present.

ILLBRUCK at her big time has been under the command of legendary U.S.-skipper John Kostecki. The first, one and only German boat to ever win this highly well endowed race sported a crew of 12 people of which just one had been German. Nobody cared whatsoever: After setting up a world record of 484 miles in 24 hours and winning the toughest offshore race to date, the boat arrived in Kiel in 2002, being frantically greeted by a fascinated nation. I thought I had heard an echo of this down in her hull. What a chilling cool experience!

Thanks for the tour, Oli!

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Former winner illbruck on start line for Volvo Ocean Legends Race

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Illbruck Victorious in Volvo Ocean Race

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Southampton, England, June 9, 2002 - An ocean race of epic proportions reached its final conclusion today (Sunday, June 9), after 32,700 miles of racing. Winners, losers, glory and defeat, this race has seen it all. A script for an ending such as this could not have been written better. Djuice, the boat that struggled all the way around the planet claimed victory in the leg while illbruck took the race in a convincing manner.

Starting a race as the clear favourite was a heavy burden, but illbruck lived up to the highest expectations right from the start. With a conservative approach illbruck took the early lead in the race even though disaster struck on the first day of leg two as the bow section filled with water and for some dramatic hours it was unclear whether the yacht was in danger of sinking. In an impressive team effort the crew around John Kostecki got the yacht going again in last place, but it took them just a few days to sail straight through the whole fleet on a middle course to reclaim dominance on the fleet. They were rewarded with a spectacular victory in Sydney end never returned the lead on the overall table.

The extremely well organized and developed sail program allowed illbruck to save four new sails for the ultimate leg and they went well armed into the final battle they won against Swedish archrival ASSA ABLOY.

The illbruck Challenge crew finished in Kiel to an enthusiastic reception from friends, family, illbruck employees and customers and the thousands of German sailing fans who have been following the team since the around-the-world race started on September 23, 2001. Sail trimmer and sail designer Ross Halcrow from New Zealand, the only crew member on board illbruck who ever won the America's Cup (1995 with Team NZL) exclaimed enthusiastically: "This welcome has been huge and double as big as whatever I have seen in the America's Cup."

Illbruck was the first German yacht to secure victory in a leg and in the overall race, but they are just continuing a strong German tradition in this race. Peter von Danzig sailed the first race in 1973/74 finishing 14th, followed by Walross III in 1981/82 and Schluessel von Bremen in the 1989/90 race. Inspired from the early competitors, professional sailor Timmy Kroeger sailed the 1993/94 race on Intrum Justitia (second) and 1997/98 on Swedish Match (third).

The first place on this ultimate leg of the Volvo Ocean Race is a big reward for the endurance djuice has shown in their difficult sail around the world. Stricken by gear failure on the first leg and slow boat speed in spite of endless hours of two boat sail testing in the remaining legs djuice managed a second place on the fourth leg to Rio as their second top result. Finally they have overtaken Scandinavian rival SEB, who they put to seventh place in the eight-strong fleet after the disastrous losses of their rudder and mast in the Southern Ocean.

Figures about the number of spectators vary from 50000 to 100000 and the boats on the Kieler Foerde were so tightly packed that one could have crossed the water on dry feet.

Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 2, 1708 GMT

PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL ETA PO

3 AART 54 31.12N 010 17.84E 12 229 11 158 12 09/06/02 18:22 55

4 ATOO 54 31.68N 010 18.88E 13 230 10.9 158 13 09/06/02 18:27 16

5 AONE 54 31.84N 010 19.16E 13 230 11.1 157 13 09/06/02 18:31 44

6 TSEB 54 39.84N 010 36.40E 26 223 11.1 145 26 09/06/02 19:56 32

7 TYCO 54 40.68N 010 38.12E 27 226 11 146 27 09/06/02 20:02 42

8 NEWS 54 41.12N 010 39.32E 28 227 11.1 144 28 09/06/02 20:08 41

Leaderboard

PS Yacht Points

1 illbruck 61

2 ASSA ABLOY 55

3 Amer Sports One 44

5 News Corp 41

6 Djuice 33

7 Team SEB 32

8 Amer Sports Too 16

PS - Position; DTF - Distance to Finish; CMG - Course made good; SMG - Speed made good; TFHR - 24 hours run; DTL - Distance to leader; DTL-C - Distance to leader change; ETA - Estimated time of arrival; PO - accumulated Points

