Longtze
A circuit for professionals and amateurs
"A little marvel of technology designed for immense fun on the water"
A fast, safe and simple keelboat
The Longtze hails from the drawing board of Steve Thomson in New Zealand.
Its performance is similar to the Open 6.50 and the Mach 6.5.
It is however more open and has lower freeboard.
The Longtze Premier is fast and lively in all wind conditions. Thanks to its light hull, powerful sail plan, and its keel, it flies downwind while remaining stable.
Inspired by the America's Cup
he appendages were redesigned and tested by the Défi Design Team of the French America’s Cup challenge. The sail plan was designed by Luc Gellusseau and Bruce Holis.
The Longtze is sailed with a crew of 3 to 5 people (314 to 344 kg).
The sails
The 58.5m2 asymmetric spinnaker is fully radial with a dyneema luff line to increase the stability of the sail. It is built out of AIRX 620 ns, which is light, resistant and 100% waterproof.
At the All Purpose sail loft in Lorient, the Longtze sails designed by Laurent Allard must be comply with the class rules which allow the use of Trilam® membranes.
The race circuit
There are over 60 Longtzes racing in Europe. Teams are composed of professionals and amateurs alike, and race against each other in the Longtze European Tour and the Longtze Student Cup.
At the 2011 Longtze World Event in Hyères, "Stade Français Voile" skippered by Bertrand Castelnerac, and equipped with All Purpose Trilam® sails, finished a remarkable second in very fresh conditions.
A fine performance given that the boat had been acquired just two weeks earlier...
"We were getting to know the boat, and the crew had never sailed together before, but we had a blast". Bertrand Castelnerac
