The Yachts

Komatsu Azzurro

Komatsu Azzurro

 

Komatsu Azzurro won the 2015 Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, then when looking as though it could snatch victory from Balance in the 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart Hobart found little breeze on rounding Tasman Island.  In that Rolex Sydney Hobart the boat placed third overall (just six minutes shy of second place), second in IRC Division 4, and won both the ORCi and the Corinthian categories overall.  Shane Kearns’s boat looked the only boat likely to beat Ichi Ban in the 2016 Land Rover Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, but the breeze dropped out before it finished and it ended up 17th overall and won IRC Division 4.

Owner Shane Kearns found the former Shenandoah II near sinking in 2014. He bought her cheaply on his credit card and restored her, adding a Code Zero and a new staysail.  The boat was built for Ron White, a past SYC Commodore.  The boat won Division H of the 50th Hobart with the renamed Commonwealth Bank Shenandoah II, with a faster finishing time than the winners of Divisions F and G.

 

Competitor Details

Yacht Name Komatsu Azzurro
Sail Number 3430
Owner Shane Kearns
Skipper Shane Kearns
Navigator Alex Seja
Crew F Nelson, D McRae, J Nixon, C Mackinlay
State NSW
Club CYCA
Type S & S 34
Designer Sparkman & Stephens (USA)
Builder Swarbrick Bros
Construction GRP
LOA 10.1
Beam 3.1
Draft 1.9