Original photo taken by Matias Capizano - retouched by Longitude Yachts
Fuente info Longitude Yachts
You asked for it. We've put it together for you. Six months in development - the region's first premier Grand Prix Circuit in the Soto 40 One Design.
Brief details....
• 10 Soto 40 One Design yachts sailing under the OD Class Rules
• Great racing locations around Asia
• Total of 10 'charters' available. Only 5 spots remaining!!
• First race of the Circuit kicks off in January 2012
• Cost of the 'charter' is approx. half full purchase price
• You get clear title to the yacht after four years (Charter contract)
The announcements were made to a group of 30 regional sailors, press and special guests at an event at the Avista Hotel, Phuket on December 10, 2010. Speakers at the announcement included Javier Mendez from M Boats who has been visiting the region, Greg Boller from East Asia Composites, John Vause the Chairperson of the Asia Cup Steering Committee and the always-surprising Frank Pong. The announcements included some of the specific details of the four year ownership, the growth of M Boats in the Asia region and some of the locations the Circuit may be heading to.
For more information, click HERE
Letter from the Soto 40 OD Class President...
Hello everyone, my name is Norberto Alvarez, President of the class Soto 40 and co-founder.
I am very sorry I was not able to join you, but family matters prohibited me to travel there. I would like to start congratulating Tim Long and everyone who has worked so hard make the reality of the Asia Cup Grand Prix circuit, also in selecting the Soto 40 One Design for this important event.
When we set out to create this boat, it was after years of racing in handicap systems. The problem was we were not having fun anymore. We where investing in continuously upgrading the boat to get a better handicap, rather than investing in making a crew better. The values of the boats where most of times worth half of what we originally paid for them, not counting the multiple investments during the year.
So we set out to create a 40 foot one design, with no rules for design with except two. Fast and Fun.
I will not bore you with details, but after almost two years of the first boat touching the water, the class has exploded. We never thought so many people had the same issues and problems as we had.
Owners all throughout Latin America joined us, along came Torben Grael, who had just won the Volvo Ocean Race and has 5 Olympic Gold Medals. We could not believe he choose the Soto 40 to sail with his wife and son. Than we where very proud that the Medcup selected us, the formula 1 of sailing, and now all of you.!!!
Its like the saying, “Nothing beats an idea whose time has come”.
We where able to get an amazing builder, Javier Mendez, who is there with you now. He is passionate about his boats, obsessed with quality. We are proud to have him with us. Javier Soto Acebal, the designer of the boat, is an incredible person. A very humble designer, with a no-nonsense thinking of what takes to make a boat go fast.
The class has matured. We will have 20 boats on the water by this December, 2010. The racing cannot get any tighter, the investment has clearly gone to train the crews, and become better sailors, and not to investing in continuously changing the boat.
As Class President I am humbled by the interest in the Class. But I can promise that, after racing in the yachts for the past two years, that you in for some truly exciting yacht racing. I hope to get over there for some racing in some of the beautiful locations when the Circuit gets started in January 2012.
Congratulations and best wishes to the racing teams, the management behind the event and the crews that will now get to enjoy some true grand prix racing in Asia.
