FIFTH DIMENSION
| Design | Beneteau First 36.7 |
| Sail Number | 8272 |
| Length overall | 10.98m |
| Length waterline | 9.23m |
| Beam | 3.5m |
| Draft | 2.2m |
| About the boat: | Fifth Dimension is a Beneteau First 36.7 which has recently arrived in New Zealand waters. A NZ family purchased her in the British Virgin Islands and sailed her back to Wellington where current owner Yuri Schokking bought her and moved her home to Nelson. Yuri has been slowly transitioning her from cruiser to racer, including some new sails that have just been delivered by our friends at Evolution Sails NZ. Fifth Dimension is yet to start a yacht race in New Zealand. Fifth Dimension will be sailed by Yuri Schokking and Richard Borrell in the 2020 RNI, in their second RNI together after completing the previous race on Farr 1020 Jet. |
| Home base | Nelson |
| Coming Soon! |
YURI SCHOKKING
| Name | Yuri Schokking |
| Age | 45 |
| Relationship to Co – Skipper | Mates |
| Have you every done the RNI before? | Attempted it in 2017 on Jet a Farr 1020. Got almost all the way round until the final leg when an unfortunate engine over run off the Mahia Peninsula filled the boat with smoke, blew the head gasket and killed the electrics. |
| Yacht Club | Nelson Yacht Club & SSANZ |
| Tell us a little about your sailing history/ background | Started sailing in Tauranga in the 1980’s sailing dinghy’s, Optimists, P-class, Hobie 16’s, 470, E5.9. Some keelboat racing, then a long period of career & family focus with a return back to sailing in the last 15 years. Started back with family with trailer yachts, then wanting to get competitive again started crewing coastal races and purchased a number of keelboats. Farr 1020, SR26 and now own the keelboat which we are taking around RNI, but can also still take the family away on, the Beneteau First 36.7 – Fifth Dimension. |
| What appeals most about doing the RNI | Ticking it off the bucket list and the achievement. |
| What are your essential food items during the race? | Coffee. |
| What will your meals be like during the race? | We went with home made frozen meals last time which were absolutely superb. It was always a highlight of the day to discuss what the defrost plan was, for the evening meal (can do that on a slow boat). No freezer this time so we are looking to compromise, but won’t be the freeze dried military rations if we can avoid it. |
| What’s your biggest fear when you think about the RNI? | The grey / white whale that we almost hit last time in Cook Strait coming back for another go. |
| What sound system do you have on board? What’s likely to be playing? | An upgrade is planned before the delivery to Auckland – budget dependent. |
RICHARD BORRELL
| Name | Richard Borrell |
| Age | 57 |
| Relationship to Co – Skipper | Racing Mates |
| Have you ever done the race before? | 2011 on Halo, Whiting 29 2017 on Jet, Farr 1020 |
| Yacht Club | Tasman Bay Cruising Club & Nelson Yacht Club |
| Tell us a little about your sailing history/ background | Have grown up around sailing, both father and grandfather sailed, my sailing began sail P Class’s as a school boy at Plimmerton in the 1970’s never very good but enjoyed it. After a short period mucking around with powered boats I bought a Whiting Reactor and got back into sailing, previous yacht was a Farr 1020 called Jet, now replaced with a Farr 41MX called Oki Max which would have been great to tackle the RNI but is Yuri’s turn to take his new boat Fifth Dimension. |
| What appeals most about doing the RNI? | The Challenge. |
| What are your essential food items during the race? | Good quality coffee. |
| What will your meals be like during the race? | Frozen pre cooked, during the RNI its always the most exciting part of day choosing in the morning what meal you take out to thaw for the coming evening. |
| What’s your favourite point of sail and why? | Up wind, its the only time we are competitive. |
| What do you like most about the boat you are sailing on? | Its quicker than the last one we competed on (Jet Farr 1020.) |
| Describe your skipper/co-skipper in 5 words | Experienced, cool calm and collected, only time he gets excited is when we nearly hit a whale coming into Cook Strait in the 2107 RNI. |
| What’s your biggest fear when you think about the RNI? | Not finishing. |