A News Magazine

for ALL Small-Cat Sailors

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7

SEPTEMBER 2003

Hobie 16 Continentals

Memo from Mary

Editor & Publisher Mary Wells

Website Editor Rick White

P.O. Box 2060

Key Largo, FL 33037

Phone: 305-451-3287

Fax: 305-453-0255

E-Mail: [email protected]

Web Site:

http://www.catsailor.com

Copyright 1994

Catamaran Sailor (USPS#015945) is published monthly except November, December and January (combined issue for May-June) for $15 per year by Mary A. Wells, 104300 Overseas Highway, Key Largo, FL 33037-2935. Periodicals Postage Paid at Key Largo, FL and Additional Mailing Offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Catamaran Sailor, P.O. Box 2060, Key Largo, FL 33037.

and he referred me to their policy statement. It says that failure to comply with their testing requirements will result in the sailor being ineligible for the Olympics, the Pan American Games and the Paralympics, and/or for the qualifying regattas for those events during the course of the suspension.

Why can't they just SAY that in their press releases? And why can't they take a few more words to explain to us what "retire from the sport of sailing" means?

Here is Kenny's story:

When Doug Camp came to Miami in January of 2002 to participate in the Olympic Classes Regatta on his Tornado, he needed a crew, so Kenny Pierce, who lives in Miami, volunteered.

That particular year the Tornados had three consecutive events in Miami, all of which contributed to points toward getting on the Tornado U.S. Sailing Team, an elite group of five teams campaigning for the Olympics.

So, Doug and Kenny did very well, and, after having never sailed in a regatta outside the State of Florida, ended up in Position #5 on the US Sailing Team for the Tornados for 2003.

Being on the team qualifies you for receiving a small amount of financial help from the Olympic Sailing Committee of US Sailing and also some free sailing gear and some free coaching.

Kenny says, "I felt kind of bad about it because we were not really mounting a serious campaign, and yet we got the slot and knocked out teams that were a lot more serious about it and had a lot more money invested and had sponsorship."

Kenny told Doug in the late spring of 2003 that he wasn't going to be sailing with him any more "because it is just not possible for me to jump on a boat and expect to do well when we don't have time to practice and sail together a lot." (Doug lives in Texas and Kenny lives in Miami, so they only got together for a race.)

Unfortunately, Kenny did not realize that dropping out of the US Sailing Team is not as easy as dropping out of the Hobie Way of Life. Campaigning for the Olympics is serious stuff. You have to "officially" retire from the Team.

When you get on the U.S. Sailing Team in the first place, one of the forms you have to sign says that you agree to submit to drug testing at any time, on or

I don't mind that US Sailing has the power to punish sailors who violate the requirements of the anti-doping policy. I don't even mind that they publish the names of the violators.

What I DO object to is the wording of the public announcement.

Okay, here is what the announcement from US Sailing (but purportedly issued by the USADA) says:

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced (in October) that Kenny Pierce of Miami, Fla., an athlete in the sport of sailing, accepted a two-year suspension for refusing to take part in a USADA out-of-competition test on Aug. 9, 2003 in Miami.

Pierce, 35, accepted a two-year suspension from all sanctioned competition under the rules of International Sailing Federation (ISAF), the sport's international federation beginning on Oct. 8, 2003, the date of his acceptance of the sanction.

US Sailing, the national governing body for the sport in the United States, will carry out the sanction. Prior to the attempted test, Pierce intended to retire from the sport of sailing but had not provided proper written notice of his retirement. Subsequent to the attempted test, Pierce did properly retire from the sport of sailing.

(For those of you who don't know, Kenny is one of the top catamaran crews in the country and specializes in distance racing with Steve Lohmayer, as Team Tybee.)

Doesn't this press relase make it sound to you as though he can't race in anything for two years? Doesn't this also sound as though Kenny Pierce has retired from the sport of sailing forever? Doesn't it also imply that he must have been taking one of the prohibited substances (like too much coffee, maybe) and that is why he refused the test?

Maybe the inner circle of the US Sailing bureaucracy understand the language of this press release, but they should take a look at how it sounds to us lay people out here on the beaches.

We don't understand "retire from the sport of sailing."

We don't understand "all sanctioned competition under the rules of the International Sailing Federation."

I contacted somebody at the USADA

What's Inside

Chat Box 4-7

Loose Ends 8-11

Champions 12-13

Sail for Hope 14-15

Safety 16

Hobie 16 Continentals 18-21

Hobie 16 Tuning 22-23

Rate your skipper, crew 24

International 25

Key West Race Week 26-27

La Cholla 28-29

Maintenance 30-31

Shark Nationals 32-33

What if 35

Capt. Noah 36

Puzzles 37

Flyers 38

Schedules 40-42

Classifieds 44-45

Mr. Goodwinch 46

Cover photo:

Unidentified sailors at the Hobie 16 Continentals. Photo by Adam Gallegos, www.aquacanvas.com

(continued on page 46)

MURRAYS

Throwing money at it --

will development help or hurt the Formula 18HT?

Posted by Jake:

I hesitate to bring this up because I don't want to say anything detrimental to any catamaran classes and I have always admired the F18hts. However, I'm really interested in everyone else's take on the following article. I know this won't go down easy with a few of ya' so I'm coating my dry suit with fire retardant spray as we speak - FLAME ON.

"Bleeding Edge" article is found at <http://www.f18htclass.com/n_bleedingedge.html> This is just a summary:

By PETER JOHNSTONE

After many years of enforcing strict one design rules for the Sunfish, Laser, and 49er in various class or builder roles, I'm finding the wide open approach of the 18HT to be a real source of energy for me. Design and development have always been interesting to me. "When we first sailed our Bimare Javelin 2 USA-45, my 11 year old son and crew, Nick, immediately started lobbying for carbon beams. "Those aluminum beams look so old fashioned Dad.""I figured we might as well try to get the BIM properly sorted out.""WF figures our platform is 8 lbs over minimum""Fed up with our leaky platform, and the racking of the hulls (independent motion of the two hulls), we began looking for a way to make the platform better, and lighter""Finally, we want to rid the platform of the bronco character when pressing downwind in waves. The aft beam is simply too low for the platform""And the beam of the BIM looked slightly under max.""Our hulls were pretty scratched up when we got our boat, and the protruding seam can only add to drag""The gelcoat looks THICK, so we're grinding away the seam, scratches and gelcoat""Both of rudder heads show voids in the aluminum castings, so still looking at what to do.""The mast is a beast. We can barely right the boat""I asked Ben Hall if he'd make a new lighter mast for us, and he basically said he wouldn't""We also went to a fatter spin halyard that does not absorb water for better grip while hoisting, and lighter weight.""The Cunningham will get a total re-think in the coming months. The diamonds have been replaced with Dyform wire which stretches a lot less.""The standard Petrucci main looks pretty good, but not constructed for any sort of long term abuse""The weight of the tube/sprit is about 6 lbs, which is what the old alum sprit weighed. And it's at the maximum length…..about 11" longer than the standard aluminum sprit.""Goran Marstrom was right. This class has picked too high of a minimum weight. The hulls, beams, trampolines weigh 193 lbs!!!!! ""REGARDLESS, we're really enjoying the boat.

"Hummmmm, is this "a killer review" or just "a killing review? This would scare the poopie out of me if I owned one of these boats. Seriously - how can a normal person keep up with someone who's spending all that dough on development of a production boat? F18HT too heavy? He bought three sails for the boat in a day! Talking about the carbon fiber mast: "The mast is a beast. We can barely right the boat". Holy Cow Dung Batman!! C'mon let's flip my 6.0NA - I'll show you a beast to right! This guy is probably unloading $20,000 to better a $12k(??) Javelin F18HT. With this boat (class) being selected for the ICCT you can also bet that a few more will develop it further with a lot of cash leaving the regular folks in the dust and with outdated

CHATBOX

(from the catsailor website forum)

equipment. Do you think this is going to healthy for the class? How about for the sport?

Posted by Mary:

I don't know what the class rules are for the Formula 18HT, but if all the stuff he is doing to that boat is within what the Formula allows, I think it's great! This is not a one-design class -- it's a FORMULA class.Everyone keeps lamenting that we don't have a "development" class. If the F18HT class can fill some of this gap, what's wrong with that? And gains will never be made if we don't have some people with enough money to take a chance on experimenting.He has no idea whether his modifications are going to improve the boat. And he has no idea whether his modifications are going to help him win any races. But he is willing to take the gamble. If his modifications work, there may be ideas that can be useful to other existing classes and also can have an influence on future designs.Being a Formula class, just as the A-Class is, I assume that people who cannot afford to spend a fortune modifying an already expensive boat can build a boat in their garage and apply all their own creativity and inventions and come up with a very fast boat that costs less than a production F-18HT. Would you also object to that?Anyway, is this kind of development good for the F-18HT class? That is yet to be determined, but it has not seemed to hurt the A-Class. Is it good for the sport of sailing? Definitely!

Posted by Rolf:

A side note. The Tornado class was approached by the ICCT, but the class board did not want the Tornado in that event.. There has also been some discussion within the Tornado class about whether the Olympic status is `a good ting' for the Tornado class or a hindrance. But that is another discussion. Over to the F18HT: If it is within the class rules, of course he can spend his money on `go fast' gear. He will either kill off the class, start a new trend or get depressed by his boats performancewhen racing and quit sailing.I have to agree with Mary, if it is within the formula, why not ? Something good might eventually come out of it. But when he wants to adjust the minimum weight limit of the class, that's when the brakes have to be put on in my opinion. Mary mentions the `garage' option. I think that option is dwindling fast these days. Most people dont have the skills to design and build competitive boats these days. Just handling pre-preg carbon is quite laboursome. An autoclave is out of the question for most garage builders, as is the math for lay-up schemes and foam/glass composite panels. But obviously, money is not an issue for this sailor. It will be fun to watch whether this affects the F18HT class.

(continued on next page)

Chatbox_________

FLORIDA SAILCRAFT, INC.

1626 NE 18th Terrace, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33305

(continued on next page)

Posted by Dave:

I'll bite on this...never been flamed before. We are entitled to our "opinions", right.I say that there are always going to be those individuals that bring up the money issue in sailing. If you have the resources to modify your boat (or any other toy you may have) and that is what you want to do.... then so be it. Not everyone is interested in how to hold together a 25 year old sail or jury-rigging from Ace Hardware.Fast cars, motorcycles, power boats, monohulls, skis,..have all been tweaked with money. If one can not afford (or has other priorities) for their money, then they have to accept the fact that they can't play with those that can.I am asking myself if it is worth posting this because of the heat I will probably get from the "bailing wire" crowd, but I'll stick my neck out because it is "my opinion".

Posted by Steve:

I agree with Mary, good thing for the sport, not sure about the class though. I suppose the class rules are open enough for the name, it is after all F18HT (High-tech) No mention of one-design, just a box-rule.Good for the sport : One-design classes like Hobie 16 & Dart 18 etc insist on enforcing rules which were drawn up 20-30 years ago, when things were different - at the time Dacron was much cheaper than "high-tech" materials such as Mylar, so they were protecting their members from high costs. Now the cost difference is small enough to warrant the extra expense, as the Mylar sails will outlast & outperform the Dacron (my opinion). This only came about because other forward-thinking classes allowed the use of higher-tech materials, increasing the demand for them, which in turn reduced the manufacturing cost. On this premise, if enough demand is created, maybe one day carbon beams & masts will only cost a fraction more than aluminum. This will only happen if these ideas are tried, tested & proven to be better than the current norm.Regarding boats for "ordinary folk" these are clearly not, but suit sailors with large funds, who indirectly will help the future development of cats and other yachts. It`s good we have them, they aren't always the best sailors, but have a lot of cash, and will help develop the sport. Maybe that`s why we tend to dislike them, we envy their ability to spend heaps of cash on boats !For the rest of us, there are 3 formula classes that allow for all types of crew weights, configurations, budgets and levels of bravery.Me, even if I had the money, I`d have no interest in doing the Little America`s Cup, don`t want millions of tv viewers saying " who`s that guy who keeps holding up the start of the next race ?"

Posted by Matt:

Jake, Way to stir the pot. If its not the weight issue, then it's money. For all but the very few select persons neither really matters, as the reason they got beat was most likely that they were outsailed.If you are serious about competing, then you need equipment that is in the ball park with everyone else, 20-year-old, blown-out sails will not quite do it. But we cannot place a money limit effectively. What about the guy sailing 16s with the new boat every other year and new sails every year. Are we going to throw him out. At the least he is pumping a lot of good used boats into the market to hopefully grow the sport. There are a bunch of voices on this forum always bitching about wanting more formula and/or box rule designs. Now they are bitching that you should not spend any money. Any new formula or box rule will have a lot of money and changes being done early in it existance as people try to sort it out. As it matures that optimum

(continued on next page)

Chatbox_____

As far as other people doing development to the HT, I have seen lots of interesting stuff from the guys that were going to do the '03 Worrell in terms of rigging. Some of the class members are adding carbon spin poles and carbon booms and mid-pole sheeting system. Some are also experimenting with new and different ways to snuff the spin (Randy's tennis racket is an example).

I think this all good for the class and in the end, we want to grow the class. So the rules will hopefully work the development to that end. We have decided that we are going to outlaw solid sails and outlaw getting the boat foil borne (although I think that would be cool and probably pretty damn fast.) But, I think that I won't necessarily have to spend a ton of money to be competitive for two reasons.

The first is that I can pick and choose the modifications that really add speed and fit for my style of racing. For example I dont think carbon rudder castings will buy you that much speed and around the buoys the current spin snuffer system works great. I am psyched that Peter bought 3 sets of sails, now when I want new sails, I know who to talk to and it will keep my cost down, because I can make an informed choice and hopefully buy the best sails that will last for a couple of years.

The second reason I dont think I will need to spend a ton of money to compete is that this boat has a pretty steep learning curve and being a light boat it is easy to mess up and go slow. Sailing against the top sailors in this class has quickly shown that they are crushing me on the course because they are tuned into the boat, not because they have tuned the boat to be faster. In other words, the sailor is making the boat go fast, the boat isn't making sailor go fast.

So, no, I dont think we will see everyone rushing to do all the mods Peter did. I like the fact that someone else is thinking about these problems/opportunities because I don't have a huge pile of cash to throw at this boat, and I dont have the knowledge to know what the best ideas are, so my plan is to let other people sort it out and only do the really fast mods after they have been really tested and proven.

The thing I like about the 18HT class is that it is open and we have few rules; I like the flexibility to make mods to my boat without worrying if it is class legal. I also like that we have very open communication about the boats. We all seem open and willing to learn and share ideas. I like this.

So, yes I think it will be good for the class. And, no I am not worried that I will have to spend a ton of cash to keep up. Will the difference between a carbon boom and the stock aluminum make you win more races? No, being a better sailor will win more races.

