Baltic 68 Café Racer

Baltic Yachts 68 Café Racer Open Season

By Baltic Yachts

04/04/2023 - 09:53

Yacht industry

With her 11-month construction period complete, the second Baltic 68 Café Racer, Open Season, left Jakobstad recently before being shipped to Palma de Mallorca where she will be commissioned in the spring by the Baltic Yachts Service and Refit team.

Her arrival in Palma will coincide with the 10th anniversary of Baltic's Service and Refit operation being established in the city and the recent opening of its new local facility at Son Castelló, which comprises a multi-department, 800m², state of the art workshop.

It is hoped that both Open Season and her sistership Pink Gin Verde will be in attendance as Service and Refit celebrates its 10th anniversary with a party on the eve of the Palma International Boat Show, which runs from 27-30 April.

The Javier Jaudenes-designed Open Season will be shipped from Finland in three parts – hull/deck, keel and rudder – and then assembled in Palma where she will be united with her Marstrom mast and rig package from its Swedish manufacturers. A key feature of the Café Racer is the use of a swept spreader rig and Doyle Sails' Structured Luff Technology which makes her easy to sail, improves upwind performance by reducing headsail luff sag and does away with the need for backstays and runners.

While the first Baltic 68 Café Racer explored the use of sustainable building materials, evolving electric propulsion and range extender technology, Open Season is optimised for performance with a Sprint carbon hull and pre-preg Nomex deck.

Patric Brännbacka, who has project managed the build, said: "We've done a lot of work to keep the weight down on this boat." Open Season's projected displacement is 20.6 tons. Unlike her twin-rudder sister, Open Season is fitted with a single rudder. Like hull number one, she has a fixed keel and an 'unplug-and-play' electric propulsion system driven by lithium batteries charged using shore power or by the free-wheeling propeller driving the motor as a generator when sailing.

A large array of Solbian solar panels is located on the coachroof providing additional charge and the yacht will carry an 18kW Fischer Panda diesel range extender, although there should be more than enough battery capacity for a day's competitive sailing.

Her modern, clean interior design is by Jens Paulus featuring a contemporary style embracing the spirit of the Café Racer. Jens said: "It prioritises simplicity and lightweight materials including natural oak furniture, linen bulkhead coverings and the use of structural carbon fibre elements. It offers a comfortable and elegant living space and maintains a connection with the ocean and the simple pleasure of sailing."

Patric Brännbacka said that Open Season's experienced owner planned to conduct sea trials and work up his new yacht this summer before taking part in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Sardinia in September and the Baltic Yachts' 50th Anniversary Rendezvous in Porto Rotondo shortly afterwards from 14-17 September.

Baltic Yachts' executive vice president Henry Hawkins said: "Open Season is an exciting evolution of the Café Racer which gets you afloat and sailing quickly. She's our first new yacht to launch this year and will be followed by the equally exciting high-performance Baltic 111 Custom and the multi-role cruiser-racer Baltic 110 Custom."