A Nelson company has won a $1 million contract for one of the world’s top classic yachts.
Nalder Sails is leading the contract that includes several world firsts, to make the sails lighter and stronger for the 64-metre, three-masted schooner Adix. The contract is the largest yacht sail order in the world this year.
Adix was built in the early 1980s for an eccentric Argentinian. Jessica, as she was then known, was then bought by Australian billionaire Alan Bond, who changed her name to XXXX, the brand of his beer.
It spent three months in Nelson in 2006 and at the time had four Nelsonians working on it.
It was for sale in 2011 for $31.5 million and was bought by the family that runs the powerful Spanish bank, Santander. The boat is currently getting a complete refit, including having 15 of its 21 sails replaced.
Bud Nalder teamed up with Auckland sail-makers Lidgard Sails to bid for the contract, which he considers as the pinnacle of his industry. “It’s only just kind of dawned on me how pretty bloody amazing it is, really. It’s a bit of a buzz, really.”
The joint bid from Nalder and Lidgard will see materials developed all over the world, including a high-tech sail cloth from Germany that was specially designed for this job, as well as other parts from Lithuania, Asia, Auckland and Nelson.
Bud says the sails are being made in Auckland because there simply isn’t enough room in Nelson. Twelve sail makers are involved and the first spinnaker took 700 hours to complete. In total, the job will take five months to finish.
The entire job needs to be finished and fitted on the boat, which is currently in Valencia, Spain, by October. She is sailing to the United States in November.
Bud says it took him two weeks to prepare the quote as it was such an intricate job.
“But it doesn’t come any better. I’ll die happy if I go out after this, with a grin on my face. It’s way, way better than America’s Cup or anything like that. This is just the absolute best. Everywhere this yacht goes the eyes just follow it.”