And I agree with Mary that it will also be good for catsailing. We have added a bunch of guys from monohull and dinghy crowd and that's good for the sport. Class building is a whole different topic.

And by the way, thanks for noticing the new web site. We are glad you are all checking it out periodically.

Posted by Stewart:

the latest prepregs do not require autoclaves. Vac bagging is within most home builders ability. then one needs an oven that gets to 100C.Home builders have built these. So its not impossible.

Posted by Chris:

I think that most of this is harmless tinkering, but clearly overkill to get back the 8 pounds. To make it class legal, he's gonna need some lead when he's done (can you buy carbon lead?). A lot of us are threatened by big spenders (quick, name some RICH catsailors other than Nigel and WF), but I agree, we can't and shouldn't legislate dollars. Certainly not in a development class. Sure the boat could drop 20-30 pounds, but then the class has to worry about obsoleting EVERY boat out there. Ain't gonna happen. Don't worry, be happy. The boats ARE gonna

(from preceding page)

configurations will be sorted out and changes minimized. Look at the A-cat, not that much new development is being done now and several designs are out there all very competitive with each other.I think its great to have new stuff out there. If this guy want to be a "technoweenie" and spend a lot of money, more power to him, but he better be spending at least equal time sailing it or it will not matter.

Posted by Barry:

Time will tell. You will see the development of soft wing sails. They can offer all the upsides of an illegal hard wing but fit into the rules. They have very little sheet loads because you are not "sheeting the sail in".

Posted by Carl:

Someone posted this earlier:

"Most people don't have the skills to design and build competitive boats these days. Just handling pre-preg carbon is quite laboursome. An autoclave is out of the question for most garage builders, as is the math for lay-up schemes and foam/glass composite panels." I agree that the techniques you mention are not for garage designers but,1) These techniques are for volume builders, there are other techniques that yield very similar results that are suitable for the garage builder2) The 18HT is not cutting edge in terms of weight and materials. A platform weight of 120 kg is feasible using wood epoxy carbon, aluminum beams, and carbon mast. If you used synthetic rigging you might be able to use an aluminum mast.3) You could probably modify a 5.5 uni or Inter 18 to come close. If you did, you would end up lighter aloft than a purpose built 18HT.Yes, a garage designer could compete in 18HTAs a side issue, one day this winter put all your Tornado's standing rigging in a pile and weigh it, I did, it shocked me

Posted by Sam:

I fall on the "go for it" side with Mary. Some reasons:This is one person spending thousands of dollars to improve on a boat design which is already very advanced.He is funding the development that the companies and normal people can't.The Class seems well organized and could quickly outlaw anything which causes problems(the F18 Class outlawed canted daggerboards).In light boats, weight is critical. A sailor can't be sure that he will have a good start or pick the correct side of the course, but he can make sure that the boat is as efficient (light, smooth, clean) as possible. Most A Class boats come from the factory about 5 lbs underweight to allow the owner to bring it up to EXACTLY 165.0lbs.

Posted by Bill:

Jake, Your original question was good or bad? You didn't define good or bad for whom, but if you are interested in a 18HT owners perspective, then here goes: As an 18HT owner with I am very excited by the development Peter and others are doing to this boat. We had issues with the rudders not kicking up which Randy and others quickly solved this issue with a simple fix. We have an issue with the Jav2 that the rear beam hits in chop, slowing it down, Peter is experimenting with a solution. As far as sails, the class has already determined that the stock Bim sails are fast, faster than a couple of other prototypes that Randy did, but they are not very sturdy and they dont reef. So you dont really need new sails to compete, the BIM Sails are fast.

Chatbox_________

appeared on the scene at the end of the 1960's, pretty close to the Hobie16 I believe. Unlike a lot of other classes, there is no designated manufacturer and only the class membership gets to determine the rules, not a constructer company...so the rules are more about the sailor's desires than about profits for the company. But people say...the only real Tornado builder is Marstrom...which is correct...for the moment. They came up with a better way to make the boats that no one else on the scene could compete with. This lead to most other builders going out of business...but there is no reason another builder won't ever challenge Marstrom in the future. While is it obvious to everyone that the Hobie is easily the more successful boat in terms of numbers sold and profits generated, it certainly is not the better sailing boat from a performance standpoint. But more importantly, unlike the Tornado, which continued to improve over the past 30 years with changes in construction techniques and rig development, the H16 today is basically stuck at the same performance level it had back in the early `70's. Some think this is terrific...that's fine, enjoy it. But for me, I don't like the idea of a stagnated technology. I want improvement & evolution. I expect that from cars I drive and in the boat I sail. No one is forcing you to get into an arms race of spending...there are lots of classes out there that outlaw this.

Posted by Sycho:

Mike, Exactly! If you're worried about sailing against a rich guy with all the latest go-fast goodies, sell your boat and buy a H-16 so you can re-live the glory days of the 70s. Don't buy a FxHT class boat and then complain about it's development!I do get the point someone was trying to make- there is a market niche for a one-design non-development 18' boat right now, with super-strict limits on the boats, but no rules about where you get your parts from. A `po-boys' racing fleet of currently-modern boats that can be built without high-tech methods.

get faster, he may just be changing things quicker than most of us could. I admire anyone who sails this at 280 lbs; think I might have bought a smaller-than-max sail and mast :-) Not like he couldn't get another set later... See, I'm sniping at the $ too :-) Could be worse; could be dropping lots more into a lead sled to make it go .1 knot faster. Finally, I'll note that there isn't a real min. wt. 2 person spin boat beachcat class like the A-Cats (unless you count the M20 as it's own class?). There's a market niche to further split the fleets :-) Of course, even the A-Cats COULD get lighter...

Posted by Mike:

Think of it this way...without development and people willing to experiment with the "bleeding edge" and spending $$$, where would we be? We'd all be sailing Albacore's from the 1940's. Read Brethwaite's book "High Performance Sailing" for some extremely valid points about why having open classes like the 18 footer skiffs is critical in advancing the sport. One manufacturer classes such as Hobie14/16 are operated primarily as a business to keep the company going. All boat components/parts must be purchased through the recognized manufacturer, the idea being it keeps all boats nearly equal in performance with the added benefit of keeping the company profitable. One drawback is that as the class ages, new materials appear on the market that have potentially lower costs and improved properties. These can't be readily adopted into the class because this would violate the "all boats identical" rule and there is little or no incentive for the manufacturer to go and re-design components when everyone must come to them for the older stuff anyway (i.e. no competition in the component market). Now compare this to a more open, multi-manufacturer class such as Tornado. This boat

MAGIC MARINE

Tying Up Loose Ends

Don't eat crow when at sea

The term "As The Crow Flies" came from British coastal vessels that customarily carried a cage of crows. Crows detest large expanses of water and head, as straight as a crow flies, towards the nearest land if released at sea - very useful if you were unsure of the nearest land when sailing in foggy waters before the days of radar. The lookout perch on sailing vessels thus became known as the crow's nest.

Info on how to match race

There seems to be a lot interest in match racing, but not much information has been available about the significant differences between that game and fleet racing. Information like the differences in rules, strategy and techniques.

Well, that problem has gone away. America's Cup sailor John Cutler teamed up with International Umpire Henry Menin to produce a book that is more than just a starter kit to match racing - it examines and explains everything you'll need to claim a podium position in all but the highest-level, grand prix events on the match racing circuit.

Cutler and Menin use lots of diagrams to explain the match racing rules, and even more diagrams to make clear the techniques for controlling the start, for holding a lead, plus the tricks for catching up when behind. There's also a lot more. The 100-page book is available on CD from the North U website and is definitely worth the $20 asking price. http://www.northu.com/nu/NU_catalog.taf?_function=list&category=21

(Seen in Scuttlebutt 1427)

Isabel cost $150,000,000

Boat Owners Association of The United States reports that losses to recreational boats from Hurricane Isabel (not including marinas, other infrastructure or commercial vessels) will total over $150 million. Much of the damage occurred in the upper reaches of the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River watersheds, far from the storm's North Carolina landfall.

In the upper Chesapeake and Potomac, a combination of wind driven storm surge and high tide was exacerbated by runoff of rainfall, catching many unprepared with record-setting high water. Most of the damaged vessels were left in boatlifts or in slips to weather the storm. The north and west sides of the Chesapeake Bay were particularly hard hit.

ISAF Worlds notes

All nine Olympic classes participated in the ISAF World Championships that recently concluded in Cadiz, Spain. It was the first time all the Olympic classes have held their world championships at the same time and place.

In the Tornado class, with three top-five scores in their 10-race series, two-time Olympians John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas), finished ninth out of 72 teams and qualified the U.S.A. for the 2004 Olympic Games in the Tornado class.

Lars Guck (Bristol, R.I.) and Jonathan Farrar (Miami, Fla.) were 16th overall; Robbie Daniel (Clearwater, Fla.) and Anders Straume (Marblehead, Mass.) were 21st; Stan Schreyer (New

port, R.I.) and Forbes Durdin (Houston, Texas) were 35th; and Michael Grandfield and Dave Campiniello (Martha's Vineyard, Mass.) were 71st overall.

TORNADO (10 races; 72 entrants): 1. AUS, Bundock/ Forbes, 34; 2. GBR, McMillan/ Bulkeley, 39; 3. ARG, Lange/ Espinola 66; 9. USA, Lovell/ Ogletree, 109; 28. CAN, Johansson/ Curtis 238.

Related trivia:

As a result of the performance in the ISAF World Sailing Championships in Cadiz, Spain, the USA has now qualified teams for all classes in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens with the single exception of the 470 Women. The last chance to gain that qualification will be at the 2004 world championship regatta at Zadar, Croatia on May 7-16 - six months after the US 470 Olympic trials.

16 of the 27 medals at the ISAF Worlds were won by sailors who got their start in Optimist Dinghies. All but one of those 16 sailors had participated in Optimist World or Continental Championships as children. (www.optiworld.org)

Fire fall-out

Effects from the devastating fires that plagued southern California in October were felt even on the water. Quote from a San Diego regatta report:

"The fires made the sailing challenging; ash falling like snow and the Santa Ana winds battled the sea breeze."

The accused sailed a beach cat

Totally irrelevant, unimportant, uninteresting trivia: Scott Peterson, the man who is accused of murdering his wife and unborn child out in California, reportedly used to sail a beach cat for a few years. (It was mentioned when a television commentator was talking about some of the boats and vehicles Peterson has owned.) They didn't mention what brand of beach cat. Just made me wonder whether any sailors out there remember him.

Notice to 16HP uni sailors

From Jennifer Lindsay, Taipan 4.9 #262

Gulfport Yacht Club in St. Petersburg, FL hosted the US Taipan Nationals on November 8th & 9th. The same club is hosting an A-Class Catamaran Regatta on March 13th & 14th, 2004. There has been a suggestion to possibly open the A-Class Regatta up to the F16HP Uni fleet as well. This idea is still in the early stages and it may not be approved. One big determining factor is whether there is enough interest in the F16HP Uni fleet. I personally don't want to push to make this event happen and only have 4 F16HP's show up like the F16HP / F18HT event last year.

So if there is a F16HP Uni regatta in March, who would attend?

If there is anyone else interested, please let me know otherwise I will drop the idea. Maybe I will try again in a year or so if the F16HP concept is still alive by then.

(CS: Well, we just heard that the Taipan 4.9 Nationals going on Nov. 8-9 only has four boats, even though they are in the area

(continued on next page)

More Loose Ends___________

with the biggest group of Taipans [eight boats?]. And one of the four boats that showed up was chartered by a non-Taipan sailing team: Robbie Daniel/Keith Notary. So only three Taipan 4.9 owners were there. This does not bode well for development of either the Taipan 4.9 class or the F16HP class. Part of the problem is that nobody is selling and promoting the boats in the U.S. Too bad, because it seems like a great boat for couples.)

Rails to trails

Did you know that in several parts of the country, abandoned railroads are being made into hiking/biking trails? What a wonderful idea! Currently there are 12,648 miles of rail-trails used by 100 million people per year, according to Rails to Trails Conservancy. If you want to find out more about these trails and where they are, try the website www.railtrails.org

Just how FAR offshore were they?

The U.S. Offshore Sailing Championship was recently sailed on Chesapeake Bay. Made me wonder why the offshore championship is not sailed truly offshore. It became clear after reading the rest of the article -- they sail the event on offshore boats, and the participating sailors have to have sailed in a certain number of offshore sailing events during the prior year. But, still......

Maybe it is because is hard to find an offshore race commit

tee. And that makes sense.

Effort to revive Hobie Division 10

Just wanted to let Hobie sailors know about an effort to revive Division 10 that has just begun. We are holding a fleet building seminar, as well as having a booth display at the Strictly Sail Boat Show in Chicago in order to promote the idea of fleet sailing, with a focus on Hobie sailing in particular.

The response has already been strong, with folks from all over the Midwest volunteering their time to spend a few hours in the booth building the enthusiasm for fleet membership. This is a great start in a multi-year plan to strengthen the fleets here in Division 10.

We are going to have a great weekend; getting to know each other and sharing stories of how we used to sail in fleets of 100+ boats. With some hard work from everyone, we will continue to build up the existing fleets, and plan for some Division events in the near future.

I would like to invite all Hobie sailors living within the Division 10 (Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and Michigan) area to join us in Chicago, January 29 - February 1 2004. If you would like to see fleet sailing and Division events make a strong comeback in

(continued on next page)

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(from preceding page)

this part of the country, I challenge you to be a part of it. Best of all, Chicago is a great place to spend the weekend!

See you in Chicago!

Jeff Rabidoux, (248) 641-7358

NAHCA Division 10 Chairman

Darline Hobock honored with award

US Sailing has named Darline Hobock (Tulsa, OK) recipient of its C.R.E.W. Award. This award recognizes US Sailing staff and volunteers who effectively set clear expectations, show mutual respect, and are committed to collaboration within the organization. Darline Hobock was selected because of her dedication and commitment to the organization, as well as for the way in which she works with others. She has been a US Sailing committee member for 29 years and Chair of the Portsmouth Numbers Committee for more than 20 years. - http://www.ussailing.org/news/2003/crewAGM.htm

First woman president for US Sailing

US Sailing has named its first woman president: Janet C. Baxter of Chicago, IL. Immediate past president Dave Rosekrans passed the helm to Baxter at the organization's annual general meeting in St. Louis Sunday. Baxter first joined the US Sailing's Board of Directors at age 30, making her one of the youngest Board members at the time. She has worked with the organization's finance and membership committees and is a certified judge. She is also on the Audit Committee of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

Hobie 17, 18 discontinued

From Dan Mangus, Director of Marketing, Hobie Cat Company:

It is true that the Hobie 17 and Hobie 18 are no longer being produced, but the bright side to this announcement is that we have introduced some boats in recent years that have, slowly but surely, rendered the H17s and H18s virtually obsolete. The Hobie Getaway, in particular, has fulfilled, and to some extent surpassed, many of the features of both boats for the recreational user, and for less money. The Hobie Tiger and, to a lesser extent, the Hobie FX-1 in this size range have raised the bar a bit on the racing side of things, and have re-invigorated the racing scene in many parts of the country. Our Hobie 16 sales remain constant, which in itself is unusual for a boat of its vintage, and thus remains a very healthy and important part of our product lineup.

