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This Incredible Sailing Yacht Is Ready for This Year’s Thrash to the Onion Patch

Back in the early 1900s, something we now know as the Newport Bermuda Race was born, with the goal of encouraging the design, building and sailing of small seaworthy yachts by anyone able and willing. Presently considered the oldest regularly scheduled ocean race in the world, the biennial event is coming back in 2022, and promises quite the show for the passionate.
Lyman-Morse LM46 12 photos
Photo: Lyman-Morse
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Known to sailors as “the thrash to the Onion Patch,” on account of where it takes places and racing conditions, the race is scheduled to kick off this year on June 17 (that’s on a Friday), in Newport. 635 miles (1,022 km) and almost a week later, boats should arrive in Bermuda, where the winner should be crowned.

Some of the numbers coming our way from past races are incredible. For instance, close to 200 boats take part in the event each year – the largest fleet, with 256 boats, was assembled back in 2006, when the race celebrated its centennial.

Over the years, people flocked to the scene from 23 countries, congregating in crews averaging ten individuals, most of the times from the same family, and about 30 percent of the captains attending every two years are racing the Bermuda for the first time.

It’s unclear at this time how many crews will enlist for this year’s event, given how registration books open in June, but we do know at least one of the boats, and that would be this here cold-molded wood composite sailing yacht.

Lyman\-Morse LM46
Photo: Lyman-Morse
Built by a Maine-based crew called Lyman-Morse following a design by Kevin Dibley, the LM46 #2, as it’s officially called, was commissioned by “an experienced racer,” who plans to enter it in the Bermuda race, but other similar events taking place this year as well.

A sloop by configuration, the yacht sports a Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar hull, and a combination between sails and diesel power that should make it a top performer in any racing event.

The LM46 has a displacement of 24,250 pounds, and moves under the power provided by the wind hitting 1,183 square feet (109 square meters) of sail, which is tied to a carbon mast. If that’s not enough, a Yanmar diesel engine is on deck to spin a MaxProp feathering propeller with the power of 80 hp and push the boat ahead.

Depending on the type of propulsion it uses, the yacht can reach a top speed of up to 10 knots, and when all the stars align and conditions are perfect, it can cover as much as 240 miles (386 km) in a single sailing day.

Lyman\-Morse LM46
Photo: Lyman-Morse
Those are the details pertaining to the racing side of the build but remember, this is a yacht we're talking about, and that means it can accommodate its crew in style, for long stretches of time, if need be. It comes with room for clothes and gear to last for as much as a month, and it also features accommodations for the crew, including a large cockpit, a salon, wraparound galley, guest cabins, and so on, all of them bathed in LED lighting.

To support people’s needs, the LM46 is equipped with hot water heater, a propane stove, refrigerator with freezer, and two 78-gallon (355-liter) water tanks. For navigation purposes, the yacht relies on a plotter on a GPS-enabled iPad, and broadband radar with a range of 12 miles (19 km).

The LM46 was finished at the end of last year as the most recent addition to the list of over 110 yachts Lyman-Morse put together over the course of four decades, and it’s now probably navigating the waters of the world, wearing a proper name.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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