True North I - KC 87

Available for charter at St. Maarten's 12 Metre Challenge!

In the early 1980's, Canadian yachtsman and businessman Don Green, who had been successful in winning the 1978 Canada's Cup with his yacht, Evergreen, turned his sights on the America's Cup.

His plan was to build one hull, test it thoroughly and, from the lessons learned, design and build a second, faster hull. Due to financial constraints and over-zealous spending during the early part of the program, the second hull was never finished.

However, before the syndicate ran out of funds, the first hull, TRUE NORTH, was completed and sailed in the 12-metre World Championships in 1986. True North was designed by Steve Killing, one of the principle designers at C&C Yachts from 1972 until 1979 when he started his own design firm. At the time, the wing-keeled Australia II was the state of the art 12-metre and True North I was designed as a longer, heavier version of Australia II, built to take on the strong winds and heavy seas of Fremantle, Australia.

Today, True North I is available for charter at St. Maarten's 12 Metre Challenge. Contact us for more information.

True North IV

True North IV, nicknamed "Ivy", is the sister hull to TRUE NORTH. Using True North as a model, designer Steve Killing made improvements to True North IV that he thought would make her faster in the 1987 America's Cup race. She is longer on the waterline and heavier for better speed and seaworthiness in the strong Australian winds for which she was built. At the time she was drawn, True North was a bold design move - the longest waterline length 12-metre ever.

Finances were running low in both the CANADA II and TRUE NORTH camps and Canadian businessman and sailor, Paul Phelan, combined both challenges under one umbrella and added major financial support to the venture. Unfortunately, True North IV was left unfinished in Canada and never made it to America's Cup competition. In May 1993 it was shipped to St. Maarten where "Ivy" was completed and launched by 12 Metre Challenge.

Today True North IV is available for charter at St. Maarten's 12 Metre Challenge. Contact us for more information.