As with previously discontinued models (Hobie 14 for example), we expect that sailing and racing of these boats will continue to be strong for many years to come. With this in mind, we have set aside parts to support those boats for the foreseeable future. In addition, our network of dealers have many parts and some may even have these boat models (new) in stock. There are 11 models in the current Hobie USA product lineup: www.hobiecat.com

Marijuana joins list of banned drugs

Cannabinoids (e.g. hashish and marijuana) are to become prohibited. In previous years, (2003 inclusive), Cannabinoids

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have not been proscribed by ISAF, and have only been banned for the Olympic Regatta.

Following the release of the World Anti-Doping Code - 2004 Prohibited List of Substances and Methods, due to become effective from January 1st 2004, we must announce that there is to be a significant change from the current list regarding the status of Cannabinoids in the sport of sailing.

This position has been reviewed annually, and up till now, been left up to the rules of each Member National Authority (MNA), to determine whether tests should be conducted, mainly dependent on whether cannabinoids are banned by their civil authority.

The addition of Cannabinoids to the Prohibited List has been on the initiative of several organisations, (the IOC, ASOIF and some countries, including the USA and France).

All sailors MUST be aware that this substance will now be tested for and that they also may face the possibility of being tested un-announced.

In addition, the IOC has announced that testing will be done for THG (the anabolic designer steroid tetrahydrogestrinone) at the 2004 Olympic Games.

Related Articles

2004 Prohibited List Published http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=5537

Related Websites

ISAF Medical Pages http://www.sailing.org/medical

World Anti-Doping Website http://www.wada-ama.org

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U.S. class champs square off in MC Scows

U.S. Championship of Champions Regatta

Sept 24-27, Lake Geneva Sailing Club, Lake Geneva, WI

By RICK WHITE

It is not too often that a multihuller gets invited to sail in the US Sailing Championship of Champions, although it is mainly because we do not apply. However, this year two of us decided to give it a try Inter 20 Champion Alex Shafer of Lake Eustis, Florida and myself, Rick White, Wave North American Champ, from Key Largo, Florida.

The event was a round-robin sailed on MC Scows. Despite never having sailed a scow, I figured they might sail a lot like a cat you have to heel them somewhat to reduce the wetted surface. Alex had one up on me.... not only is he one of the USA's best cat sailors he also owns and has been racing an MC Scow for 10 years in his local pond. I might have bit off a lot more than I could chew.

Alex is also close friends with the MC Scow National Champ, Justin Hood. While practicing the day before, they both had much better boat speed and better boat handling ability than I did. But, being the great competitors that they are, they both took me under their wings and gave me all the advice I could ever need to go out and win the Worlds in this class.

It didn't take but they gave me the advice anyway.

The Races

I knew there was a chance it might be a little chilly in Wisconsin in late September, but it was still a bit of a shock awakening to 40 degrees. This did not bode well for someone whose blood has been thinning for 20 years in the Florida Keys. I stacked on several layers and covered that with wind/spray clothing and managed to stay fairly comfortable.

The first couple of races were cold but bearable, with light to moderate winds. I had a nice start and was right up with the leaders of the race and rounded the weather mark in 4^th place out of 16 boats. Disaster struck downwind when the hiking stick broke. That didn't hurt downwind, but upwind I slipped to last place. I notified the RC, but I was not given any redress because I did not properly fly my redress flag (mainly because I left it in my car).

So, I was not off to a very good start.

Alex did well in the first race, taking a 3^rd place.

In the ensuing races that day I seemed to have good starts, but slowly slipped back in the fleet and seemed to be around the 10^th or 11^th position each race. Alex was a few boats ahead of me and I finished right behind him in one of the races.

Meanwhile, our buddy Justin Hood had taken a good lead in the regatta.

Second Day

It was even colder and the wind was around 15 mph. Perhaps the heavier wind would be in my favor I thought Not! Again, I had a very good start and was right there, and again I slipped back into my norm.

The second race of the day was a killer. The wind had picked up during the first race and was pretty hefty for the second start around 18-20 mph. After rounding the windward mark and heading back downwind, gusts in the 30's hit the fleet and nearly half the boats went over.

The lake had developed some steep chop in the heavy gusts and the flat, low bow entry of the MC Scow really had some

Photo of MC Scows from the Melges.com website.

problems handling it.

I managed to stay upright and headed back upwind. The course was two windward-leeward legs using a downwind finish. But, it was strictly survival sailing back upwind in the huge gusts they were not only big gusts but they would come from every direction, much as you would expect on an inland lake.

It was then I made up my mind that I would not sail this boat again downwind in this kind of wind. Had the RC had the foresight, they would have shortened the course and finished upwind (close to the yacht club). Alas, they didn't. So, I sailed on into the club.

Meanwhile, Alex was stuck with two 9^th place finishes not looking good for the multihull guys.

The wind subsided in the afternoon and the fleet went back out, sans Rick. The morning had completely exhausted me after all I am an out-of-shape senior citizen. Not too mention the exhaustion seemed to set off an afternoon of heart fibrillation. One benefit of age is that it gives you lots more excuses.

The Rest of the Story

And the last day again had temperatures in the low 40's, but nice winds of around 15 mph.

Alex got in a 3^rd and 4^th and for the rest of the races took over my place at 11^th. This put him in 7^th after the final gun.

Justin had a couple of bad races and a capsizing DNF in the extreme conditions and slipped to second by the time the regatta was over. First place went to Lightning Champ Allan Terhune.

While I was there, I put in a bid to have the regatta held on Waves in the Florida Keys near or around the time of the Wave Nationals always held on the first weekend of December. It appears we may be awarded the regatta in two years.

A special thanks to the folks at Lake Geneva Yacht Club. They were extremely hospitable and helpful and really down-to-earth, good-ole sailors. Personally, I want to thank Bill and Joan Freytag for a great place to stay and for their hospitality. With Bill I had my own personal, local advisor.

(Results on next page)

Championship of Champions

Scows1991 Jamie McCreary - International One-Design1990 Craig Leweck, Matt Reynolds - Lido 141989 Bart Hackworth, Will Baylis - Santana 201988 Ed Adams, Meredith Adams - 1986 Champions1987 Paul Forester, Andrew Goldman, Bill Draheim - Flying Dutchman1986 Ed Adams, Meredith Adams, Geoff Moore Snipe1985 Steve Rosenberg, Brodie Cobb, Jim Brady Snipe1984 Riaz Latifullah, Barney Harris, Jud Smith Albacore1983 Hobie Alter, Jr., Scott Ward - Hobie 181982 John Kostecki Sunfish1981 John Kolius, Chuck Wilk, Mark Foster - J/241980 Dave Ullman, Jim Linskey 4701979 Hobie Alter, Jr., Christian Banks - Prindle 161978 Tom Linskey, Neal Fowler - Coronado 151977 Tom Linskey, Jeff Linehart - Coronado 151976 Fall - Tom Ehman, Major Hall - Flying Scot1976 Spring - Clark Thompson, Jr., Doug Johnston, Lawrence Daniel Ensign

You might note that Hobie Alter, Jr. won in 1979 and 1983.

(from preceding page)

Scores:

1 Lightning Allan Terhune 19.0

2 MC Scow Justin Hood 28.0

3 Snipe Andrew Pimental 7 3 4 9 3 1 5 3 1 7 34.0

4 J22 Peter McChesney 1 11 9 3 2 3 6 7 3 2 36.0

5 Gordy Bowers 8 6 7 4 6 4 8 2 6 5 48.0

6 I 20 Eric Wilson 10 5 8 10 7 5 1 5 10 6 57.0

7 Nacra Inter 20 Alex Shafer 3 8 11 8 9 9 3 10 11 4 65.0

8 Windmill Richard Fontana 13 12 16 6 4 dnf 9 4 4 8 76.0

9 Force Five Fred Meno 11 2 14 13 11 6 7 9 8 10 77.0

10 Holder 20 Frank Keesling 4 7 5 5 12 8 12 13 14 11 77.0

11 Laser Richard Tillman 9 9 6 14 8 10 10 6 7 13 78.0

12 US Mariner Newton Wattis 5 10 10 12 10 7 13 12 9 9 84.0

13 Buccaneer David Spira 12 14 15 15 14 11 11 11 12 12 112.0

14 Class X Zack Hester 14 15 3 7 raf dns 14 dnf 13 dnf 117.0

15 Wave Rick White 16 13 12 11 13 dnf dnc dnc dnc dnc 133.0

16 San Juan 24 Mark Rider 15 dnf 13 16 15 dnf 15 14 15 14 134.0

List of Previous Winners:

2002 Bill Draheim (Flying Scots) - Raced in Flying Scots2001 George Szabo, Brian Janney - Star 2000 Paul Foerster, Carrie Foerster - JY151999 John Mollicone, Danny Rabin - JY 151998 Kelly Gough, Heide Gough, Natalie Mauney - Flying Scots1997 George Szabo, Stacey Dumain - Lido 14s1996 George Szabo, Stacey Dumain - Lido 14s1995 Brian Taboada, Larry Colantuano (Lightning) Brick - Ideal 18s1994 Russell Robinson, Allan Robinson 1101993 Russell Robinson, Mike Considine 1101992 Paul Foerster - Flying Dutchman - raced in MC

CALVERT

SAILS

FINISH LINE

Sail for Hope was a race to survive

By RICK BLISS
According to the sailnewport.org site there were 98 boats registered for this charity event. Seemed like more when we were tacking against the tide under the Jamestown bridges. Boats ranged from Laser 2's to 66' monsters. Most impressive-looking multihull was the F-40 `Caliente' with Tommy Gonzales at the helm.

It all started just outside Newport Harbor close to Rose Island. A huge ocean liner was our backdrop. The sky was grey and the temperature chilly, in the 50's(ok, bloody cold to you southerners).

Seven classes got underway with 10 minutes between each start. The wind was about 12-15 just before the Class #7, multihull start which consisted of 13 boats, including 5 Nacra 6.0na's with spins, 2 Nacra/Inter 20's (one with no jib and an 8-10-year-old crew), 2 Hobie 16's (one with a spinnaker), 2 18 HT's, 1 F-40 and an F-31. The downwind start with spinnakers was a little hairy but we all made it.

Flat water kept the group pretty close all the way to the north end of Jamestown Island where we dropped the chutes and headed off on a slow reach (wind dropped off). Barry and Patricia Moore led the way on the I-20. Close behind were Mark Murray and W.F. Oliver on the 18HT, then Brandy Wood and myself on the N6.0, Garrett Norton and Joe Hamwey on a Nacra 6.0, Tommy Gonzales on the F-40 (that's a scary sight having the Formula-40 tromping up your tail), Mike Ferrara and Roy Okuroswski on a N6.0, Chris Titcomb and Vicky on a N6.0 (possibly not all in that order).

I don't know the rest of the standings after that but this is where the damage started.

Sean Cavanaugh and his sister had a shroud let go on their Hobie 16 somewhere along the east side of Jamestown Island. Sean McQuilken and his teammate Andrew, (brother of the Cavanaughs) stopped to assist. He fortunately borrowed a VHF radio from the other Hobie after he discovered his was out of commission. He needed it for his own rescue later on.

Somewhere in the general vicinity of the H-16 problem as best I can figure, Dave Fortier on a Nacra 6.0na pitchpoled with his spinnaker. He punched the spreader bracket into the sail track, crimping the mast and bending the rear spreader arm. He limped over to Quonset, RI and got his sails down and trailered home from there.

The wind hadn't even nuked yet. It will soon enough!

As we all tacked toward the Jamestown Bridges against the tide, the wind lightened so that we were only trapping one person most of the time. The I-20 and N6.0 were neck and neck and pulling away from the 18HT until I made a few too many tacks to avoid monohulls. Barry Moore jumped out to another big lead and the HT closed up some. Monohulls were everywhere I turned and boy can they point. The F-40 was also right there in the fray.

Once under the bridge the wind started to build quickly. Up to 16-18 and life was great. Waves were still fairly small.

Halfway along Dutch Island all hell broke loose. The wind hit like a ton of bricks. It shot up to 25 with higher gusts and the waves immediately increased to 4-6'. I don't know how the waves built so fast. The F-40 revels in this stuff and started to motor

away. The 18HT was handling it fairly well until the waves got even bigger as we headed farther down the bay. Barry Moore and I limped along, pinching and pinching (I know I'll need a new jib). I went in under the lee of a point so we could tack. We were so close to the rocks I was sure we would hit something. We made another tack and then continued to pinch and pinch and pinch to make the mark. We were lifting off waves and getting blown sideways similar to a board sailor who is getting air. Brandy was straddling the forward beam and I was as far forward as possible so we wouldn't go over backwards. All this time I'm thinking, we have to turn downwind pretty soon. Oh darn!

About this time we noticed the F-40 was no longer anywhere in sight. We later learned that the top of their sail let go and they dropped the main and headed downwind.

The boys on the H-16 started seeing boats headed in the wrong direction with sails down, a top of a mast broken, etc., and now they're realizing they're in a world of hurt. They can't turn downwind and the waves have increased to 5-6' with wind gusts reported over 30. A rocky coast greets them to leeward with waves crashing over the rocks.

They ultimately flipped and turtled immediately. The mast drove into the sea bottom and took on water. A monohull (name unknown) circled them with a triple reefed main and relayed their call for assistance. The monohull struggled to stay with them in the rough conditions. A power boat arrived and tried to right them without success. A Sail Newport boat arrived, took them off and gots them ashore.

By the time they got back to the area where they left their boat, Chris Titcomb had pulled it up onto a rocky beach. He's on the beach because he snapped a beam bolt. The H-16 suffered sail and batten damage but little else.

Get some coffee because it gets worse.

We rounded the mark at Beavertail and I didn't immediately turn downwind. We probably scared the heck out of the Billy Black photo boat because I continued to head to weather trying to figure out how not to flip and he was right there in the way. A friend on shore later said, "One second I could see you and the next I could only see the top half of your mast."

I finally turned downwind and thought we were going to pitchpole. I slammed it back upwind and sat for a minute or so to get in control (you have to picture the rocky shore to leeward and the big waves crashing onto it. No hope if you mess up as some found out).