ILBK illbruck Challenge

AONE Amer Sports One

ATOO Amer Sports Two

AART ASSA ABLOY Racing Team

NEWS News Corporation

TYCO Team Tyco

TSEB Team SEB

DJCE djuice dragons

Volvo Ocean Race Background

The Volvo Ocean Race is run every four years. It started in Southampton, England on September 23rd 2001 and finished in Kiel, Germany, on June 9th 2002. Over a period lasting some nine months, the Volvo Ocean Race will reach a broad audience around the world via modern communication technology.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

www.VolvoOceanRace.org

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Illbruck Sets 24-Hour Monohull World Speed Record

• By Rachel Anning
• Updated: May 15, 2002

Illbruck Challenge goes into the record books after officially receiving ratification that they have set a new world record, for the greatest distance sailed in 24 hours by a Monohull. The record of 484 nautical miles was completed at 20:02 on April 30 during Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race and was confirmed by the World Speed Sailing Record Council.

On arrival in La Rochelle, skipper John Kostecki praised his crew, and put the record win down to perfect conditions and great teamwork: “It’s an incredible feat which we’re all really proud of. It was 12 guys on the boat with a real team effort, and people on shore helping to maintain and fix the boat. The crew was fantastic and did a great job, pushing the boat hard and making efficient sail changes. They kept the boat going fast. The goal was to win leg 7, but it worked out perfectly with the right conditions to break the record.”

The ideal conditions arose from 20-25 knots of wind and the added push of the Gulf Stream. As illbruck left Chesapeake Bay, the team immediately started to put miles on the competition. A slight course alteration seemed an advantageous decision, picking up stronger north-westerlies, while staying in the strong current. “The Gulf Stream gave us two or three knots of extra push. Our average speed was 20 knots over the ground, although at times we were a lot faster, to over 30 knots,” said Kostecki.

Out in the Atlantic, the crew didn’t have much time to celebrate, however, and had to keep on racing: “We talked about it for a few minutes but couldn’t celebrate till last night after finishing Leg 7,” joked Kostecki on arrival in La Rochelle. “It’s an incredible record to hold and I’m extremely happy and proud to be the skipper of this award-winning yacht. It’s great to have a sponsor like EDS involved with our sport and it’s fantastic they promote this record.”

The average speed of 20.16 knots, with many periods reaching over 27 knots, caused no problems for the crew as they alternated three spinnakers on the fast reaches: “At 20 knots we had a lot of water on the boat,” Kostecki continued. “When you are going that fast, the boats do get wet. Ninety percent of the time the boat is wet, although the crew are used to it. There were no breakdowns, technical problems, it all went smoothly. Going at 30 knots is quite impressive for a Volvo 60 and you know you’re going fast.”

Illbruck’s victory in this transatlantic leg awards the team a further 8 points. Neal McDonald, skipper of ASSA ABLOY, who finished the leg second, said: “illbruck sailed the perfect race. They were smarter and they arequick in these conditions. We sailed well but they are a hard act to beat.”

John Kostecki hopes so. With just two more smaller legs of the race remaining, he believes they’ll hold the record for some time: “You need ideal conditions like the Gulf Stream push to beat this record. “One of the new maxis being built, or 80ft sleds being built in California, or maybe one of the Open 60s actively racing could quite possibly break the record.”

