Phantom returns, IOR icon is now a school bench for young talent

Phantom, an IOR Cult to raise new recruits

Sailing is not only made of great regattas, great people and legendary boats. Sometimes it is also made of beautiful initiatives, of projects that know how to go to the heart of passion, offering opportunities and opening paths. And an icon of the “old” IOR returns to present itself in precisely these guises.
It is the Phantom, the C&C 66 designed by Cuthbertson & Cassian in 1973, a myth of 1970s offshore sailing that, today, shines again in an initiative that is laudable, to say the least, “Phantom Believe in Youth”, sponsored by the non-profit youth association “We Believe in Youth” and sponsored by E-Dienergia.
The historic 20-meter boat will in fact be a school boat for a team composed of young up-and-coming sailors, flanked by a portion of experienced crew that will help them grow in the world of sailing through a remarkable racing program, thus bringing the young recruits to race in ORC and to confront a sail otherwise much more difficult to approach.
To better understand this initiative, we spoke with Giorgio Pitter, skipper of Phantom.
Here is the story behind the project, his ambitions and the arrival of Phantom.

Phantom Believe in Youth

The goal of the project is mainly one, to offer a tool for growth to the younger generation, providing them with the means and skills to tackle offshore sailing and all that it entails.
The hard core of the “senior” crew serves as a “school” component, mentors of experience able to best help in growth.
The hull, on the other hand, is the ideal platform, a boat that is not only emblematic for sailing (legend has it that it was the Phantom that inspired Gardini to have the first “Moro” built), but also an excellent source of teaching in terms of “seamanship,” with complex loads and an intelligent setup.
It is not, however, with the Phantom, that everything is born.
On the contrary, with the Phantom we arrive at the next phase of a project born as early as 2017.

The rebirth of the Phantom

Now, however, we also look at Phantom, a 1970s IOR legend and, fortunately, another sailing icon coming back to life. Designed by the Canadian duo Couberthson & Cassian in 1973, with 20.15 meters in length, 4.85 in maximum beam and 3.30 in draft, Phantom was built using the innovative double sandwich technique of balsa, fiberglass and Kevlar (the latter an innovative material at the time).
It was conceived after the successful C&C61 series (Grampus – Helisara – Rainbow), already famous hulls at that time, but with a twist.
As a good one-off, it was the child of several experiments and brilliant insights, soon proving to be an excellent design.
In fact, the Canadian architects designed here a particularly balanced hull both in terms of lines and weight distribution and, above all, sought new solutions, such as the cockpit, advanced, wide and strong with double wheel steering.
The deck then, very clean, best represents the standard of a 1970s flush deck, leaving ample free space in the stern, an area, now, dedicated to possible guests and passengers.