Simon Kent from Australian Yachting test sailed the two Australian X-43s in Sydney Harbour and gave a characterization of their sailing qualities.

Easy to sail
Both “White Satin” and “Great Xpectations” took to Sydney Harbour for our photo shoot and a sail aboard the X-43. While “Great Xpectations” had the track record in racing and the newer “White Satin” was just getting going in the twilight races, there didn’t seem much difference in performance.

We sailed on one of those weird February afternoons where a northeastern sea breeze just failed to fill strongly west of Bradley’s Head while the temperatures remained fiery in Sydney after a gradient southwesterly flow. West of Bradleys the northeasterly wind was a patchy 8-10 knots; east of Bradleys a solid 22 knots.

Incredible smoothness
First impression at the helm of “White Satin” was of the incredible smoothness, responsive and positive nature of the steering system. It is rack and pinion driven, linking the helm directly to the rudder stock. The stock, of solid aluminium tapered at both ends for weight saving and incorporating three welded rings for improved strength, revolves within roller bearings, for minimum friction, with the lower bearing of the self aligning type.

Beautifully balanced
The boat was beautifully balanced and extremely stiff, thanks to the contribution of hull shape and 43 per cent ballast/displacement ratio. With not much weight on the rail, the boat was easy to keep in the groove and we easily held a steady 7.25 knots upwind - hard to believe we were in 22 knots of true breeze - under the small number three headsail and full mainsail. Speed quickly built after bottoming at five knots through a tack. And in the lighter wind areas of the harbour, the X-43 accelerated quickly to puffs and out of tacks.

This is truly a nice boat to sail. She’s also easy to sail; simply rigged and with a practical, workable deck layout. The 170cm diameter Jefa steering wheel has a leather covered rim and sits behind a stainless steel “crash bar”/guard rail that carries the Suunto compass and instrument repeaters. It is also handy for crew and helmsman to grab hold of, while traversing the cockpit.

Simon Kent
Australian Yachting