Vitters Shipyard in the Netherlands has purchased all shares in the composite boat/yachtbuilder Green Marine in Lymington (UK). The acquisition opens up a new chapter in a success story that began when Bill Green and Ian King established Green Marine in 1982. 

Green Marine has gained fame in the yachting industry with racing yachts such as Ran and Jethou. Specialising in advanced composite projects, the yard also built a wide range of prize-winning Volvo Ocean and America’s Cup yachts, including Mascalzone and Prada. The Green Marine fleet also includes well-known high performance cruising yachts such as Sojana, Leopard, Ghost and more recently Cinderella IV.

The experienced and dedicated workforce at Green Marine is excited that Vitters has become the new owner of the yard as it ensures they can continue to build on these impressive achievements.  The company’s parts and components manufacturing and R&D facilities are being expanded in order to provide Green Marine clients with a state-of-the art service.

Three yachts ranging between 60 and 140 ft are currently under construction at Green Marine. The strategy of the yard will remain unchanged as Green Marine continues to focus on the production of both racing yachts and hulls for high performance cruisers.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club, organisers of the biennial British 608-mile classic offshore race, confirmed that Niklas Zennström's Ran 2 is the overall handicap winner of the 2009 Rolex Fastnet Race.

Zennström's Judel-Vrolijk designed 72-footer finished the race in an elapsed time of 63 hours, 1 minute and 33 seconds, which corrected out to 2 hours, 19 minutes ahead of the second-placed Italian America's Cup team Luna Rossa on board their STP65."It is fantastic, we are very excited about it," commented Zennström. "But it was also a gradual thing, because as we crossed the finish line we knew we had a good result. We had monitored some of the boats behind us, most notably Luna Rossa and Rosebud, which we thought were always going to be the closest competitors to us. And after we came in we spent the morning and actually the whole day yesterday monitoring the updates on the RORC's OC Tracker and made our own calculations about the likelihoods for the other boats to catch up with us."

Having failed to complete the last Rolex Fastnet Race, in 2007, the victory for Ran 2 was unfinished business. That race, sailed on board Zennström's Marten 49, had been the first occasion that the present Ran crew had sailed together. Led by Volvo Ocean Race veteran Tim Powell, the all-star line-up includes seasoned race boat navigator Steve Hayles and America's Cup sailors such as Adrian Stead and Emirates Team New Zealand's Andy Hemmings, Richard Bouzaid and Richard Meacham.

Zennström launched his new 72-footer earlier this year, raced it at several events in the Mediterranean, including the Giraglia Rolex Cup, before it was shipped back to the UK, to compete in the Rolex Fastnet Race. "One of the key objectives when we were building Ran 2 was to be able to do offshore races, and the most obvious race we put on the calendar was the Rolex Fastnet Race. So it is great we have done so well in it." Zennström explains.

"I think it is a really strong team," concludes Zennström. "We have been sailing together for two years now and the team is getting stronger and stronger. We have been very thorough in our planning, both in terms of the design of the boat and our race preparations.

Skipper Tim Powell was equally ecstatic about their Rolex Fastnet Race win: "Obviously it is a big achievement being such a prestigious race and one of the classics." He adds that they had prepared well, believing some way in advance that a major part of the race would be upwind and, with Ran 2 being very powerful and fast upwind, they stood a reasonable chance. "We were focusing more on our class and the boats around us a lot more. But to have won the thing overall is an awesome achievement."

Ran 2 did especially well outbound down the English Channel and by the key tidal gate at Start Point, they had pulled out a 10 mile lead over their Mini Maxi rivals. "That first 20 hours up the Channel was all important, tactically and navigationally, and as a crew we sailed very, very well," says Powell.

15th July '09
IRC60 Jethou

The latest yacht to emerge from the Green Marine's raceboat yard is the IRC60 Jethou; a Judel/Vrolijk design for Sir Peter Ogden.

We think our raceboat team have excelled themselves with this boat. She is a very purposful and no-compromise racing boat. With not a trace of filler, and very little paint, she is clear coat carbon inside and out, and the detailed carbon work is spectacular. It is easy to see where the 36 weeks concentrated work has been spent. If she is racing at an event near you, please take the time to go and see this work of art.

16th June '09
Can a boat be fast and look good too?

Ran 2 looking forward from port side companionway.

4th June '09
RAN 2 on top of the IRC Mini-Maxi Racing Class..

With a 1st at Santa Marguerita in April, and a 1st place at Capri Settimana in May, RAN 2 moves onto St.Tropez in mid-June for the Giraglia Rolex Cup. Competition in the Mini-maxi class has been strong all year, and it is about to get stronger with the arrival of Jethou, the second Green-Marine-built IRC race boat to be launched this year; for the time being however, RAN2 rules.

1st May '09
Sojana on Record Breaking Form..

Peter Harrison's Farr 115 Sojana has been on winning form in Antigua, taking the Yachting World Trophy for her record breaking time in the Round Antigua Island Race last weekend, and following that up with a win in the inaugural Corum Round Rodonda Race yesterday. Sojana was built by Green Marine and Fast Cruising in 2003; her full carbon / nomex honeycomb composite structure allows her to set a cloud of sail from an enormous ketch rig. Built for fast and luxurious cruising, she has proved to be a very capable racing yacht as well.

27th April '09
RAN at Palmavela..

3rd April '09
Cinderella II Launch..

19th March '09
RAN in Barcelona..

“That was unbelievable. It was such an intense leg. I don’t believe that in ocean racing a fleet has been so close together over such a long distance and fighting it out so hard. It was awesome sailing.  I think it will take us quite a while to find our potential and learn how to sail this boat, but we are capable of some results I am sure.”

Veteran Volvo sailor Stig Westergaard: “Some of the things we have done so far are very promising and we have learnt that this boat is very good reaching in heavy winds.”

Helmsman Guillermo Altadill: “It has been designed for power reaching and we hope that will help us in the next leg. But there are a lot of things we need to improve to help the performance......  "As soon as you get power reaching on these boats you can see more than 600 miles. Quite easy. Not in the leg coming, but from China to Brazil you have enough space for big records...... “This boat is capable of that if we sail it right."