We brought the boards up and turned down again. This time we made it easily. We drove so deep the jib was flapping from one side to the other. Barry Moore came around and put up the chute and carried it all the way in.

Mark Murray and W.F. Oliver came around on the HT, and this was the start of a bad hair day for W.F. They punched the windward bow and cartwheeled. W.F. got separated from the boat. Mark righted it and just barely got away from the rocky shore. He got close to W.F. but missed him. He flipped the boat again and righted it again, but this time he can't tack away from the rocks.

During part of this mess he got caught under the boat and had to wait for a wave to lift the boat over the rocks so he could get out from under. Phil Vaillancourt ran down and helped them get the boat up over the rocks. Damage was confined to two

Sail for Hope_____

daggerboards, a rudder, mast, sails, etc.

Wait, it gets worse!

A 110 (vintage 1957 model or thereabouts) is clawing it's way upwind when the trap breaks dropping the crew into the water. The boat takes on a lot of water during the crew recovery. They turn the windward mark and head downwind. As the bow goes down a wave, the water rushes forward and the boat submarines, completely swamping them. Now they're being washed towards the rocks on Beavertail.

They are being towed away from the rocks when the Coast Guard arrives and insists they abandon ship. Unfortunately the boat ends up being smashed to smithereens. Little chunks are all that's left according to witnesses.

We didn't see the other 18HT for quite some time and wondered if he had suffered the same fate as the first one but we were told later that he wisely sailed back around the island.

Catamarans took the top five trophy slots and Rick Bliss' Team OZ was the overall winner of the event.

To see the results check out www.sailnewport.org/npt/m/_general/2003results.asp If that doesn't work just go to www.sailnewport.org and you can find them under the `Sail for Hope' page. Photos are located at www.studio6x7.com.

(Excerpt from a story in Sailing World:)

It would be easy for someone who didn't know the players, the event, and the area, to think of the third annual Sail for Hope regatta as a bit of a carnage fest. After all, two boats were dismasted and a 110 class sloop ended up in splinters after 30-knot breezes blasted the 98-boat fleet near the end of the race. But thanks to great management by Sail Newport, a heads-up race committee, and a web of safety vessels, no one was hurt, most everybody had a hell of a good time, and over $20,000 was raised for local Rhode Island charities, and for the Jamie Boeckel Memorial Safety at Sea Fund.

Created three years ago in the direct aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and originally named Sail for Pride, Sail for Hope is a popular end-of-season celebration and fundraiser. Boat owners put off hauling, professional and amateur crewmembers donate time and money, and everybody gets one last sail around Rhode Island's Conanicut Island as well as a party at the International Yacht Restoration School after racing.

A `helmet day' on Narragansett Bay

By CRAIG HACKETT

My trustworthy crew is my wife Jennifer Hackett, aka Helmet Girl. We have been racing for many years now and after one bad pitchpole, she felt more comfortable wearing a Gath Helmet when conditions get challenging. It is a funny thing, though -- you can see the smile jump onto all the skippers' faces -- Rick Bliss, Dave Fortier, for instance -- when the helmet comes out, as it is a clear indication the winds are UP! The Helmet was on for the Sail for Hope.

Jennifer and I survived this Sail for Hope Regatta on our Nacra 6.0. The winds were forecasted to be strong. We watched the monohull fleets start ahead of us and then just before our start the rain squall came through. We had a nice spinnaker run down to the end of James Town island, but had a problem wih the take-down. We managed to untie it and drag it back on board.

We rounded the marker and started our upwind journey well behind the beachcat fleet and most of the monohulls. We kept at it, working the shifts and driving hard as the wind began to rise. We passed under the bridge and began speeding by the monohull fleet and slowly reeling in the beachcat fleet. The wind was really increasing now. Fortunately, we had decided earlier in the morning to use our small jib, and it was performing perfectly.

We watched ahead of us as a huge maxi monohull's mast failed, dropping to the water.

We sailed though a huge school of tiny fish. They were everywhere, the bows were slicing through the school, shooting out fish! It was quite a sight!.

As we started to near the opening to the ocean where we would have to sail out and around a government marker the sea state became extremely rough -- 6 to 8 foot steep swells with occasional 10 footers and winds in the high twenties. The sea was so rough because of the southwesterly wind battling the ebbing tide from Narragansett bay.

To make matters worse, we were now surrounded by the large fleet of big monohulls. There is nothing like screaming off

of waves seeing a 50-footer with 12 people on the rail, healing over at 40 degrees, taking your stern just feet away from you! Spray was blasting off our boat and flying 30 feet back. It was fair to say, "The sea was angry that day, my friends."

We managed to make it to the government marker and began the now serious downwind run with wind in the twenties and the following sea huge. I gave Jennifer the old, " Hold on, Girl."

We began running downwind near the cliffs of Beaver Tail Point. My VHF radio was abuzz with the race committee directing coast guard and chase boats to vessels in distress. Reports were coming in of cats washed up on the rocks, sailors overboard in the water, boats with mast down and one account of a boat taking on water. We were now at a point were a capsize would be very bad, as you might have one chance in righting the boat before drifting on to the rocks.

We were running down the swells and occasionally altering course 180 degrees back upwind just because the drop off the next swell looked so deadly. We sailed by one Maxi Monohull dragging their spinnaker and the crew was in the process of cutting it free! That must be quite a feeling to be dragging a multi thousand dollar sail and instructing your crew to cut it loose.

We stuffed once hard, I did the routine of drop the tiller, drop the mainsheet, hold onto the aft beam and pray as I watch the rudders both come up and out of the water! Luckily we saved it and managed to bring her across the finish line in Newport Harbor.

We made it in one piece, but because conditions were so rough, I never had a chance during the race to even look up! On the beach while trying to lower the sail we noticed the mast was badly compressed near the spreaders. It would not have lasted much longer. Sadly, three other 6.0s experienced the same fate to some degree with their masts.

We had a great time, although Jennifer said she might retire from distance racing after that one.

SAFETY QUESTIONS, PROBLEMS, ISSUES

More than one way to right a cat

By BILL ROBERTS

Something that makes righting a beach cat easy is using the wind to lift the rig back to the vertical position. To make this work, the hulls must be pointed into the wind. A small drag chute will do this nicely. Store the drag chute on the underside of the tramp.

When you turn over, launch the drag chute off the bow of the hull in the water and tie the main tow line to the forestay chainplate at the hull. The drag chute will keep the hulls pointed into the wind.

Now free up the mainsail traveler control line and sheet in the mainsail. Stand on the traveller car and push it down toward the water. This will take the leech of the mainsail with it. At this time the mainsail will begin working like a wing with a positive angle of attack and generate enough lift to right the boat. This is how I right the RC30.

It is the same principle as a waterstart on a sailboard-type boat. When the leech of the mainsail is pushed down toward the water, the sail fills and the lift created by the mainsail rights the boat. Now one person can right the boat.

When the boat comes up, the sails are immediately luffing and the boat stays with the bows pointed into the wind as long as the drag chute is out.

As far as `standing on the traveler car goes': Initially the car is pulled from center down toward the end of the track by hand. This will get the car to a low enough position that it can be stepped up onto from the hull. The sailor's weight is only required to push the car the last foot or two.

(CS: Note that the goal here is to get the sail to invert so that instead of the belly of the sail curving down toward the water, it curves up away from the water -- more like an airplane wing instead of an upside-down airplane wing.)

The sailor standing on the traveller car/mainsheet has two choices as the boat starts righting itself. Once the boat is well on its way to coming back on its feet, the sailor standing on the traveller car or mainsheet can roll forward onto the trampoline or they can push off aft and simply fall back into the water. Then they have to climb back up on the boat. In the big picture it is easier to roll forward onto the tramp.

As the boat rights itself, the sailor with their foot on the traveller car/mainsheet is standing vertical, parallel to the rear beam. When the boat has rotated at least 45 degrees in the correcting direction, this person, facing forward, should lean forward out onto the trampoline and then take their foot off the traveler car just as the hull splashes down. Shortly thereafter, the luffing mainsail is going to be jerking the traveler car back and forth on the traveler track, so get your foot out of the way.

The mast should be free to rotate either way as the boat is righted or the rotation lines should be cleated to center the rotation and stop all mast rotation. Overrotating the mast in one direction will break battens for sure when the mast tries to oscillate immediately after the boat is righted.

As far as recommended size of the drag chute, a 4-foot- diameter chute is satisfactory for most beach cats. I use a 6-foot-diameter chute on the 30.

Of course, you could also use a tow boat or an anchor; anything that holds the bows into the wind will work.

The RC30 on Biscayne Bay was turned over in a squall a few months ago. After the storm passed, a powerboat offered to tow the boat to Pier's home on its side. The direction to home happened to be into the wind. Just after they got under tow and began moving, mast square to the wind, the wind got under the mainsail and righted the boat, to everyone's surprise. Pier and his friends standing on the side of the down hull all fell into the

water when the boat righted itself.

(CS: A drag chute would also help to slow your drift if there is a rocky lee shore. It could also be a good safety feature to have on your boat in case you are caught out in a big squall and have to keep the boat pointed into the wind to drop your sails on water too deep for a normal anchor. Plus, it's LIGHT, and easy to store and deploy.)

Are the maxi-multis strong enough in the open ocean?

The decision to postpone the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre for the 60-ft trimaran fleet given forecasts of 50-knot winds posed serious questions about the hardiness of this increasingly light and powerful fleet. Foremost in the minds of organisers and crews was the scourging experience of last year's Route du Rhum, in which five trimarans capsized and seven suffered serious structural damage. Fujifilm was destroyed.

This year sailors were questioning the wisdom of starting the race in November. The winds are less fierce and more predictable in October. Here is a quote from Nigel Irens, designer of maxi-multihulls:

"We have to remember that a few generations ago people didn't go to sea in winter at all. You could say that the modern world has been guilty of collective arrogance and previous generations have had more respect for the sea. If you just take the attitude that `Oh, we'll just make it stronger' you are, in a way, ignoring the reality of what the sea is all about."

(Yachting World, November 4, 2003)

And they say it's easier

to operate a powerboat!

(An excerpt from Jill Nickerson's report of Day 6 at the ISAF World Championship Regatta in Cadiz, Spain.)

Before the first race even started, Mike Fletcher, coach for the Australian Tornado team, had a near death experience on the way to the course.

He had stopped to watch the Finn class, who were on the way out to the Tornado course. As he was standing in his stopped coach boat looking through the binoculars, a Danish Finn coach boat came flying in from the side at about 25-30 knots.

Neither had seen the other, when suddenly the Danish inflatable boat ran right into and over the Australian boat, spinning the Australian boat violently and spitting the Australian coach out of the side of the boat and dangerously close to the spinning prop of the Danish boat.

In a desperate attempt to stay away from the propeller, Mike swam as deep as he could, as quickly as he could and missed the propeller.
Finally he surfaced, dazed and a bit battered, climbed back onto his boat, changed into some dry clothes he had on board, and went about the day almost as if nothing had happened -- other than the fact he could not see a thing because his glasses had been lost, and he had a large gaping hole in the side of his boat.

His winning Australian team Bundock and Forbes said that they had to go over the finish line first, otherwise their coach would not have been able to find them.

SUNJAMMERS

How do you draw a crowd?

With 69 boats, it can get a bit cozy on the starting line. (Photo by Adam Gallegos, aquacanvas.com)

Hold a Hobie 16 Continental Championship

The Hobie 16 Continental Championships of the North American Hobie Class Association were held Monday, Sept. 29, through Friday, Oct. 3 at The Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association in Dewey Beach, Delaware.

Seventy boats were registered, representing six countries: the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Germany, Brazil, and Canada.

This was the major feature of a full week of Continental Championships. The Women's, Youth and Hobie 14 Championships were held on the weekend immediately prior to the Open 16 Championship. (CS: We will try to have a report and photos for those events in the next issue.)

DAY 1 REPORT SEPT. 29

Rehoboth Bay delivered five to fifteen knots out of the North with large wind shifts and extreme variations in velocity to challenge the seventy-boat fleet of Hobie 16s.

After the first day of racing Wally and Tyler Myers, 2001 Continental Champions from Marmora, NJ, were in the lead with seven points after four races and one throwout.

Armando Noriega, a Pan Am Games silver medallist from Mexico City, was in second sailing with Rodrigo Achach.

In third were Paul and Mary Ann Hess, US Pan Am Games team members, from Napa, CA.

Day 1 Results: 1) Wally Myers and Tyler Myers (NJ) - 7pts. 2) Armando Noriega Jr. and Rodrigo Achach (MEX) - 12pts. 3) Paul Hess and Mary Ann Hess (CA) - 12pts. 4) Dan Kulkoski and Mary Beth Villa (NJ) - 16pts. 5) Enrique Figueroa and Gabriel Vazquez (PUR) 25pts.

DAY 2 REPORT SEPT. 30

On the way out to the race course the wind was five to ten knots, with dramatic shifts, creating problems for the race

committee. It was impossible to keep a square starting line throughout the start sequence. After three general recalls race one finally got under way.

The wind decreased as the race progressed causing the race to be abandoned by the third leg. The fleet was sent back to shore for a few hours under postponement but the breeze failed to materialize, and racing was eventually abandoned for the day.

The father son team of Wally and Tyler Myers retained the lead, with many other family teams behind them. Twenty-six of the seventy Hobie16's were sailed by a team of immediate family members. Plenty of additional family members were also sailing on different boats -- the Hobie 16 is truly a family racing class.

DAY 3 REPORT OCT. 1

Conditions for the third day of racing were light and shifty. Race one got going after several general recalls. As the boats got to the top of the first beat the wind was dying.

The race committee shortened the course to finish at the leeward gate and then sent the fleet back to shore under postponement.

At 3:30 the fleet was sent out for another race.There were several more general recalls and the course again had to be shortened, this time at the second weather mark. Sailors got back to the beach just before dark.

Top five (protest pending): 1) Paul Hess and Mary Ann Hess 17pts 2) Dan Kulkoski and Kathy Kulkoski 32pts. 3) Armando Noriega Jr. and Roderigo Achach 35pts. 4) Wally Myers and Tyler Myers 40pts. 5) Bob Merrick and Eliza Cleveland 42pts.

DAY 4 REPORT OCT. 2

Wind! Four races were sailed Thursday. The first race started in single-trapeze conditions but as each leg of each race

Bill and Sandra Jeffers on Day 4 of the racing. They are among the 13 teams who pre-qualified for the Worlds as a result of their finish position at this Continentals. (Photo by Adam Gallegos)

was sailed the wind picked up steadily. By the third beat of the fourth race the wind speed was measured at 30 knots with higher gusts. By the end of the fourth race most of the boats were either on the beach or upside down.