For information e-mail Rachel Anning at [email protected] or log on to the Challenge Business’s website, www.challengebusiness.com/press/edsrecord.html.

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Illbruck receives hero's welcome

KIEL, Germany -- Germany's Volvo Ocean Race's winning team has been treated to a hero's welcome as it sailed victoriously into its home port and a massive celebratory party.

Skipper John Kostecki said: "It was amazing. I've never seen anything like it before in my life. We thank everyone here who's supporting us � it's a fantastic welcoming party."

Illbruck, the first German yacht to win the race, sailed into the German harbour of Kiel on Sunday in second place on the leg but with overall victory in the nine-month and 52,300-kilometre (32,700 mile) race.

Some 200 boats joined the Illbruck yacht several miles from the end, some from as far out as 70 miles, and escorted her to the finish line.

Norway's Djuice was the winner of the leg. Skipper Knut Frostad's stripped the boat for the leg, including leaving three crew members on land.

"We have taken off anything we don't need to have for the rules," he told Reuters.

"The boat is just completely empty inside. Just a couple of sails, and nine crew members altogether. Many thanks to the three guys on our team, who stayed on shore to make us lighter," Frostad said.

Illbruck won four of the nine legs, giving them a five-point lead over closest rival Assa Abloy heading into the final leg.

Kostecki told Reuters Sweden's Assa Abloy -- who had to win the final leg and finish six places ahead of Illbruck to win the overall race -- was his only concern.

"We had one boat to worry about so it was a match race. [Djuice] took some risks, but it paid off for them as we all had light air. It was fine. Djuice could go off and win the race. We wanted to beat Assa," he said.

Assa Abloy finished third, almost two hours after Illbruck.

Illbruck completed the nine-stage race in a total sailing time of 123 days, 5 hours and 11 minutes. The race began on September 23 in Southampton, England, with a grueling first leg of 7,50 nautical miles down to Cape Town, South Africa.

The $25 million campaign was backed by 42-year-old German industrialist Michael Illbruck, a keen offshore sailor who did not sail with the crew.

The Illbruck sailors will now go their separate ways to compete in the Olympics and the America's Cup, but Kostecki, who credited the team's victory with the tightness of the crew, said he thought everybody on the team "would be sailing together often in the future."

"Now I need a long vacation. My next event is the couch potato -- and I hope I win that too," Kostecki said.

Ninth leg Gothenburg to Kiel

• 3 Assa Abloy
• 4 Amer Sports Too
• 5 Amer Sports One
• 8 News Corp

Final overall points

• 1 Illbruck 61
• 2 Assa Abloy 55
• 3 Amer Sports One 43
• 5 News Corp 41
• 7 Djuice 31
• 8 Amer Sports Too 17

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illbruck Sets 24-Hour Distance Record

• By The Editors
• Updated: April 30, 2002

John Kostecki and the crew of the Volvo 60 illbruck , a Farr design currently leading the Volvo fleet on points and on the transatlantic Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race, have claimed a new 24-hour speed record. According to a release from the Farr Yacht Design office, Kostecki and his team sailed the green and white 60-foot monohull 473 miles in 24 hours at an average speed of 19.708 knots. This claim tops the 467.7-mile record set by Bernard Stamm and the crew of the Open 60 Armor Lux , set in 2001 during a record New York to England Transatlantic passage.

The new record is still provisional, pending review by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. http://www.volvooceanrace.org, http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/

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Illbruck wins first leg of VOR

• October 25, 2001

Illbruck finished first in the first leg of the first ever Volvo Ocean Race at 2019 GMT on Wednesday 24 October

Illbruck finished first in the first leg of the first ever Volvo Ocean Race at 2019 GMT on Wednesday 24 October with a 13-mile lead over Amer Sports One.

