Alex Gough
Tp52 and offshore
Boat profile
Zen
Gordon Ketelbey, an avid one-design sailor, competed in the Sydney 38 and Farr 40 classes before moving to the TP52 alongside campaign manager Shane Guanaria, Managing Director of Doyles Sails, Australia.
Shane first teamed up with Gordon in 2008 on the Sydney 38 Zen and in 2015, Gordon took the next step, purchasing a Farr 40. Shane recalls “He still has that boat, and we’ve raced in the class all over the world - Sydney, Porto Cervo and Chicago for the Worlds.”
After several years of competitive racing, Gordon and Shane started looking for a new challenge. “We went down the rabbit hole of looking for a TP52”, Guanaria says. That search eventually led them to Zen 52, a 2011 Botin-designed TP52 originally built as Synergy and at the time known as Sorcha.
Gordon found it in Palma and brought it to Australia in October 2018, refitted it for offshore racing and launched it just three weeks before the Sydney Hobart.
While the boat initially performed exceptionally well inshore, particularly in the Gold Cup 52 fleet, the new fleet soon caught up. After four years of racing, they realized the boat was becoming the crew’s limit. So, they started making changes.
The modifications have been significant with changes to the keel and shaving off additional weight without losing any of the boat’s strengths. Doyle Sails, led by Shane, are managing and building the sail wardrobes for both Australian boats so there is a lot of cross pollination of ideas and knowledge going on between the two CYCA team members.
On their performance Ketelbey says “Initially we did quite well uphill, but whilst we had the uphill strength, we lacked downwind power. Eventually the modifications made us all-round much stronger, we are still fast on the beat but downwind we can hold our own.”
With a strong foundation, key upgrades and a seasoned team, which includes Tom Addis, Alex Gough and Chris Nicholson, Zen is gearing up to take on the world’s best in the Solent.
Shane first teamed up with Gordon in 2008 on the Sydney 38 Zen and in 2015, Gordon took the next step, purchasing a Farr 40. Shane recalls “He still has that boat, and we’ve raced in the class all over the world - Sydney, Porto Cervo and Chicago for the Worlds.”
After several years of competitive racing, Gordon and Shane started looking for a new challenge. “We went down the rabbit hole of looking for a TP52”, Guanaria says. That search eventually led them to Zen 52, a 2011 Botin-designed TP52 originally built as Synergy and at the time known as Sorcha.
Gordon found it in Palma and brought it to Australia in October 2018, refitted it for offshore racing and launched it just three weeks before the Sydney Hobart.
While the boat initially performed exceptionally well inshore, particularly in the Gold Cup 52 fleet, the new fleet soon caught up. After four years of racing, they realized the boat was becoming the crew’s limit. So, they started making changes.
The modifications have been significant with changes to the keel and shaving off additional weight without losing any of the boat’s strengths. Doyle Sails, led by Shane, are managing and building the sail wardrobes for both Australian boats so there is a lot of cross pollination of ideas and knowledge going on between the two CYCA team members.
On their performance Ketelbey says “Initially we did quite well uphill, but whilst we had the uphill strength, we lacked downwind power. Eventually the modifications made us all-round much stronger, we are still fast on the beat but downwind we can hold our own.”
With a strong foundation, key upgrades and a seasoned team, which includes Tom Addis, Alex Gough and Chris Nicholson, Zen is gearing up to take on the world’s best in the Solent.
AUS52001 2011 Botin TP52 TCC 1.390
Boat information
Details
Key ownership, design, dimensions and rating information.
Yacht Name
Zen
Sail Number
AUS52001
Owner
Gordon Ketelbey
Type
2011 Botin TP52
Designer
Botin
Length (Meters)
15.85
Rating
1.390
Draft (Meters)
3.56
Club
CYCA
