Key Largo, Florida, January 15-16
The NAMSA (North American Multihull Sailing Assn.) North American Championships were held on Blackwater Sound at Gilberts Resort in Key Largo this past weekend, with over 60 boats from around the country competing for the top spots in nine different classes of catamarans.

The largest classes were the F18, Inter 20 Hobie 16 and Wave.., and the competition was keen, to say the least.

A cold front blew through on Friday night drenching everything. It continued to sprinkle on Saturday morning, but by the time the Skipper's Meeting was held, the weather had cleared up and the winds were blowing at about 12-15 mph. It made for a great day of sailing.
On Sunday, the winds were 15-20 with a lot of gusts in the upper 20's. Most of the boats managed the heavy winds, although there were a number of pitchpoles going on for a number of fleets.

Mike Phillips dismasted his Marstrom 20 during the last race. The dismasting did not harm is score and he still finished 2nd place.

The Races
In the Nacra 6.0 Class Dave White and Leah Soares were leading most of the weekend, but on Sunday the winds picked up too much for this lightweight pair. John Fondrk and Dennis Bedgood were able to hold their boat down better on Sunday and overtook White/Soares to finish in a tie, breaking in favor of Fondrk/Bedgood. Jim Barrett/Bob Crum finished 3rd.

Dave White & Leah Soares (Nacra 6.0 #394) overtake an F18 about to pitchpole

The A-Cats were dominated by Bret Moss. Clive Mayo took 2nd and Scott Corey was 3rd.

Bret Moss dominated the A-Class

There was some really hot racing in the Low Portsmouth Fleet. The class had some really high-tech, lightweight boats blasting around. There were two Marstrom 20s, a CFR 20 and an ARC21 in the mix. The Marstroms and CFR were really dicing it out all weekend, with Brian Lambert and Jamie Livingston on the CFR taking top honors. Mike Phillips held on to second and Carla & John Schiefer were third.

Carla & John Schiefer blasted around the course on their new Marstrom 20

Eric Arbogast and Tom Wilson sailed their ARC 21 to 4th place

Mike Phillips dismasted his Marstrom 20 during the last race, but took that as his throwout and still managed a 2nd spot.

The Hobie 16 Class staged a hard fought battle as well. In the four races held on Saturday, four different teams took a bullet. Going in to Sunday Scot and Tracee Corson held a one point lead over Bill & Colleen Stolberg, and Chris & Jen Summers. Paul & Kathryn Garlick were in 4th place, but on Sunday they put it all together in the heavier winds, taking bullets in both races. The Corsons still maintained a one-point lead for the overall victory. The Garlicks were 2nd place and the Stolbergs beat out the Summers in a tie for 3rd place.

Stan Woodruff had total control in the Wave Class, easily taking first overall. Sharon Woodruff held on in the Sunday winds and took 2nd place, with Norm Freeman taking 3rd spot.

The High Portsmouth Class was dominated by Texan Stephen Acquart on a Hobie 17. Seth Stern and Gordon Isco sailed a Taipan 4.9 into 2nd place, and a Blade F16 took 3rd place. The Blade was indeed the boat folks were drooling over.., really slick and fast looking.

The Inter 20 Class was dominated by Tybee Island's John Casey and Kenny Pierce, taking all bullets. They started with the Low Portsmouth boats and quite often were leading over such boats as the Marstroms and the CFR. They really had it smoking. Mark Smith & Glen Holmes took 2nd place, with Jim Galloway & John Schlossberg grabbing third.

Tybee Island rounds the reaching mark and prepares to set the spinnaker

The largest class was the F18. Alex & Patsy Shafer sailed a Nacra F18 to four bullets and two second place finishes to win by three points. Kirk Newkirk & John Williams on a Tiger were chasing but had to settle for 2nd spot. Ollie & Kelly Jason sailed their Tiger to 3rd spot.

The F18 Class had the most boats and the competition was very good.

This F18 discovered what a p"pitchple" was during the last race on Sunday

This was the Midwinter Nationals for the Shark Catamaran Class that was dominated by Bryan & Christina Perrin. Defending Champ, Jerry Pattenaude & John Sherry held off Jack & Susie Bennett for second place. The Perrins were the recipient of the famous Shark Jaw Perpetual Trophy that has winning names and dates back into the 60s.

For Complete Results, Click Here!

The regatta was sanctioned by NAMSA, and sponsored by Catamaran Sailor Magazine of Key Largo, www.onlinemarinestore.com, Calvert Sails of Islamorada, Rick White's Sailing Seminars, and West Marine.
Next year's event is scheduled in January over the Martin Luther King Weekend. For information: Rick White, PO Box 2060, Key Largo, FL 33037, 305-451-3287, rick@catsailor.com.