Even though Amer Sports One was in a safe distance, the Illbruck crew did not back off, but kept pushing till the very last minute, close reaching in more than 30 knots of wind and two meter waves. Then the yacht came out of the darkness, as shiny in green and white as she left Southampton more than a month ago. “We always believed we could catch Amer Sports One,” said John Kostecki, “but the question was how? We were able to do it by having better reaching boat speed and great crew manoeuvres changing sails in the shifty south-westerly breeze.”

With the two leading yachts home and dry in Cape Town, the story of the first leg now revolves around the six remaining yachts at sea, with Team News Corp looking safe to finish in third position.

“The meter is ticking over,” said News’ navigator Ross Field yesterday. “We are still pushing hard for miles and using this time as valuable testing for sails,

angles and crew training for the Southern Ocean [leg two]. It appears, cross fingers, that we have third place locked up which is satisfying.”Conditions on the final 200-mile run into the finish seem to be keeping the crew of Team News Corp, which includes the famous Bart Simpson, on their toes. “It’s blowing 25-29 knots from the south east and fortunately we’re tight reaching into Cape Town at 11-13 knots, but, it’s bloody uncomfortable,” reported Field. “It’s freezing cold on deck, spray everywhere and the boat is crashing off every second wave. The crew are sleeping on the wet sails below deck because you can’t stay in your bunk.”

Position Report, Day 33, 0400hrs GMT

1 ILBK (finished)

2 AONE (finished)

3 NEWS CORP

4 TYCO (225 behind News Corp)

5 AART (439 behind News Corp)

6 TSEB (997 behind News Corp)

7 DJCE (1014 behind News Corp)

8 ATOO (1112 behind News Corp)

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BOATING REPORT: NOTEBOOK

BOATING REPORT: NOTEBOOK; Despite Flooding, Illbruck Comes Back

By Herb McCormick

• Dec. 9, 2001

With a dramatic come-from-behind victory last Tuesday on Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Cape Town to Sydney, Australia, the Illbruck Challenge from Germany is making the prognosticators look like seers. As many predicted, and as proven by its second consecutive individual leg triumph, Illbruck is the boat to beat.

The most impressive part of Illbruck's success thus far is that it has not come easily. With the American skipper John Kostecki leading the way, the Illbruck crew overcame a first-night scare when a forward compartment aboard the boat was discovered full of water, the result of a broken hatch.

The only reason Kostecki and his men did not return to Cape Town is that, with the additional weight from the ingress of water eliminating their maneuverability, they could not get there.

For the rest of the racers, Illbruck's decision to carry on, and its crew's ability to clear the boat of water and make repairs, was the beginning of the end. Having spotted the fleet a lead and effectively starting dead last, Illbruck slowly began to creep back through the ranks.

By the time the leaders reached the notorious Bass Strait off southeastern Australia, Illbruck had climbed into second behind the Swedish entry Team SEB. The Swedes had set a 24-hour speed record for monohulls earlier in the leg with a dash of 460.1 nautical miles.

But, when SEB wiped out spectacularly in a squall with less than 200 miles to go in the 6,500-mile leg, Illbruck made its move. When it finished at the Sydney Opera House after 22 days 13 hours at sea, SEB was only seven miles behind.

The next stage of the nine-leg event starts on Dec. 26 as part of the annual Sydney-Hobart Race. After a short pit stop in Hobart, the Volvo racers will continue on to Auckland, New Zealand. If the form thus far holds true, the sailors aboard Illbruck will be onshore, waiting to take the docklines from those who follow.

A Harbor Full of Sails

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York -- which occurred a block from the docks of the Manhattan Yacht Club -- the club's commodore, Michael Fortenbaugh, was struck by an ambitious vision. To honor the victims and pay tribute to the spirit of the city and the nation, Fortenbaugh imagined a New York Harbor seascape packed full with billowing sails.

Now, Fortenbaugh is working to transfer his vision to reality.

Operation Sail America is the working title of an event scheduled Sept. 14, for which organizers hope to attract hundreds of vessels to New York for an unprecedented collection of sailors and their craft.