Twenty-eight boats, out of seventy, were able to finish.The Brazilian team of Brubo DiBernardi and Suzi Pirillo dominated in the breeze, winning the last two races. They moved up from 15th to 7th. However, supposed light air specialist Paul and Mary Ann Hess held onto the lead with all single-digit finishes.

Top five (protest pending): 1) Paul Hess and Mary Ann Hess 42pts. 2) Armando Noriega Jr. and Rodrigo Achach 65pts. 3) Wally Myers and Tyler Myers 81pts. 4) Randy MacConnell and Chris CacConnell 82pts. 5) Dan Kulkoski and Kathy Kulkoski 85pts.

DAY 5 REPORT OCT. 3

Three races were sailed on the final day. After the first light- air race it was looking like racing would be over for the day. The race committee postponed on the water for over an hour waiting for the wind. The sea breeze finally filled in after two o'clock and two more races were sailed in double-trapeze conditions.

Wally and Tyler Myers won the day with two bullets in the last two races. They moved back up to third after dropping to fourth in the first race of the day.

FINAL REPORT

Paul and Mary Ann Hess (Napa, CA) are the new Hobie 16 Continental Champions. The couple posted three more single-

Ken and Carol Hilk on their way downwind on Day 4. (Photo by Adam Gallegos)

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(from preceding page)

team in the fleet to score all single-digit finishes in the 13 races that were sailed in a wide variety of conditions. American pre-qualification spots for the coming World Championship in Mexico went to the top 13 US finishers.

digit finishes in the final day of racing at the Hobie 16 Continental Championship, to win the event with a comfortable 28-point margin. The Hesses were the only

Mimi Appel and Chris Duley on Day 4. (Photo by Adam Gallegos)

Top Five: 1) Paul Hess and Mary Ann Hess 61pts. 2) Armando Noriega Jr. and Rodrigo Achach 89pts. 3) Wally Myers and Tyler Myers 96pts. 4) Bob Merrick and Eliza Cleveland 129pts. 5) Rich McVeigh and Diane Fisher 146pts.

Full results are posted at http://www.hobie16cc.com/).

Pictures are at http://www.aquacanvas.com/)

Adam Gallegos has many photos from this regatta at his website www.aquacanvas.com, and high-resolution color prints are available. Adam is a professional photographer who specializes in Hobie Cat and traditional sailboat photography. He works with race coordinators, sailors and vendors across the country to meet their photography needs. Visit www.aquacanvas.com to check out samples of his work or to get in touch with him about an upcoming event or advertising need.

Susan Korzeniewski and Kevin Smith (Photo by Adam Gallegos)

If you're heading for the 2004 Alter Cup or Youth Championship......

Here's how to sail a Hobie 16

Bob and Liza's

Hobie 16 Tuning Notes

By BOB MERRICK

2004 is going to be a great year for the Hobie 16 class. In May we'll have our bi-annual World Championships in Cancun Mexico. The World Youth Sailing Championships hosted by Poland will use the Hobie 16 for their multihull event. Two US Sailing Championships will be sailed in 16's this year, the US Youth Multihull Championships for the Hoyt-Jolly Trophy and the Hobie Alter Cup. Last but not least our friends in fleet 204 will be hosting the North American Continental Championship at Lake Oneida in Syracuse NY.

Hopefully we will have some of the sailors practicing for the Hobie Alter Cup and the Hoyt-Jolly trophy join us at a few Hobie 16 events this summer. With that in mind Liza and I would like to share some of our Hobie 16 racing notes. First the disclaimer: We're not the best Hobie 16 sailors in the country but we have won a few events. We were 4^th at the 2003 Continentals. The following isn't the gospel truth just the best we've been able to figure out so far.

Crew Weight:

The minimum allowable class weight, for adult racing, is 285 lbs combined helm and crew. Most teams try to be right at minimum weight. I think 300 lbs is more ideal over a wide variety

of conditions. Liza and I are at minimum but we have trouble when the wind kicks up over 20 knots.

At The Beach:

Tuning a Hobie 16 is primarily a balance between mast rake and leech tension. Because the boat doesn't have centerboards the idea is to rake the mast back as far as possible to get the sail plan over the rudders. This causes weather helm and effectively makes the rudders work twice as hard to compensate for the missing centerboards. The limiting factor is the leech tension in the main and jib. If you rake back too far the main blocks, and jib blocks, will touch before the sail is pulled tight enough. The new jibs are cut higher at the clew, making jib set up easier. Put the tack of the jib in the middle of the adjuster plate. This will keep the jib high enough and help to make sure the blocks don't touch. The rake is ideally set so that there is enough mainsheet tension when the blocks are touching.

The class standard for measuring rake is to take the main halyard to one of the bows and place it at the top of the screw that attaches the bridle. With the halyard pulled taught from the top of the mast, mark the spot on the halyard that touches the screw. Then walk the halyard back to the transom of the same hull and mark the spot that measures to the bottom corner of the transom - this should be shorter than the previous measurement. The distance between the two marks is the measured rake. A good starting rake is 16 inches. This is as far up as we go. Make a

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On The Water Upwind:

Hobie 16 Speed Matrix

Rake Main Sheet Traveler Jib Sheet Jib Traveler Downhaul

No Trapezing 16'' 1 ft from 2 blocked center Open slot inboard Wrinkles out

Single Trap. 16'' Almost 2 blocked center tight inboard Wrinkles out

Just Double Trap 16'' 2 blocked center tight inboard A bit more

De-powering1 16'' 2 blocked Down 6'' tight Out 2'' More on

De-powering2 Back 2'' at mast mark 2 blocked Down 6'' tight Our 3-4'' hard

De-powering3 Back 2'' more 2 blocked Down 12'' easing Out 6'' To black band

Survival Mode Back 2'' more 2 blocked At lee hiking strap eased Half way out To black band

Notes:

In light air you can add additional rake and get the main 2 blocked but if the wind picks up before you can get to the halyard you will be extremely slow. The gamble is usually not worth the benefit.

In wavy conditions the jib slot should be more open than indicated.

Initial de-powering is done with the traveler instead of the rake. This is done because you have the ability to pull the traveler back up if the wind drops off. As in light air getting caught with too much rake is very slow. You will know you are too raked because you will be pointing ten degrees lower than everyone else.

Moving the jib lead out is important as it gets windy but even though it's hard to adjust while going up wind you will not be too slow if you get stuck with it too far out.

Lift the windward rudder while double trapping up wind. This makes tacking complicated and I haven't found it to be faster for us yet but all the best international guys do it.

Weather helm is good on a 16. The main is sheeted tighter than on most other boats for this reason. You will have to get a feel for how much tighter.

We try not to ease the main sheet when it gets windy as it makes the main fuller and moves the center of effort forward. Liza holds the traveler so it's at my waist. When I see a puff coming I can quickly grab it and let it down a few inches.

Hobie 16 tuning_______

(from preceding page)

mark on the halyard and a corresponding mark on the mast for reference.

We put our shrouds in the bottom hole. This allows us to pull the mast all the way forward with the rig fairly tight. A looser rig will let the mast fall to the side, opening up the jib slot. For this reason we don't mind letting it go loose as we rake back when it's windy. If your mast doesn't want to rotate you may be too tight on the shrouds.

The rudders on a Hobie 16 should be toed in 1/8 of an inch. To set up the rudders, support the transom so that the rudders can be lowered. With a pencil and a ruler draw a line from the pivot bolt to the lowest point on the rudder. With a T-square draw a line across the rudder and perpendicular to the centerline. We do this at the widest spot on the rudder. Do the same for both rudders. Measure the distance separating the two leading edges where they meet the horizontal line. Do the same for the trailing edge. The distance between the two leading edges should be 1/8 inch closer together. Spending some time to get this measurement right will make a noticeable boat speed difference.

If you're sailing in a round robin style regatta there is a quick and dirty way to take the measurement on the beach. With the rudders up you should be able to sight down both trailing edges and line them up with the screw on the corresponding bow.

Downwind:

Make sure you have a wind indicator on the bridle. The rule of thumb is: keep the apparent wind at 90⁰. This is the fast way to sail most of the time especially in flat water. As it gets windier and waves start to build sometimes you can build some more apparent wind and keep the indicator forward of 90.

Don't bother to adjust the outhaul. Ease the downhaul if you really want to. Lift the windward rudder. Don't worry if the mast will not stay rotated. You can hold it in the rotated position but it isn't going to make you go any faster.

Concentrate on steering and jib trim. Keeping the boat at the best VMG angle and sailing with good jib trim is the key to going fast. In light air the crew should hold the jib out, effectively moving the jib lead off the boat. Crew's should remember to control the twist when they are holding the jib out. If the jib is too twisty pull directly down on the sheet. Keep the jib round by pushing the clew towards the tack.

Think about the wind strength well before you round the leeward mark. Down wind is the only time you can adjust your mast rake.

Tacking:

This may be the hardest part of racing a Hobie 16, especially for a dinghy convert like myself. Do the roll tack thing. Get Rick's video it helped me a lot.

In light air the jib gets stuck on the main halyard. This will destroy your tack. Crews need to practice helping the jib around in the light stuff.

In heavy air make sure the crew stays forward in the tack. It's easy to pop a wheelie in the 16 and you can flip it over backwards if it's windy enough.

The Hobie 16 is a simple boat. With some practice it should be easy to get in the ballpark on the speed game. After that it's time to go racing, tack on the headers get in the puffs and don't flip over.

The authors of the tuning and racing notes on these two pages are Bob Merrick and Eliza Cleveland, who finished 4th overall in an aggressive fleet of 70 boats at the recent Hobie 16 NAHCA Continental Championships.

(Photo by Adam Gallegos, www.Aqua Canvas.com)

FARRIER MARINE

How do you rate as crew? As skipper?

The website www.bangthecorner.com recently had an in-depth interview with Jeremy Troughton, who is the sailing manager for Challenge Business (and also the youngest skipper to sail around the world the "wrong" way). He has a big say in crew selection, so the interviewer asked him what criteria he uses to made decisions on selecting crew members and skippers.

Q. Put these in order of importance in respect of the qualities required to be selected as crew for the Global Challenge 2004-2005:

Attention to detail, Ability to concentrate, Ability to learn, Coolness under pressure, Dexterity, Mental Strength, Physical strength. (This is the order in which Trouton placed those qualities for the crew:)

Crew Qualities

1.Mental strength

2.Ability to learn.

3.Ability to concentrate.

4.Attention to detail.
5.Dexterity.

6.Coolness under pressure.

7.Physical strength

He added, "Mental strength is way up there, along with the ability to learn new skills. I have rated Physical strength way down on the list and that is not to say it's not important, but it's nothing without the mental strength to go alongside it. We had a young girl on our boat, with a very slight build, but it turned out she had this amazing inner strength, that made her a pit bull on

the foredeck, grappling with the huge heavy headsails in the Southern Ocean."

Troughton was also asked: How would the order be for those qualities required of the skippers?

His Answer: "If it were a list for the skippers, the coolness under pressure and mental strength would have to be top of the list, and all the others all closely linked just underneath. However, apart from exceptional sailing ability, the ability to manage people is also very high on any requirement list."

(CS: Okay, those criteria are for big boats with lots of crew members. On our two-person beach cats, it would be interesting to know how the crew rates the skipper and how the skipper rates the crew, on a scale of 1-10, for each of those criteria -- and with some criteria added by me.

So here is a test that you and your crew can each do, and maybe it will end your sailing career together, or maybe it will give you ideas about the areas you need to work on to improve

your individual skills and your teamwork:)

Rate your Skipper (Scale of 1-10, 10 being best)

1.Mental strength __________

2.Ability to learn. __________

3.Ability to concentrate __________

4.Attention to detail. __________

5.Dexterity __________

6.Coolness under pressure __________

7.Physical strength __________

8. Sailing ability __________

9. Racing skills __________

10. Ability to manage people __________

Rate your Crew (Scale of 1-10, 10 being best)

1.Mental strength __________

2.Ability to learn. __________

3.Ability to concentrate __________

4.Attention to detail __________

5.Dexterity __________

6.Coolness under pressure. __________

7.Physical strength __________

8. Sailing ability __________

9. Racing skills __________

10. Ability to take orders __________

Summer sailing

begins in Chile

Results with one throw out:

1º Felipe Figueroa 1º Class A 2-1-1-1-1-2 6

2º Alejandro Olivos Clase A 1-3-4-3-2-1 10

3º Jorge Gonzalez Clase A 3-4-2-2-6-4 15

4º Marcelo Cisternas 1º Clase B 5-5-5-4-3-5 22

5º Johann Keller Jr. Clase A 4-2-3-7-7-7 23

6º Johann Keller Clase B 7-7-7-5-5-3 27
7º Patricio Barrios Clase B 7-7-7-6-4-6 30

8º Jorge Almarza Clase B 6-6-6-7-7-7 32

From Alejandro Olivos, Director
Asociacion de Catamaranes de Chile

The Chile Catamaran Association held their Opening Season Regatta October 11 and 25, with three races on each of those Saturdays, sailing on Lake Rapel where most of the club's activities are located.

The RC prepared a windward-downwind track and in winds ranging between 7 and 15 knots that allowed trapezing most of the time for the Prindle 19 Mx fleet.

Felipe Figueroa, skipper and Nicolas Lesser, crew got 4 bullets and 2 seconds that easily gave them the first place, followed by Alejandro Olivos and Enrique Planas with 2 firsts.

All the races were very competitive, with several boats often arriving at the windward mark separated by only meters of distance, and at the finishing line separated by seconds in some cases.

Special note to Marcelo Cisternas, a novice in Class B who was mixed with the top sailors a couple of times.

Photo from a close finish at the 4th race, with Jorge Gonzalez in the lead, followed by Alejandro Olivos.

Why the width of our railroad tracks?

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number.

Why was that gauge used?

Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US Railroads.

Why did the English build them like that?

Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.

Why did "they" use that gauge then?

Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.

Okay! Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?

Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.

So who built those old rutted roads?

Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (and England) for their legions. The roads have been used ever since.

And the ruts in the roads?

Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.

The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. And bureaucracies live forever.

So the next time you are handed a spec and told we have always done it that way and wonder what horse's ass came up with that, you may be exactly right, because the Imperial Roman war chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.

Now the twist to the story...

When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site.

The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds.

So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a Horse's ass.

And you thought being a horse's ass wasn't important.

Sailors prepare for trek to Key West

Key West Race Week, held every January, is one of the biggest and most important sailing events in the world. This year two multihull fleets will be participating -- the Corsair 28R and Corsair 24. In addition to that, numerous multihull sailors from both the beach-cat and big-multi world will be among the crews on hundreds of monohulls.

Nov. 6, 2003 —— For Immediate Release

ALL ROADS AND SEA LANES LEAD TO KEY WEST

KEY WEST, Fla.—The entry list for Terra Nova Trading Key West 2004, presented by Nautica, has now topped 80 with racing in America's premiere regatta 2 1/2 months away (Jan. 19-23). That's on the pace that has seen an average of 312 boats the last three years and could top the record of 326 in 2001.

