RECENTLY LAUNCHED: PATH

Featuring a North Sails Engine-Above-Deck

Path is the latest superyacht from the Baltic Yachts. The 44.6 meter Judel/Vrolijk designed superyacht launched in Spring 2021 and was most recently displayed at the Monaco Yacht Show. For North Sails, the has been a collaborative process between the boatyard, the yacht designer, and the project team of A2B, and Sebastian Allebrodt from the start.

The process to build Path’s Engine-Above-Deck began by understanding the owner’s wishes, paired with the hull structures as specified by Judel/Vrolijk. For North Sails, this understanding relies heavily on the powerful North Design Suite.

North Sail Designer Heine Sorensen explains: “This was an interesting project because of the yacht’s size. Arriving at our recommended inventory was cooperation between North Sails and the design-build team. We took full advantage of our Design Suite. The VPP program helped us understand what the boat could handle in righting moment, while Spiral, Warps, Flow, and Membrain supported our analysis of the sail shapes and structure. As the yachts get bigger, validating our designs and ideas with simulation becomes more critical. There is no doubt that we are running more these days; it’s critical a to sail designer’s job.”

Arriving at an optimized inventory is a careful balance of performance and practicality. Per the owner’s wishes for global adventures with family and friends, the brief for Path is founded on a powerful, easily managed, ocean-going sailing yacht. Sorensen is quick to point out that the usability of the sails is vital in delivering on that brief,” a point which Allebrodt, a sailor himself was able to weigh in on. One point expressed early in the project was to use the sails as much as possible, and that requirement heavily influenced many of the decisions Sorensen and the North team took when designing the sail package.

Path has a total sail area of 4075 sqm, the equivalent of 15.5 tennis courts. Its upwind, headsails, and offwind sails are 3Di Endurance 760. For Sorensen, tackling a project this size is routine, and it’s only upon reflection that he realizes the magnitude of the sails he is designing. “You’re looking at the numbers at the computer, and you’re used to seeing them there, he explains. “But it’s when you see them on the loft floor or hoisted during sea trails that the scale of the project sinks in.”