''The goal is simple,'' Fortenbaugh said. ''We want to have the greatest gathering of sailboats ever in the history of the harbor.''

Since announcing the event several weeks ago, the grass-roots effort has been gathering steam. In addition to the Manhattan club, five others -- Atlantic Highlands, N.J.; Larchmont, N.Y.; Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn; and Norwalk and Stamford in Connecticut -- have joined the organizing committee. Fortenbaugh would like to see 100 percent participation from local clubs.

The New York Harbor Sailing Foundation and the South Street Seaport Museum are among the organizations backing the event.

The museum's annual Mayor's Cup for schooners and classic boats, and the Third Lady Liberty Regatta, are also scheduled to take place that weekend. A parade of sail is being planned for cruising sailors participating in the rendezvous.

''This will be a uniquely American response,'' Fortenbaugh said. ''Out of great tragedy and despair, a symbol of hope and beauty.''

A Key West State of Mind

While organizers do not foresee a repeat of last year's record-setting fleet of 326 boats, the entry list for that annual rite of winter, Key West Race Week, sponsored this year by Terra Nova Trading and Yachting magazine, is running strong.

With the deadline for entries set for Wednesday, more than 200 boats are scheduled to compete in the regatta, which is scheduled for Jan. 21-25. The fleet's numbers have been bolstered by the addition to the week's lineup of the Melges 24 World Championships, which were originally set to run in November but which were postponed and rescheduled after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Now, upward of 70 Melges one-designs are expected to compete.

Among them will be boats raced by the three-time Key West winner Dave Ullman and the victor in last summer's Transpac Race, the California software entrepreneur Philippe Kahn. The two-time Olympic gold medalist Mark Reynolds will serve as Kahn's tactician.

Creating a master craft

Irish boatbuilder killian bushe is one of the best in the world - the boats he builds must brave the winds of the deep southern….

Irish boatbuilder Killian Bushe is one of the best in the world - the boats he builds must brave the winds of the deep Southern Ocean and people's lives depend on them. He talks to Mike Wilson about his love of boats and the illbruck, which recently won the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race

Irish race sailing is at the top of its form at the moment, with Peter Bayly and William Atkinson winning the world mirror dinghy championships in home waters off Howth last year, the announcement that the Admirals Cup is to be staged in Ireland next year, and a host of Irish sailing talent - including Laura Dillon, Maria Coleman, David Burrows and Mark Mansfield - all riding high in the world rankings in their respective classes.

More specifically, with Tom Fitzpatrick and Fraser Brown winning the 49er class at the prestigious Kiel Week in Germany and the announcement of almost €250,000 of new funding from the Irish Sports Council for the Irish elite squad, the forecast is set fair for a period of unprecedented success for Irish sailing.

And then there was the Volvo Ocean Race, the first major round-the-world challenge of the 21st century, 32,700 nautical miles, nine months, four continents, nine legs and six seasons, the toughest race on earth, the blue-riband race for the top professional sailors in the world.

Five Irishmen competed - Dubliner Noel Drennan and Ulsterman Ian Moore emerged victorious on the clear favourite and eventual winner, Illbruck Challenge, with compatriots Gordon Maguire and Justin Slattery on News Corp and Kerryman Damian Foxall on Team Tyco.

But there was a sixth Irishman, boatbuilder Killian Bushe who, arguably, played the vital role in the Illbruck German triumph.

He built the boat, his second round-the-world project, his first was NCB Ireland, on which he also sailed in the 1989/90 Whitbread round-the-world-race.

The 47-year-old, Cork-born boatbuilder learned his craft under the tutelage of his father George, who built boats in a shed on the beach at Ringaskiddy in the 1950s and 1960s, before moving to more salubrious surroundings as head builder at the South Coast Boat Yard, at Rochestown, Co Cork.