Where do they all come from? From across North America and a couple of oceans—entrants already represent 20 states and 15 countries. How do they get to this charming outpost at the southernmost point of the continental United States? Any way they can.

The boat that won the Terra Nova Trading Trophy as Boat of the Week last January—Richard Bergmann's J/105, Zuni Bear—will again be towed coast to coast from California. It will be making its annual pilgrimage to the Mecca of winter sailing hooked to the back of a three-quarter-ton truck, and distance is no deterrent. California has the most entries at the moment with nine, and Bergmann plans to sail a Southeastern tour of events after Key West.

"The reason we travel is we have so much fun going to the different venues and racing against different people," he said. "When you stay in your own pond you don't get that exposure. Key West is a blast, but it's also the group we get to sail against."

There are many commercial boat movers available for delivery to Key West, including Peters & May that ships boats from Europe and elsewhere. Joule Yacht Transport and FT Yacht Services are active in the U.S. Many sailors take advantage of these professional services, but Bergmann prefers to manage his own long hauls. He'll drive I-10 across the South all the way to Florida. He has modified his Triad trailer to cushion road shock, added numerous extras to protect the boat and carries three spare tires.

Defending champions, Key West veterans and first-timers from all points are lining up their travel plans.

Examples abound: The Melges fleet includes Joe Woods from Torquay, UK, making his fifth trip, and 14-year-old Samuel (Shark) Kahn, from Soquel, Calif. and Hawaii, returning to where he first drove a Melges 24 a year earlier—and now wearing the 2003 Melges Worlds crown.

PHRF racer Pete Hunter of Kill Devil Hills, N.C., is a 10-year veteran, while Frank Kern is bringing his J/120 from Detroit, Mich. for the first time.
The Farr 40s feature returning champions Alex Geremia and Scott Harris, Santa Barbara, Calif., defending against Key West newcomers Erik Maris from Porquerolles, France, and Arien van Verndl from Willenstad, The Netherlands.

To recognize the significance of all long distance efforts, the Key West Trophy will be awarded this year to the boat owner who has traveled farthest from his or her hometown. Besides the fast-growing J/105 group, invited classes include Corsair 24 and

28R, Farr 40, IMS, J/29, J/80, Melges 24, MORC, Mumm 30, PHRF, Swan 45, Open Swan and T-10.
The unofficial "PHRF National Championship" will again feature a fleet of more than 100 boats with entrants from as many as 30 states.
The competition will expand when the Swan 45 class makes its Key West debut. The renowned yacht manufacturer, based in Pietersaari, Finland, has produced a high-performance boat with a standard carbon fiber rig. Six are already entered with 10 expected.
Title Sponsor, Terra Nova Trading, L.L.C. (member NASD, SIPC & PCX), is recognized as an innovative leader in Electronic Direct Access Trading. The Chicago-based firm enables customers to electronically route orders to major markets and ECNs. Terra Nova Trading's technology partner, Townsend Analytics, Ltd., is the developer of the premier real-time trading platform, RealTick(r), which is also a Key West sponsor.
Nautica has upgraded its role to the Presenting Sponsor level. The International Team Competition will culminate in the presentation of the Nautica Trophy to the top three-boat team.
Mount Gay Rum, Lewmar, Samson Rope Technologies, Pearson Yachts, Raymarine and the Florida Keys and Key West Tourist Development Council round out the official line-up. The Historic Seaport is the Official Site for the event. The Performance Sailing Industry Partner Program, now in its third year, features 25 companies that have made a multi-year commitment to the event.

There is still plenty of time. The first entry deadline is Dec. 10. All entry documents, planning information and past results are available on the event web site: www.Premiere-Racing.com.

Plan calls for resorts, marinas to sprout in Baja

Mexican officials have approved a controversial project to develop a necklace of marinas around Baja California over the objections of environmentalists who say it will endanger the breeding grounds of sea turtles, migrating whales and other wildlife.
The Escalera Nautica, or Nautical Ladder, will consist of 27 marinas ringing Baja California and is designed to attract armadas of pleasure boaters from the Pacific Coast of North America. The initial development is projected to cost $127 million but could increase if planned airports, hotels and golf course resorts materialize. The project is part of a plan to develop the 1,000-mile-long Baja peninsula, most of which is barren, roadless and unpopulated desert.
The developers want to create a chain of marinas spaced roughly 120 miles apart that boaters could hopscotch among on lengthy trips - spending money along the way. Government estimates are that at least 50,000 boats will visit annually, attracting 1 million tourists and creating 250,000 jobs by 2014. The project will include a road or "land bridge" midway down Baja, on which many boats could be towed between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California without making the long passage around the peninsula.
(From a story in the LA Times, excerpted in Scuttlebutt)

Marty attacks Sea of Cortez

(From part of a long article in Latitude 38.)
Hurricane Marty was the most destructive storm to ever hit the cruising fleet in Mexico. It traveled the 700-mile length of the Sea of Cortez September 21-24 with winds reportedly as strong as 120 knots. Boats were damaged and destroyed on the east and west shores of the Sea, as well as on the islands in the middle.
It seems that about 35 boats were sunk or driven ashore, a dozen were dismasted, and more than 100 suffered over $10,000 in damages. In most cases, the damage was to cosmetics, bow rollers, unfurled jibs and dodgers. The Sea is popular with retired cruisers.

http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/LectronicLat.html

Top picture is satellite photo of Hurricane Marty centered over La Paz, Mexico, lower Baja peninsula.

Bottom photo by Ed Lord, as it appeared in Lektronic Latitude, is of some of the devastation at Marina de La Paz. Some other marinas in La Paz, ones with higher breakwalls, suffered far less damage.

Baja-Ha-Ha Rallies for 10th time

(From story at Sail Magazine website)

It's a little over 750 miles from San Diego, the state of California's southernmost port of call, to Cabo San Lucas, the resort town at the tip of Baja California Sur that marks the turning point for the cruising grounds of the Sea of Cortez. Generally, it's a mild journey with the wind over the shoulder (even if it's breezy it's no big deal as long as that "wind over the shoulder bet" holds true), and the end of October, statistically, marks the end of the hurricane season in Mexico. So, there are always lots of boats heading south at this time of year, almost as if someone had rung a bell.

Actually, it's the insurance companies that ring the bell. Tell them you're leaving earlier, and they become very hard to talk to. One result: There had to be a cruising rally, and 2003 will be the 10th installment of the Baja-HaHa, founded by SAIL's friends at Latitude 38 but now operated under a different legal structure by people who look a whole lot like the same people.

A record 125 boats signed up for the journey in 2003, with stops at Turtle Bay (a fishing village of 3,000) and Bahia Santa Maria (a fishing village of 6-20, depending). Many of the boats will cruise Mexico for a few months and then go home. Others will be in Mexico for a long while, and still others will carry on for the Canal and the Caribbbean, or west on the Milk Run through the Pacific. For full story: http://www.sailmagazine.com/news/NEWS/

The cruise started this year on October 27 and ended on November 6th.

Cholla Challenge 2003

Cholla Bay, Mexico

October 17-18

www.azcatsailor.com and www.fleet42.com

Arizona Catamaran Sailors are a group of beach cat sailors from Arizona Multihull Fleet 42, Hobie Fleet 66 and Hobie Fleet 514 that sail in various lakes in Arizona, the Sea of Cortez in Rocky Point/Cholla Bay, Mexico and the southwestern states. We sail all sorts of catamarans from Trac 16, Hobie Wave, Hobie 14, 16, 18, Hobie Miracle 20, Hobie 21, Mystere, Inter 18 & 20, Super Cat 15 & 17, Nacra 5.2 & 5.8, Pacific Cat, G-Cat, Prindle 16, 18, 18-2, 19, 19MX, Venture Cat, Laser mono hull.

How to repair soft spots in your hulls

This article will explain the step-by-step method of repairing soft spots in your beach catamaran hulls. This technique uses the method of injecting thickened epoxy into a catamaran hull using a syringe.

This method is well suited to repairing soft spots in catamaran hulls. The soft spots can be found by pressing carefully with your fingers on the hull. Usually they are on the top or upper side of a hull. When you apply pressure to a soft spot, the area will detent slightly and even give a "squish" sound. The soft area can be a few square inches or entire areas of a hull.

The typical catamaran hull consists of an outer later of gelcoat and an inside layer of fiberglass with a foam layer in the middle. This foam layer is about 3/8" thick. When you feel this soft area from the outside, the foam inside has either deteriorated and has separated from the inside or outside layers. Some times it can even be wet.

There are a few ways how these soft spots can develop. One way is to install access ports without sealing the raw edge of the hole with epoxy or silicon before the port is installed. Water in the hull vaporizes and penetrates the foam from the inside. Usually ports are installed to alleviate the build up of moisture in the hulls, but if not done properly it accelerates the same problem you were trying to avoid.

There are reports that 1979 Hobie 16 boats were vulnerable to soft spots because of the inferior foam that was used that year. I don't know if it is true or not, but I owned a 1979 Hobie 16 that had a soft spot problem in front of the forward pylons. This boat also had access ports installed by the previous owner without sealed hole edges.

Ports or no ports, water left in the hull can evaporate and penetrate the inside layer of fiberglass and damage the foam layer. You should silicon all leaks in your hulls, drain them after each sail, and remove the drain plugs prior to storage. If you can garage or cover your boat and open the access ports it would be even better.

Another way that foam is broken down is to step on the top sides of the hull. If you have to step on a hull, do so on the outside edge where it is stronger. Or better yet, crawl on it so that your weight is more distributed.

If you have very large, extremely soft, or areas that have delaminated so bad that the inside layer of fiberglass has physically separated from the foam, then you would be wise to seek the help of a professional. This technique is not suitable for severe cases of delamination.

This project was performed on my 1982 Hobie 16. I had a soft area about 4x6" between the forward pylon and an access port. It wasn't very soft, but I wanted to repair it before it had a chance to get worse.

I encourage you to read the West System literature either in paper or on-line form. The link is listed below. It will help you understand the characteristics of epoxy if you have never worked with it before.

Supplies needed West System 105 Epoxy Resin West System 205 Epoxy Hardener West System High Density 404 Filler West System measuring pumps Mixing pot Mixing stick Syringe or 1 West System Maxi Repair Kit

Tools Needed Electric Drill (preferably variable speed) 1/8" Drill bit Eye protection Gloves (the West System gloves are very good) 2" masking tape 3/4" masking tape

Other Requirements Decent weather, not overly humid, preferably between 70-80 degrees F

Time Requirements Labor — 1 hour Epoxy curing — 48 hours

Approximate Costs Involved 1 quart 105 epoxy and .44 pint hardener - $34 404 high density filler — $8.50 Mini measuring pumps — $7.50 Gloves, mixing pots, mixing sticks — $5 Syringe — $1 or 1 West System Maxi Repair Kit — $20

Relevant Web Sites (with dealer locators) Gougeon Brothers, Inc. - West System Epoxy -http://www.westsystem.com West System User Manual - http://www.concentric.net/~westsys/technical/user_man.shtml Murray's Marine - West System - http://www.murrays.com

Preparation

Clean the soft area of the hull. Apply 2" masking tape (or wider if you have it) to the general area. This will help our cleanup tremendously. Overlap the strips and extend a few extra inches in each direction. Mark on the masking tape the approximate boundary of the soft spot.Chuck the 1/8" drill bit into your drill. Create a "safety stop" on the bit by applying the 3/4" masking tape to the bit. Wrap it around the bit several times at the tip so that only about 3/16" is exposed. This will allow us to drill through the top gelcoat layer and into the foam without drilling through the inside fiberglass layer.

Take a deep breath and drill a series of holes in the soft spot. Space the holes about 2" from each other. Do not be tempted to drill into the adjacent firm areas, just in the soft area that you marked earlier.If it appears that the inside foam is wet, you may want to let the holes dry for a few days. Some people like to take a bent nail and rotate it inside of the holes to create areas for the epoxy to enter. I didn't have any problems injecting into the holes without clearing the foam with a nail.Examine your syringe for the fit into the drilled holes. Adjust the syringe tip by cutting off the end so that it mates with the holes properly.

Epoxy Mix

Mix up a batch of epoxy in a container. You will need to estimate how many pumps epoxy you will need. I would start with about 8 pumps of epoxy and resin for a 6" diameter area. If you are using the Maxi Repair Kit, empty the contents of one or two packets of resin and hardener according to directions.Stir the mixture for at least 1 minute. Add in 404 high density filler about a

(continued on next page)

Pool Racing is Back

Lyon, France: Philippe Presti is the winner of the first Trophée Veolia.

The French champion managed to beat Sweden's Johan Molund in a tight final. Ukraine's Evgeniy Braslavets finished in third place beating Australia's Mitch Booth in another tight race.

Though it was very cold in Lyon, many people came to the Olympic pool of the nautical centre on the Rhône bank to watch the finals for the first Trophée Veolia Environnement. Large fans at the end of the pool provided the wind. Photos obtained from website

http://www.tropheeveolia.com

(CS: What ever happened to the swimming pool racing in those mini 12-meters that was started several years ago? Florida catamaran sailors participated in one of those in Tampa. These boats look faster and funner, though.)

CS: I like the idea of using the clear, monofilament sails for this kind of racing because the sails themselves are not a visual obstruction for the spectators. And it also gives the sailors better vision, which is important on such a tiny course surrounded by concrete walls. It's also pretty cool to have the names of the sailors on the sails so the audience knows who's who.

PHOTOS BY

JEAN-MARIE LIOT

Repairing soft hulls__________

(from preceding page)

Test and Admire

After the epoxy has cured. Perform the same finger pressure test. Your soft spot should be hard as a rock. If you wanted to make the holes look better, we could fill in the tops of the holes with gelcoat from a gelcoat repair kit. But for me and my '82 boat, all I care is that she is strong and seaworthy.

Gary Willcox

Cincinnati, Ohio

Disclaimer: Attempt this project at your own risk. Every boat is different and poses different problems when attempting a project such as this. The author or OTW in no way assumes responsibility, express or implied, in the outcome of this project. Always wear eye protection when working with drills, epoxy, etc. Perform in well ventilated area. Do not breathe dust from 404 filler. Follow all precautions, warnings, and directions on all tools, supplies, epoxy, and hardeners.

tablespoon at a time until the mixture is the consistency of catsup (it won't be as smooth). This filler is what gives the epoxy its strength.

Epoxy Inject
Draw the thickened epoxy into the syringe and inject into each hole. Start at the lower holes. Mark each one so that you don't forget any. Inject until either you can't push any more or it starts to ooze out of other holes. You can also plug an adjacent hole that the epoxy is exiting from to force it in another direction. Wipe off any excess epoxy as you progress.

