Two superstars at VELA Cup Summer: the all-new ICE 52 and ICE 62 arrive

Two bigwigs of the latest Italian shipbuilding industry: two symbols of Made in Italy excellence land in Porto Rafael to participate in the VELA Cup Summer – Mario Formenton Trophy. We are talking about the brand-new ICE 52 RS Shambala and the ICE 62 Sueno, which have just completed their registration for the Summer Sailing Festival that will kick off on Saturday, August 20, for a regatta/sailing in the La Maddalena archipelago. But let’s take a closer look at these two boats you will have to “battle” with at the start.

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Shambala was launched very recently, at the end of May, is the new version (RS) of the ICE 52 that comes in at 11,000 kg. But how do you save nearly 2,000 pounds in a boat while maintaining the comfort of a cruising boat? Working on the details. Clever use of carbon and composites saved weight without it showing. Thus the furniture timbers and decks are lightened with a composite core, the mainsails are now carbon, the mast and rigging also carbon, from the Hall Spar and without steering wheels.

These two thousand pounds less, by mainly lightening the weights at the extremities and concentrating them down in the middle of the boat, significantly improve sailing performance, both upwind and at carrying gaits. Not to mention the motor cruising speed which is estimated at 9.2 miles per hour. The result is a high-performance boat that can perform well even in top-level regattas without losing any of its characteristics as a comfortable and safe cruising boat.

The Ice 62 Sueno, on the other hand, is an 18-meter that can be comfortably maneuvered by two. At the stern, the portion of the opening transom that becomes the swim platform hides the “garage” that now houses a 2.85-meter tender. The two impeccably designed helm consoles contain the controls for unmoving maneuvering of the entire sail and motor boat. The boat rigs a Southern Spars carbon mast with the new lightened “Park Avenue” boom that allows a mainsail downhaul of disarming ease. Below deck the dinette, in one open space with the galley placed towards the bow increases the living space. Lhe forward master stateroom is the envy of a superyacht with a very large central folding bed for stowage, completely separate bathroom and shower room. Aft are the two guest cabins with beds worthy of the name and bathrooms also with separate shower and Jacuzzi.