The young Killian, along with brother Mark - another boatbuilder with his own yard, specialising mainly in traditional wooden craft in Carrigaline, Co Cork - watched in awe as their father produced some of the most famous yachts in Irish sailing, including Golden Apple, Golden Shamrock, Irish Mist, Midnight Sun and Silver Shamrocks, in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Indeed, Bushe senior (80) as recently as last year completed his latest project, his own design, a 17ft gaff-rigged boat built in his garage at home.

While his brother went traditional, it was to the high-tech world of high-performance racing yachts that Killian Bushe was attracted.

"I had always had boats and boatbuilding in my veins, and I just loved sailing and the entire process of design, construction, commissioning and racing, he says. "It was little wonder that is the career path I took. I knew little else, and wanted even less."

His first major project was in the mid-1980s, when he was commissioned to build and to sail on NCB Ireland, for the 1989/90 Whitbread Round The World Race, the forerunner to what is now the Volvo Ocean Race. "I have only sailed round the world the once, on NCB Ireland. So I know first-hand the sort of punishment these boats are subjected to, and therefore know, as a founding principle, that there are no chances which can be taken with any structural decisions on my boats. Lives can, and indeed do, depend on the safety and stability of my boats, and having been there, deep in the southern ocean, I know what will do and what won't."

Killian Bushe's round-the-world sailing career was short-lived, just the one race, but the knowledge and experience he gained in the 1989/1990 campaign was to prove invaluable in building what was becoming a burgeoning reputation as one of the most innovative yet safety-conscious builders in the hugely-competitive big-bucks world of race sailing.

"The round-the-world experience, but also a quarter of a century of sailing yachts, helps me get that little bit extra out of my construction, for sure, and I think it is the accumulation of all the little bits that make for a winning yacht," he observes.

Bushe was approached by the millionaire German race-sailing fanatic Michael Illbruck in the mid-1990s with an idea about entering a team in the newly-formed Volvo Ocean Race. His expediency was to prove vital, as illbruck Challenge was to be the first yacht of the eight built, first to undergo sea trials and commissioning, with crew training and technical adjustments as early as the summer of 2000, a full year before the off in

Southampton on September 23rd, 2001.

Illbruck Challenge was built in a former car plant in Leverkusen in Germany where the Illbruck Racing operation is based. Killian says the hallmarks of a Bushe-built yacht are: "Innovative construction using the latest techniques and materials, producing light, fast and reliable boats, with a quality finish to a high degree of accuracy."

He explains the process: epoxy pre-pregs are fibre fabrics which are already impregnated with resin before delivery to the yard and are stored in a freezer at -20 C. "The fibres are then laid over a male mould and cooked in an oven. The mould is vital - if that isn't right then the finished boat won't be either - and we use computer-cut building frames to ensure accuracy."

"The inside skin laminates are then vacuumed down under pressure for 24 hours before being cooked in an oven at 70 degrees C for 12 to 15 hours. On top, goes the foam core, then the outside skin laminate, and this type of sandwich construction produces the optimum shell for a race boat in terms of strength and stiffness."

The perennial conundrum for boat designers (the illbuck was designed by legendary yacht designer Bruce Farr) is the paradoxical equation of saving weight to gain speed, while retaining stability. Also, the tolerances allowed by the International Sailing Federation for the V.O. 60 class used in the race are critical.

True to his reputation for accuracy and remaining true to the integrity of the design package, Bushe brought the illbruck yacht in at under a kilogramme of the allowable weight of 13,500kg, right on length (19.5 metres /64 ft) and beam (5.25 metres /17.2ft). With a mast height of 26 metres (85ft) and the weight in the keel bulb of 6 tonnes (29,700lbs). These are massive, leading-edge racing machines, the Formula 1 yachts of the sailing world.

The Illbruck Challenge yacht (called the Green Dream Machine because of its livery colour and relentless performance and reliability) won the Volvo Ocean Race quite comfortably in the end, winning the first two legs, five out of nine overall, and avoiding the serious damage of broken rudders and shattered masts that afflicted a quarter of the fleet at some stage in the 32,7000 nautical mile circumnavigation.