Epoxy Cure

Allow the epoxy to cure for about an hour so that the tops of the holes are still soft but firm. Remove the masking tape. Push in any epoxy that is above the surface of the gelcoat. Allow to cure 24 to 48 hours.

41st Shark Nationals

`If we had known we had a chance, we would have taken notes'

By CHRISTINA & BRYAN PERRIN

The 41^st annual Shark nationals was held on beautiful Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City, Michigan. Good wind and

then you know there will be no mercy. Fortunately, we're headed at four seconds and enough room opens. Tack to clear air end up fourth at the weather mark Not bad. Second and

company led to another memorable Nationals.

You know the racket, you work like heck to get enough done so you can go, until you run out of time and have to. So you throw everything in and hit the road from Canandaigua, NY to Traverse City, MI with three kids, grandma, our trusty Shark, and our tents. On the way up you wonder, "Oh bother, I hope it's all worth it."

But when you arrive and see everybody again from last year and a few new faces the answer becomes obvious. While rigging the boats on the sandy beach of the bay we realize, "all we have

to do this week is sail." It REALLY becomes obvious. We love this racing stuff!

The Shark fleet usually asks the winners of Nationals to write their account of the Regatta for Cat Sailor Magazine. After placing 11^th last year on our home pond in Canandaigua, NY one might figure that it would be out of our reach this year. So, taking notes about the races was not high on our agenda. Therefore, you all will be spared the play-by-play details of the regatta that I`m just itchin' to write. Also, as a rule, when we do well in a race I later have very little recollection of it. Does it make sense to do something that you`re going to forget? Maybe I am more like the sailors partying outside the tent `till 3:00 am than I thought. I guess it`s okay as long as you had fun. Right?

One thing that we do know is that if you're going to place in the Shark Nationals you better come to race. Don't be fooled by the age of a few of the boats and sailors. A lot of these guys went to the racing school of hard knocks against hall of famers like Tom Linton, Jack Schuh and Rick White. This is a tough fleet. Lucky for us we have a really fast boat. A cold-molded Rogers Shark that Rick White calls the grand piano. I doubt a piano could come in 20 pounds under minimum weight. This puts us at 430 pounds for a boat that's 20' long with a 10' beam and a solid "tramp." Not bad for being all made out of wood.

The first race the wind hadn't filled in yet from Lake Michigan, so it was a little light. John and Pat Perrin, seven-time nationals winners, trounced everyone for a first. We get second. Jerry Pattenaude and Joe Lieberman, two-time national champs take third.

Second race wind fills in great. Jerry and Joe are smoking they take first. We broke a few common sense rules before coming, changed to different boards and lighter battens without having time to test them. We lucked out and improved our boat speed, take second again. John and Linda Rogers, the favorite to win this year from Fleet 1, take third.

Second day of racing the winds filled in early for a great day. The start line, as everyone knows, is a great place to win or lose. We're going into the starting sequence with one plan, clear air. It's really favored port, but the line is short. Who wins this start, I figure, is who is able to tack after. We end up boxed in between Ken Putney and the barging buoy. If you know Ken,

third place boats get stuck in each others air after the jibe mark heading downwind. We fall off and reach back to the leeward mark in clear air and in second. Jerry and Joe take first. We get second. Five-time national champion John Sherry (with Dick Cordell as crew) third.

I have no recollection of the fourth race, of course, because we won it. John and Dick get second. John and Linda Rogers third.

On the final day of racing my mother, Pat Perrin, confronts us on the beach. In her hands she has a plastic baggy containing the race standings and a pen. "Take this", she says, "you could win it. You must know who could take it from you." "Ma, will you stop?", we say. "You're going to psych us out. I don't want the stupid standings!" What a sight to behold sailing out into the bay on the last day. Beautiful wind, tall cumulus thunder clouds marching in with sun on their backs. Sun shining through on water that looks as though you're in the Keys. We love this racing stuff!

The start line is favored port again but the line is longer. Jerry and Joe are trying a port start. Right now they are the arch nemesis leading the regatta over us by a ¼ point with a throwout. There is NO WAY we are letting them start port. We are so intent in stopping them we're about four seconds late to the line. That's when we noticed it wasn't Jerry and Joe. Instead, Tim and Jonathan Hund. I read the sail numbers wrong. They duck us and give us a look like I am a total dork. Here we are late at the port end of the line on starboard with the rest of the fleet above us. We have nothing left to do but get run up well past the lay line to the weather mark. After tacking to port we have all we can do to keep the boat down in a huge burst of air and speed. We round the weather mark first. Got boat speed and steady wind. Bang the corners to a first. Jerry and Joe took second. Another national winner, George Braddon and Leslie Bennett took third.

After carefully reading the sacred parchment out of the plastic baggy and figuring the math with the enclosed pen we realized Jerry and Joe could still win the regatta if they win the next race. In our life we've never seen anyone so determined to persevere. Jerry and Joe overcame unimaginable obstacles to be in a position to win the last race and the regatta. Only in the end

(continued on next page)

Joe Lieberman, left, presents Bryan Perrin with the Herman Smith Red Taylor Perpetual Trophy for contributions to the Class.

Selena and Morgan Perrin

(from preceding page)

to be held off by John and Linda and Jack and Sue Bennett. Then they found out it was all for naught. In a battle at the start line we were both over early and had been given DNS, our throw outs. These are the same guys that taught us their method of downwind sailing. This helped us get into the position in which they were fighting to overcome. Jerry and Joe are what Shark racing is all about.

The shark fleet is an eclectic group of sailors that like all catamarans and generally anything that will float. It's just that somewhere along the line we all fell in love with the shark. With the continued support of Cat Sailor Magazine and our web site (sharkcatamaranclass.org) our class has been getting a steady influx of new sailors. We would say that we are well on our way to celebrating a half-century of catamaran racing in 2012.

All of our thanks go to the families of the Wards, Wymans, Vandeveers and Halseys for their hard work and generosity.

Ken Putney

1 Bryan and Christina Perrin

2 Jerry Pattenaude/Joe Lieberman

3 John and Linda Rogers

4 John and Pat Perrin

5 John Sherryi/Dick Cordell

6 Jack and Susie Bennett

7 George Braddon/Leslie Bennett

8 Fred Erdman/Shelly Smith-Dugan

9 Tim Hund/Jonathan Hund

10 John Cobb/Trey Cobb

11 Lowell Wyman/Troy Wyman

12 Greg and Sonya Carnevale

13 David Perrin/Eric Perrin

14 Ken Putney/Martin Brook

15 Jeff Vandeveer/Laura Szczypinski

16 Joe McHenryi/Carol Huddleston

Jerry and Jean Pattenaude

Susie Bennett and Blaise

Bob Heazlit

John Sherry and Laura

Dick Cordell and Ken Vandeveer

Laura, Shelly Dugan, Leslie Bennett

What if....

By RICK WHITE

you really want to get serious about your racing (Part IV)

steadily increased steering, the amount of sheet to ease, the weight distribution, the telltales on the sail, and on and on. The more detail, the better.

And the tape that is running must be correct in every way. Any incorrect actions must not be tolerated. If an error in the tack occurs, rewind the tape and when you play it forward again, do the action perfectly. Anything less is not acceptable.

Do not carry a mistake on with you.

Pick a maneuver in sailing that you are not very good at, but know how it should be done. Run your imagery tape over and over again until you get it perfect. Again using the tack, practice this imagery in all sorts of difficult situations, so that you will never be surprised by anything that happens and you will always have a perfect roll tack.

Make sure you do the tack in light air, heavy air, big seas, flat seas, in a lot of traffic, or whatever could cause a difficult tack.

You can pick any maneuver to practice. It is suggested that you imagine a maneuver that you are not good at and something upon which you need improvement..

In the next issue we will on to other Mental Skills. So Tune in and Max Out!

In the last three issues we found that there are three aspects to competing in sailing: Physical Skills, Mechanical Detail and Mental Skills. We have covered the Physical and Mechanical and now want to look at the Mental Skills, which can be broken down into Focus, Concentration, Imagery, Relaxation and Goal-Setting. In the last two issues we discussed Focus and Concentration and now want to move on to Imagery.

Imagery (A form of self-hypnosis)

By using imagery it is possible to train without actually and physically sailing. This is probably the most powerful training mechanism and tool we have available.

Self-hypnosis is the same thing, only stronger and more directive than just imagery. There are tons of books on the market that will teach you how.

In both cases you image a procedure or maneuver in your mind, i.e., a perfect catamaran roll tack. In doing so your muscles respond at the electrical level, and they learn a pattern even though the muscles are not actually doing the maneuver. The image sets off an electrical firing process. Consequently, the muscles learn how to do the perfect catamaran roll tack.

Think of imagery as running a tape of a maneuver you wish to do perfectly. Again, let's use the roll tack. There should be intricate detail of every part of the tack from the footwork, the

HOUSE AD

Dear Capt Noah,

You guys really need to get a speell checker on the Forum. There are so many idiots there that can't seem to spell any words at all. Paragrph after paragraph haves typos and speelling errors.

I may not be very edjucated but at least I know how to speell.

Road's Scholar

Dear Roady,

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh?

Captain Noah

Dear Capt Noah,

Why does Hobie Cat put those electrical warning stickers on every mast they sell? It looks so tacky and we are all aware that we should look up before raising a mast or moving a boat.

Unnecessary Warning

Dear UW,

This is indeed the "Age of Warnings" and Hobie long ago had a problem with law suits. If you think that is bad, check these "Warnings" out:

*On a pudding package: Product will be hot after heating

*On a clothes iron: Do not iron clothes on body

*On children's cough medicine: Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication.

*On Nytol Sleep Aid: Warning: May cause drowsiness

*On most brands of Christmas lights: For indoor or outdoor use only

*On Sunsbury's peanuts: Warning: contains nuts

*On American Airlines packet of nuts: Instruction: Open Packet, eat nuts

*On a child's Superman costume: Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly

*On a chainsaw: Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals

*On a Sears hair dryer: Do not use while sleeping

*On a bag of Fritos: You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside!

*On a bar of Dial soap: Directions: Use like regular soap

*On some Swanson frozen dinners: Serving Suggestion: Defrost

Guess we are all becoming so dumb we need all these warnings.Capt Noah

Thought for the month:

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

Trivia for the month:

When famed American adventurer Richard Halliburton announced his plan to swim the length of the Panama Canal in 1928, the authorities warned that the locks would only be filled for a ship.

Halliburton promptly dubbed himself the S.S. Halliburton and was allowed to swim through. Like all "vessels," however, the S.S. Halliburton was assessed a toll for passage: Given his tonnage (140 pounds), he paid 36 cents.

Ask

Capt.

Noah

Tall

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Sailors Crossword Puzzle

Hobie 16 Continentals

ACROSS

1 Constricting snake

4 Color your hair

7 Capital of Morocco

12 Sailors like it "good"

13 Sailed downwind

14 Tropical American tree grown in southern U.S. having a whitish pink-tinged fruit

15 Bear's school

17 Indonesian Island

18 Rehoboth ___, venue for the Hobie 16 Continentals

19 Wind speed letters, often

21 Indicated horsepower, abbr.

22 Negligible amount

24 Extinct flightless bird of New Zealand

25 Paul and Mary Ann ___, Hobie 16 Continental Champs

26 Bad letters at the ER

27 Purplish red

29 The grammatical arrangement of words in sentences

31 One who wins big time

35 Up and about

37 Ole! in the USA

38 Huck's craft

41 Scoundrel's partner

42 Foreceful or illegal revolt

43 __ Lilly, drug company

44 King and surf ending

45 Scientific research workplace

46 Dillenioid dicot genus

48 A bird that frequents coastal waters and the open ocean

52 Place that treats addiction

53 Hard wood

54 Don't know when yet

55 Wally ___, past champ of the Hobie 16 Continentals

56 Greatest degree

57 Yearn

DOWN

1 A cry in the lea

2 Lube

3 Spirited horse

4 Low, sideless cart

5 They can be candied

6 Inspire with love

7 ___ McVeigh (Class Pres.) took 5th in the Hobie 16 Continentals

8 Brew

9 Pressure unit

10 Oriental nurses

11 In a way, packs together

16 Founder of Babism

20 Teamed up, such as gloves, socks, etc.

22 Tooth caregiver

23 __ Rogers, Triggers dad

24 Noriega & Achach from ___ took 2nd in the Hobie 16 Continentals

25 Partner of "Haw"

27 Could be a Dodge, Ford or Chevy

28 Man-child

30 Exchange tit for ___

32 Complete and confirmed integrity

33 Cologne

34 Rest here please, abbr.

36 __ and Delilah

38 Equip with weapons again

39 Comic strip Oop's first name

40 Filmed records

42 Taxi

44 Pats on gently

45 Hundred thousand

47 Listening device

49 Dine

50 Relative biological effec

tiveness, abbr.

