• Wally’s first thoroughbred race boat design, the 15.5-metre wallyrocket51, has been flexing her muscles in sail trials off Valencia 

• Optimized for one design racing with an owner-driver at the helm—and just as competitive under IRC/ORC rules—the wallyrocket51 showcases a design that excels across formats. 

• The wallyrocket51 offers owners ultimate flexibility, from podium-topping grand prix performance to exciting one-design Wally fleet racing, all with reduced capital and campaign costs

PERFORMANCE

With a 94-square-metre square-top main flying off the Southern Spars rig – held up with Future Fibres AEROsix hybrid carbon rigging – contributing to 160 square metres of upwind sail area, and a 265-square-metre gennaker giving 360 square metres of downwind sail area, the wallyrocket51 is fully powered for speed. Early sail trials off Valencia have already shown it to be lightning fast and a sensational yacht to helm, light on the wheel but responsive enough to give that fingertip feel that is instantly engaging. 

Headed by 28-times world champion sailor Vasco Vascotto and Argentine supremo Guillermo Parada, both of whom have been consulting on the development of the wallyrocket51 since its inception, the sailing team has been exploring the yacht’s capabilities by sailing against target boat speed numbers gleaned from other 50’ racers. 

“We wanted to create a boat that could make owners and sailors happy, incorporating all the things they say they want when you have a beer with them after racing – a yacht that holds its value, that is as stylish as a Wally, that is faster than anything else out there, and that still has a controllable budget,” Vascotto confirms. “And every day we sail the boat, in different conditions, it confirms we got the project right!”

 A boat born to face the toughest challenges, as confirmed by Vascotto himself: "As a crew, and by mindset, we love challenges, and perhaps the most difficult and important one is the Admiral’s Cup and Fastnet Race. Even though the wallyrocket51 was created as a one-design, we’ve always wanted to prove that it could compete anywhere – in ORC, IRC, and long-distance races. It’s not a boat built for these events, but we’ll do everything we can to prove that it can be competitive there too." 

The results so far have proven the concept – upwind the wallyrocket51 has shown exceptional pointing ability while sailing fast. Downwind, the wallyrocket51 is already living up to its name, delivering a scintillating ride even in lighter airs with the asymmetric flying. “Over upwind and downwind combined we should be quicker than any other boat in spite of being smaller and lighter,” beams Parada. 

Parada and Vascotto are a solid foundation for the wallyrocket51 team, bringing years of experience and synergy. Once rivals on J24s, they've now sailed together for 15 years on the TP52 circuit – notably with Azzurra – and on Maxis. “WhenWally approached me about this project, I said I’d join only if Vasco was part of it too,” says Parada. “We’ve also had a long, open relationship with Botin and the design team, which makes collaboration smooth and honest — crucial when the goal is to make the boat faster and better.” 

Their combined experience has also been central to understanding the exceptional performance of the wallyrocket51 on the water. Parada is measured when it comes to defining the wallyrocket51. 

“It’s a boat with its own DNA, designed for owner-drivers, with a taller rig relative to its size and incorporating all the latest innovations from recent years,” he says. “I believe it could appeal to a wide range of owners of equivalent classes, or even maxi yacht owners looking for something nimbler and fun to race with friends.” 

Keys to the wallyrocket51 are the addition of water ballast, a powered-operated hydraulic system and battery pack that will likely be used for the one-design class racing to make it as accessible as possible for owners. The water ballast system allows for fore-aft trim variations; the system can fill the tanks in a minute, and it takes just 6/7 seconds to transfer the water from one side to the other when tacking. Making the hydraulic winches and battery pack removable – with coffee grinders delivering manual power to the Harken Air winches – ensures the wallyrocket51 can be raced in IRC and ORC fleets without rating penalty. 

Unlike some niche race boat designs, the wallyrocket51will not just excel on windward-leeward but has been conceived to take on everything an owner could throw at it. “We designed this boat to be a good all-rounder that should be competitive in most conditions, and the boat is also meant to be competitive in any part of the world – structurally it has been engineered since day 1 for offshore races,” Carrau enthuses. “Having said that, like most light displacement racers, it will be a lot of fun sending it downwind in big breeze!”

 The wallyrocket51 made its much-anticipated racing debut at the ORC Central and Southern Tyrrhenian National Championship from 8 to 10 May. This marked the first official regatta appearance of the new model, offering a unique opportunity to see it in action.

And its debut couldn’t have been more spectacular: the wallyrocket51 absolutely dominated the ORC National Championship for Central and Southern Tyrrhenian Italy, scoring three wins out four races and taking first place overall in the final standings. An outstanding result that immediately highlights the exceptional speed, efficiency, and racing capabilities of this new high-performance boat made by Wally.