Skipper of the victorious illbruck Challenge, American John Kostecki is in no doubt as to the contribution made by Killian Bushe to the German's winning effort.

"The boat was perfectly balanced, fast but strong, and, above all else, reliable, and to have total confidence in your design and build package is just a fantastic advantage to have," he said in Kiel, following victory, adding, "That leaves the skipper and crew with nothing to think of but race strategy, tactics and sailing the boat as close to its limits as we know we can confidently go."

Similarly, veteran Irish trimmer on illbruck, Dubliner Noel Drennan, says of Killian Bushe's boats: "Deep in the Southern Ocean, reaching flat out in huge seas, gales and even ice, race sailing on the edge, to know that your boat, such a tiny speck in a vast and inhospitable environment, is strong and safe exudes huge confidence in the crew. It is an unspoken thing, taken a little for granted on such a fine boat, but Killian's contribution was massive."

Strong and stable through two visits to the notorious Southern Ocean, winning the second leg from Cape Town to Sydney, despite almost sinking early on, surviving a twister between Sydney and Hobart and the worst ice-flows in round-the-world history from Auckland to Rio de Janeiro, this particular Bushe craft was very fast.

KOSTECKI'S crew broke the world speed record for a 24-hour run by a monohull on the transatlantic seventh leg, 484 nautical miles at an average speed of 20.16 knots between April 30th and May 1st this year. Syndicate owner Michael Illbruck was in no doubt that the construction of the boat played a big part in breaking the world record.

He said, "Killian managed to squeeze every little advantage out of a single class design and gave the race crew a very, very fast package to work on."

Bushe, who is married with two children and lives now in Ljungskile, Sweden, is typically self-effacing about his contribution, saying only, "I am very proud of all the boats I have built over the years, and illbruck was one of the best, and to have built the winning boat in such a prestigious event as the Volvo Ocean Race is definitely the highlight of my boatbuilding career to date, but I was only one of a fantastic team on the project."

Australia-based Irish helmsman, Gordon Maguire, on illbruck's great pre-race rival, News Corp, could only look on in admiration as the Bushe-built yacht swept all before her. "Fair dues. Killian built a fantastic boat, strong and fast, and, in the end, over the piece, the best boat won the best race in the world."

Bushe would love to build an Irish boat for the 2005/2006 Volvo Ocean Race, saying, "I always feel a sense of pride when Irish sailors are doing well at international level, and I would love to be involved in an Irish project next time, but only on the construction side. I have no desire to race around the world again."

Paddy Boyd, executive director of the Irish Sailing Association agrees: "With Killian Bushe, and Johnny Smullen, a protégé of his at the top of modern race yacht building, Ireland would be very well placed to construct a Volvo Ocean Race, and Killian Bushe is a wonderful ambassador for Ireland and Irish sailing. Irish sailors are rightly proud of the success of illbruck due to his role in the building process."

And for Bushe, what, apart from an Irish project is his ultimate boatbuilding project? "I would really like to build one of those large racing multi-hulls. The construction challenges are huge when you consider the massive loads involved."

And so, for this expatriate Irishman from Cork, working in Germany and living in Sweden, Killian Bushe is a genuine international export of Ireland at the very pinnacle of his craft.

He is the best there is.

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Pinta Husavik sold

De valk sells legendary illbruck yacht.

De Valk Hindeloopen, a member of the De Valk International brokerage group, has sold Pinta Husavik (ex. Pinta Smeralda), the final private sailing yacht of the late Willy Illbruck. This pioneering vessel, which benefits from the decades of experience built up by Illbruck during his illustrious career, is now being enjoyed by her new Dutch owners.

