For the first time we see the 26-meter
Yachts with this name is sailed by Alexander Ezhkov, International Master of Sport and founder of the national class yachts
The yachtsman has previously worked with Contest on several occasions. This shipyard built his first 14.6meter Polina Star I in the 1990s, followed in 2006 by the 18.8m Contest 62CS Polina Star II that has proven to be a successful transatlantic cruiser. Polina Star II participated several times in the ARC regatta and in 2010 she won second place in the cruising division.
Polina Star IV has a more serious task: the boat was created with a view to sail around the world. This is evidenced by her solid hull, designed by the renowned judel/vrolijk design firm, which features a monolithic monolith from keel to gunwale. All of Polina Star IV's key life-support systems are redundant, and she has an independent bilge water evacuation pump high in the sickbay which also acts as a fire-fighting system in case of a flood.
«We are going to sail her in all conditions, from 5 to 50 knots of wind. I like to think of the engines as such an aid in case there is no wind at all and for mooring or sailing out of the harbour. The rest of the time we're sailing. We have a massive sail pantry because my method is to use the sails 70% of the time and if you don't have any room to put the sails in, you start to think about having a motor to help you out. Then you don't have far to go to set sail just 10% of the time, which is what most people do,»," says Alessio Cannoni, skipper of Polina Star IV.
Polina Star IV's owner and skipper have introduced many innovations that reflect their extensive experience in offshore yachting. For example, they came up with a winch and halyard arrangement that allowed the 26-meter boat to be driven solo and they were behind the idea of installing cables and emergency power for the navigation and communication systems. The latter solution will enable the boat to be steered longer in case it leaks.
Polina Star IV isa yacht built for long distance cruising in any, even the most severe conditions. Here we have thought of everything to the last detail.
For reasons of functionality and safety, the owner has chosen a fairly unusual layout with the crew quarters forward and the galley aft. The entire yacht is divided into four watertight compartments, each compartment has an escape hatch and there is an emergency lighting system high below the ceiling. The beds have high sides with cut-outs to allow for holding. Fine joinery in teak and oak is fitted with latches and security locks and all corners of the furniture are rounded.
