Miss Nylex catamaran

Miss Nylex is a C-Class racing catamaran, designed and built in Australia in the early 1970s to compete in the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy (formerly known as the ‘Little America’s Cup’). It was designed by Roy Martin and was the first catamaran to win the trophy using a solid wingsail.

In 1972, Miss Nylex was the fastest catamaran in the world, breaking the speed record for an Australian yacht at 24 knots.

Miss Nylex was originally owned by the Nylex Corporation Ltd and was based at the Sorrento Sailing Club in Victoria, Australia, sailing under the C-Class Sail Number KA29. It has a solid aerofoil wingsail with two flaps on the trailing edge, instead of the conventional mast and sail configuration. The wingsail design was revolutionary for its time and changed the course of C-Class catamaran racing. All winners of the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy (ICCT) from 1977 to 2007 were subsequently won using wingsail designs.

History

The story of Miss Nylex began in 1971 when a syndicate was formed to build a yacht to defend the ICCT, which Australia had won from the Danes in 1970. The Miss Nylex syndicate was formed by John Buzaglo (later OAM) and Frank Strange, with backing by the founder of the Nylex Corporation, Peter (later Sir Peter) Derham. The syndicate also included designer Roy Martin, Chris Wilson and Leon Ward.<ref name="ANMM">

Since 1965, the ICCT had been sailed over a course of a set shape and length, which was carefully laid in relation to the prevailing wind direction. Most of the race was spent beating to windward or broad reaching. The syndicate decided that a primary requirement for the new boat was that it would need to perform well under these conditions. After assessing the probable challenger from the United States, the syndicate decided that the existing defender, Quest III (ICCT winner in 1970), would probably be superior, which gave them the freedom to experiment with something new without jeopardising Australia's chance of winning.