Launched in 1997 by Marten Marine in New Zealand, the customised Pinta Husavik was a trend-setter in the move towards fast yachts with clean decks and a small crew.

“As one of the industry leaders in Germany, Mr Illbruck shaped much of the German sailing industry by his leading edge in developing and building racing yachts for the German Pinta teams,” explains senior broker Hans Visser from De Valk Hindeloopen, who negotiated the sale.

“Only the best was good enough for this Admiral’s Cup winner and you can see what that meant in practice onboard Pinta Husavik. The fact that the yacht can be sailed at full potential with only two people on board was an enormous plus point for the experienced Dutch couple that now owns her.”

For more information contact Hans Visser at De Valk Hindeloopen on T: +31 (0)514 524000; F: +31 (0)514 524009; E: [email protected]

"Illbruck" First Yacht In Kiel

Video: "Illbruck" First Yacht In Kiel

2024 Author : Allison Derrick | [email protected] . Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:04

"Varuna" crosses the finish line behind "Illbruck"

At 03:42:37 this morning, the former Volvo Ocean 60 racer "Illbruck" crossed the finish line of the Pantaenius Rund Skagen Race 2014 in Kiel-Strande. Before that, the crew around skipper Oliver Schmidt-Rybandt had a duel over 500 nautical miles delivered with the crew of the "Varuna" (Ker 51). The "Varuna" then crossed the finish line just a few minutes after the "Illbruck" at 3:45:18.

A little more than three hours later, at 6:51:24 am, the "HaspHamburg" of the Hamburgische Verein Seefahrt followed, and at 8:25:38 am, the "Norddeutsche Vermögen" followed a little later.

After these two yachts, two more duelists came to the finish: The "UiJuiJui" with skipper Friedrich Hausmann, who had also delivered a kind of match race with the crew of the "Needles and Pins" over almost the entire route. "UiJuiJui" crossed the finish line at 8:57:51, "Needles and Pins" followed at 8:59:24.

At 2 p.m. 15 of the 61 yachts were at the finish, the rest were between Kiel and Korsör.

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Illbruck begins Volvo Ocean Race campaign

• April 6, 1999

Illbruck 1 and 2, previously the team EF boats in the Whitbread, have started training in Spain

iLLBRUCK ROUND THE WORLD CHALLENGE BEGINS TWO BOAT TESTING IN SPAIN:

The illbruck Round the World Challenge started-two boat testing yesterday on Tuesday in Sanxenxo, Spain. Sanxenxo, is a small village located in Galicia, on the Atlantic Coast, which is on the northwest corner of Spain.

We have the newly-refurbished and identical Volvo 60’s illbruck 1 and illbruck 2, which were formally the EF Whitbread 60’s from Sweden. Both the boats spent the winter in a boatyard in Hamburg, Germany getting refitted after the last Whitbread race. The boats are now sporting the new illbruck image paint jobs, including the fading green to white bow sections. The boats are in racing condition, which made sailing on our first day easy.

We have assembled a crew of 18 here in Spain for approximately five weeks of testing. We will be doing a combination of day sailing and offshore sailing with the two boats side by side, testing various equipment. This allows us to test different sail shapes and boat configuations easily and what we learn here we can apply to our new boat and sails for the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race.

We have a international team here, with crew from seven of the nine boats from the last Whitbread Around the World Race. Some of the talent here includes, Mark Christensen, from the winning EF language, Jason Carrington and Stu Bannatyne from Silk Cut, Juan Vila and myself from Chessie Racing, Jared Hendersen from Merit Cup, Lisa Charles from EF Education, Timmy Kroger from Swedish Match, and Ross Halcrow from Kvaerner. Having the talent from seven of the teams from the last Whitbread allows us to share ideas from the top boats in the last race.

The illbruck Round the World Challenge is focused on winning the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race with an international team. We will keep you updated on our progress, from shore or sea, these next five weeks.

John Kostecki Skipper, illbruck Round the World Challenge