2009 Shark Catamaran Nationals

August 6-9, Put-in-Bay, Ohio
The Put-in-Bay Yacht Club of Put-in-Bay, Ohio hosted the 2009 Shark Catamaran National Championships on the emerald-green waters of western Lake Erie in three days of great wind and almost great weather.
The Shark is the oldest, active class of catamarans still in existence. The British-designed cat made its first appearance in the United States in the very early 60s when Olympian Reg White and Designer Rod MacAlpine Downey made a tour, showing off this great boat.
Amazingly, the class has held together better than some of the boats did. Many of the boats in the class have been rebuilt as there was no builder for many years. Now, they are built out of wood using the WEST System epoxy and they are stunningly beautiful. Rick White, whose first catamaran was a Shark, asked when he first saw these gorgeous wood boats, “Where is the keyboard.., it looks like a Grand Piano?”
One would think that the class must be made up of a bunch old coots, but you had better think again. Indeed, there are some old sailors, but there are a good many youngsters both crewing and skippering. In fact, two teenage boys won two races and placed second overall. They are the youngest to ever accomplish either feat.

The Races
When the RC first set the course up on the first the winds were a nice, steady 10 mph. While there were very few wind shifts, the wind did slowly start to lay down. By the end of the 2nd race it was turning into a drifter for the folks in the back of the pack. There was a time limit of 30 minutes after the first boat finished, and the last boat eked it out with 5 minutes to spare.
After the first day of racing it was very close scores with Bryan and Christina Perrin just one point ahead of George Braddon and Sue Bennett, who were one point ahead of Jerry Pattenaude and Christina Couch. And the competition was deep, as there were 6 previous National or North American Champions competing.
On the second day of races, two more races were scheduled. Bryan and Christina took a 2 and a bullet in winds that steadily hung around 6-8 mph all day. Pattenaude/Couch moved into second place with a bullet and a 3rd.
A warm front rolled through the area on the last day of sailing, bringing southerly winds of 15-20 mph winds with a few gusts to 24 mph. This was when the two teenage boys, Eric Perrin and Patrick Turbett, got it all together, taking first in both races and moving them up into second place overall in the standings.
Meanwhile Pattenaude/Couch broke their boom while jibing at the reaching mark and had to limp back to port. That dropped them out of the money to 6th place overall. Braddon and Bennett broke a centerboard on the way to the race course, but held on just enough to still hold on to 3rd place overall.
Betty Bliss, a Shark North American Champ in the 60s and Women’s Hobie 18 World Champ was sailing with Jim Hirtreiter, who had just bought the boat and had never sailed a catamaran before. They had rigging and rudder troubles from the start, but each race they got better and better, and finished closing, but in 7th place.

Awards
There was a great dinner served for the awards party, and Christina Perrin was the emcee, ably assisted by Rick White, who had been operating the Mark Boat. First place overall went to Bryan and Christina Perrin, who are the first team to ever win the Nationals 4 times in a row. The record before that was three wins in a row.
During the awards, special wooden plaques were given to Kay Drake, PRO, Mark Scarpelli, who supplied the RC Boat, a 36' CSK catamaran, and to Rick White, Mark Boat. Thanks were given to Steve Abbey, who supplied the Mark Boat, Dick Bliss, Tom Rupp, and Hella and Steve who all worked hard to make the races run smoothly.

Here are some pictures we were able to capture on the course:

The Starts

Chirstina and Bryan Perring sailing downwind

Jerry Pattenaude and teenager, Christina Couch

Sue Bennett and George Braddon

The winning Perrins

The top three shots are of John Sherry, many times past-National Champ

Jerry Pattenaude and Christina Couch in the lead at the leeward mark

The last two are of Jim Hirtreiter crewing on his boat for past-North American Champ, Betty Bliss

Results