51 ___ and Kathy Kulkoski were hanging tough in the Hobie 16 Continentals

Ricks Word Search

Hobie 16 Continentals

BOBMERRICK

CLEVELAND

DELAWARE

DIANEFISHER

DIBERNARDI

HOBIECAT

KATHYWARD

KULKOSKI

MACCONNELL

MARYANNHESS

MBVILLA

MONTAGUE

NORIEGO

PAULHESS

REHOBOTHBAY

RICHMCVEIGH

SUZIPIRILLO

WALLYMYERS

TRADEWINDS

HOBIE WAVE NATIONALS

Regatta

Schedules

• Largo) Rick White or Mary Wells, 305-451-3287, fax 305-453-0255, email [email protected] or click here for advanced rules and information Please Pre-Register On-Line

Classified Advertisements

$13, 000. Contact Hugh +1 401 662 9261, [email protected] (newzealand)(Oct)

2001 HOBIE 20 MAIN & TRAMP

3rd place 2001 Hobie 20 Continentals, excellent condition, 2001 Hobie 20 tramp, good condition, some fading. $250, [email protected], 316-371-7809 (kansas)(Oct)

HOBIE 18 SX

1988, all new standing & running rigging. New rudders, crossbar, tillers. New main, jib & Smyth spinnaker. Carbon spin. pole. Guck duck snuffer. Has won every Palm Beach, FL race it has entered. Galv. trailer (not in great shape). $4,000 obo. Jim, 561-655-6490. [email protected] (florida) (Aug2)

TAIPAN 4.9

#32, extremely competitive boat, fast as new, 2nd place overall corrected at round the island, new mast, spare boards, practice main, new sloop main, new f16 main, 2 T4.9 jibs, new f16 jib, smooth snuffer, will include new smyth chute and cattrax (old ones stolen), tilt trailer (beam hung), $7200 everything, $5500 t4.9 sloop/trailer (without chute/snuffer/f16 sails) will deliver in southeast. 727 322-5230 or 727 251-7267 (florida)(Aug2)

A-CLASS MAINSAIL

used only 4 times perfect condition -Goodall Smoke Kevlar- $850 -Charlie Ogletree - [email protected] - 281-334-3852 (texas)(Aug2)

HOBIE 18

Blue hulls, white sails, 1984 vintage with upgraded rudder system, FREE good trailer with box, and for only $1200 or make an offer. In Key Largo, FL , call Jack 305-394-0511 (florida)(Aug2)

MOVING SALE TAIPAN 5.7

Must sell — moving to a small place and must unload some of our Navy: Taipan 5.7 w/two mains/jibs and either spinnaker or Hooter, no trailer, $9900 or offer, [email protected], 305-451-3287 (florida)(xx)

COLD MOLDED SHARKS

Classic 20x10 fold Catamaran, Send stamped, self-addressed envelope to: John Rogers, Builder, 4880 County Road 11, Rushville, NY 14544, email is

[email protected], http://www.sharkcatamaranclass.org (newyork)(Jan12)

24' HIRONDELLE CATAMARAN

Sleeps 5. Sails in exc. cond. 9.9 Merc. outboard. Flat-screen TV. DVD, player. AM/FM stereo. 1,000-watt Honda generator. New 3.3 Merc. outboard w/new West Marine 8 1/2-foot dinghy. New refrig. Galvanized trailer (boat is 10' wide). New bottom paint. Autohelm & VHF radio. Speed meter & depth meter. New bimini top. And more extras. $25,000. Phone 386-252-7073 (florida)(may4)

2001 JAVELIN A-CAT

good condition, many extras! 2 mains, trax, trailer, cat boxes, $6,000. 954-298-5490 (florida)(May6)

HOBIE 18 PARTS

Alum and comptip H18 masts, beams, fore and aft; Also, lots of other stuff from two boats. 305-451-3287, [email protected] (florida)(xxxx)

WORRELL 1000 VIDEOS

The much awaited 2001 Worrell 1000 2-hour highlights video is now available. Videos of the 2000, 1999, 1998 and 1997

races are also available. The cost is $35.00, plus $4.95 shipping and handling per tape. To order: send your name, address and

payment by check, money order, mastercard or Visa number (with expiration date), specifying which videos you want to: Law Offices of Robert L. Feldman, 8900 SW 107 Avenue, Suite 203, Miami, FL 33134, or email information to:

[email protected] (florida)(Ongoing)

TAIPAN 5.7

extremely lightweight, fast, giant-killer, 19' racing boat with canted hulls, made of Kevlar and built in Australia (It must be strong for that kind of wind), has two mains, two jibs (barely used), carbon bowsprit, option of Calvert Roller-Furling Hooter or Spinnaker, Power Righter System (carbon fiber) and lots of trick stuff. Need to sell, $12000 now only $9,990 or make a reasonable offer. May be able to deliver 305-451-3287, [email protected] (Florida)

WANTED

CATTRAX

or similar beach wheels (in Florida) for a Hobie 18. Must be in good condition. Will pay reasonable price. [email protected], 772-464-3928 (florida)(Oct)

HOUSE AD

Christmas ideas for

the sailors in your life

Every year about this time we all start to wonder what certain gift we should get for that certain person for the Holidays. Many of us wait until the last minute and get something goofy.... at least I tend to do that.

Not a good idea!

How about thinking ahead this year all of us! What are we highly interested in? Sailing, Right?

Well, why not get something for one another that will increase your joy of sailing, or increase your boat speed, or increase your knowledge of sailing, or increase you ability in sailing, or increase the safety in your sailing, or make you look prettier while sailing, etc.

Some Rough Ideas

Aquapac These are waterproof packs for almost every type of toy: camera, GPS, VHF Radio, cell phone, walkie-talkie, wallet, keys, PDA, and pagers. They are inexpensive and make good stocking stuffers.

C-Skins These are lightweight protection from sunburn, water/wind chill, and are great as underwear for wet/drysuits and are warm rash guards

Wet/Dry Suits and Spray Clothing For late fall and early spring sailing, your loved one really needs to stay warm. By using C-Skins beneath either wet or dry suits, you can extend your sailing season considerably.

Gloves or Booties Don't let your feet or hands get ripped up or cold. These are great stocking stuffers and most sailors usually do not make it through a season without having to replace either or both.., often from wear or just losing them.

Life Vest/Harnesses Not only are PFDs required, but they can save your loved one's life. It pays to get the very best. And, when trapping out you need the most comfortable harness you can find.

Tools Sailors can never have enough tools rivet guns, swagers, rigging tools, multitools, or whatever. This may be a Guy Thing, however.

Electronics There are wind meters, wind indicators, compasses, GPSs, watches and radios.

Watches As sailors get into their 40's the need for larger numbers on their watches becomes a must. The Ronstan

Starting Watch is awesome and has great features. There are many other watches available as well that might do the trick to help get better starts.

Righting Systems The Power Pole Righting System has saved many sailors from having to get outside help to get their boats righted. This would be a great gift. Also, there are the water bag systems that work much slower, but are better than being upside down.

Books/Videos With winter coming on and having more time to read or watch TV, you can't beat a good "How to..." book or video. As for Video, there is nothing else on the market like the 5-video series of the famous Rick White's Sailing Seminars. It is almost like being there. And again the pricing is such that they would make great stocking stuffers.

All Available with Same
or Next Day Shipping

Catsailor.com's new OnLine Marine Store has all of the above and more. They now have available nearly 4000 items that are easy to find on their website store at www.onlinemarinestore.com

The OnLine Marine Store's new look has all the Departments on the left side.., and by just rolling your mouse over the Department you will see an immediate dropdown list of Sub-Headings describing all that is in that Department. Then just click on the Sub-Heading and you will see a list of items with thumbnail pictures of the items. It is really easy to navigate.

Also, there is a great Search Engine at the top right hand side of the store on every page where you can type in your query word(s) and it will find it fast.

The store has Blocks/Cleats/Clutches/Shackles/Hardware, Sheeting Systems, Electronics/Navigation, Books/Videos, RC Equipment, Line/Shock Cord, Safety Equipment, Sails, Sailing Apparel, Wet/Dry Suits, Wire Standing Rigging (for most classes), Beach Wheels, Traveling Gear, Waterproof Bags, Trampolines, and the list goes on and on. If they don't show it, just ask they probably have it, but just haven't got it listed on the site yet.

Please drop in and shop with them at Catamaran Sailor Magazine's www.onlinemarinestore.com

Tips from

Mr. Good winch

Memo from Mary

(from page 2)

off the water, during a regatta or when you are at home.

So, if you are retiring from the team, you have to do it through the proper channels and fill out the proper papers to let US Sailing and USADA know that you are no longer subject to the rules and conditions of being on the Sailing Team.

Well, at some point during the summer Kenny was made aware that he had to "sign out," but he just didn't get around to doing it. Procrastination.

In August a guy showed up at his home with a drug-testing kit and said, "I'm here to get samples of your blood, urine and hair." (Actually, I have no idea what he said, but that's kind of the idea.)

Kenny was busy doing something at the time and said, "Look, I don't have time right now, and I'm not sailing on the team any more anyway _ I just haven't filled out the forms to announce that I am retiring _ so what's the point?"

The next thing he knows, it is announced all over the world that Kenny Pierce has been suspended from sailing for two years because of refusing to take a drug test.

He says, "In retrospect, I should have just taken the time to do the testing. I don't know what they would have found in my system, because I was having major dental work done and was on medications for it. But it would have been a whole lot better than this, because it blew up in my face and now everybody is speculating about all kinds of things.

"And, no, I don't use steroids, if that is what people are wondering."

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Should changes

be made to the Hobie 14 and 16?

MATT'S PORTION OF THIS WAS USED IN AUGUST ISSUE

Posted by Matt Miller, Hobie Cat Company

There is some pressure to make changes to the Hobie 14 and Hobie 16 class rules. These are shown on the Hobie Class website at www.hobieclass.com in the "Rules Forum". Feedback from USA sailors is needed!

Here are my comments. This goes for the Hobie 14 and 16 proposed changes:

The best thing about the 14 and 16 has been that they are "simple boats". Most of the proposed changes defeat this. I have personally owned 5 Hobie 16's and raced them for many years along with the 14 as well. I have also worked as a dealer before working for the factory in the USA. I have seen these kinds of changes from several perspectives and witnessed the negative response to some. From my experience, these kinds of things are not necessarily good for the class.

In my opinion, there is no point in making continuous changes to the older classes that fragment them more and more. There is a thought process that says "making changes might invigorate a class", but honestly, I think it just alienates most of the class in the lower ranks. They just want to sail the boat as is. New stuff is a cost and a learning curve.

I can agree with the rotation control and perhaps the downhaul, but not the mast step ball and outhaul changes. That would be a big pain in the ass to retrofit and I don't see the need. Trying to make this mast base "upgrade" on an older 14 or 16 would cause some real headaches for the boat owners. This is not simple and would be relatively expensive.

There are some real problems with a freely rotating mast if the rotation control is not properly used. Over-rotation can cause batten breakage, shroud wire and mast failures. I prefer the idea of cutting the existing stops back (IF they want to) and leaving a safety "maximum" stop if someone wants to add the rotation control arm. That is simple and achieves the most important thing... rotation limit control.

It seems this is mostly being driven by Hobie Cat France. Hobie USA has not made a proposal for a major change... we don't see a need for it.

The 16 sailors that I have spoken to are acting like a bunch of deer in headlights. They are somewhat confused by the process. They see this as being somehow forced on them regardless of their opinions, as though we HAVE to do these things.

The active 16 racers I have spoken with all agree that the rotation control is the main item of interest. The downhaul purchase idea is acceptable and the 16 jib halyard system for the 16 would require a secure cleat to back up any jaw cleat.

So, my proposal: Leave the step system alone and allow the addition of a rotater bar. The stops can be cut back a little, but a maximum rotation angle should be determined for safety.

Allow the downhaul adjustment system. Allow the addition of a cam cleat in the jib halyard system, but require it in-line with the existing horn cleat for safety.

The rest of the proposals (outhaul, base/ball step system) are just not needed and are difficult and likely expensive up

grades for all existing boats.

US sailors need to make their opinions known to the IHCA rules committee. Look at the proposed changes at http://www.hobieclass.com /Rules Forum and then Email them at [email protected] with your comments.

<Question from someone: "I have never understood why Hobie insists on keeping the American boats so antiquated while they quickly upgrade and improve the Euro boats."

My response: Hobie USA adheres to the Hobie Class rules and allows the sailors to decide what changes should be made. The basic concept of a "One Design" class is lost when manufacturers constantly make changes to the design. This concept prohibits us from just making any old change we want to make just to sell a few more boats. This has been a problem in Europe whether driven by the sailors there or not.

Posted by Volker

My name is Volker Lorenzen and I am Chairman for Hobie 14 in the North of Germany. As you know the 14 worlds has been take place here in my area in July and I was involved in organisation. Because I had to organize boats for sailors from oversea, I had contact to many 14 sailors worldwide and so I started asking them about a new mast rotation for the 14.

Everybody saw some problems with the upgrade.It is difficult to build a contruction that is cheap. Also older 14s have to be changed easily. The 14s worldwide see some problems. So I agree with you and say that we have to be careful in making changes on the Hobie 14 and later the 16.

But it is to see that 90% of the sailors I know wish some changes at the mast rotation.Here in germany we have 100 sailors in a racing-list every year. The sailors who want no changes are in the minority. Also the sailors from the Netherlands, Denmark, South Africa, Australia and Brazil told me that the most sailors agree with this changes. Also they see some problems, but the discussion goes into right direction.
Since we have allowed the trapeze on the 14 it is sailed with more and more mast-rake.But it is not possible to sail with more mast-rake, because of the old mast rotation. Everybody modifies it here in Europe and the EHCA tolerate this.

It's true. We have to be sensible for the problems. But do not forget that the most 14 regatta-sailors want some changes on the mast-rotation. At the next meeting of the German Hobie Class Association I want that the members decide like this:

A: Modifikation on the old rotation is allowed.

B: A mast-controller is allowed and this mast-controller can

Changes proposed for Hobie 14, 16___________

(from preceding page)

Posted by Matt Miller

Thanks everyone for getting involved! This was the whole point of my posting on the subject. Be sure you make your feeling known to the IHCA at www.hobieclass.com as that is where it is all happening.

I have been informed by Hobie Cat France that the mast rotation proposal has been withdrawn due to geometry differences in the mast pivot point height that would make the old and new step systems too different. It is deemed unacceptable that the new system would change the geometry of the rig.

We seem to be coming to the conclusion of the following as being generally accepted:

Mast rotation arm / limiter (does not require a rotation system change. May require a maximum rotation stop angle)

Increased downhaul and cleat change.

Increased outhaul (this is already approved, I am told)

Jib Halyard cam cleat system.

Refinements are still required on how to do these. We must keep in mind that the changes should be for "ease of use" and not speed enhancements. They should be easily upgradable at low cost. An older, non-upgraded boat should not be at a speed disadvantage therefore discouraging sailors who do not wish to do the upgrades.

There is a general rule in the Class rules that fits this issue perfectly: 2. INTENT AND OBJECTIVE -- Hobie Catamarans are designed to be easy to sail with the least amount of trouble to owners. Boat and component changes, which have no direct bearing upon boat speed, are the only changes allowed. The intent and objective of the INTERNATIONAL HOBIE CLASS ASSOCIATION (IHCA) RULES are:a) To keep each boat as equal, simple and cost free as possible by rigidly maintaining, without deviation, the one-design features of the Hobie Cat for class racing.b) To increase boat speed only through the use of racing tactics and sailing skills.

Posted by Volker

Check www.haveahobieday.com for the discussion of European Hobie 14 sailors. Interesting!!!

Posted by Crazy Goose

It seems that every 2-3 years there's a new hot, high tech "faster" cat on the scene that some folks must have. For whatever reason they aren't content to race a classic, like the H16, in a strict one-design format. This "got to have the newest thing" attitude has contributed, in my opinion second only to the jet ski, to the dilution and decline of the fleets. Santioning an updated H16 class and an original H16 class will result in even futher dilution.

Part of the H16's appeal is its simplicity, low cost on the used market, and availability of parts. For those wanting all the fancy things (spinnakers, carbon fiber, titanium, mylar, tri-radial cuts and more strings to pull) just move up to the more modern designs and leave the classics alone.

Posted by Bill

I have been copied in on the euro discussion and I like the direction they are going now. Just add the rotator arm and leave the geometry and mast base alone. I kind of think I like leaving the stops there kind of as a safety factor against rotating past 90 degrees.

be fixed from the trapeze

C: German Class Association should say that a mast-rotation like on the Tiger is the best for Hobie 14. German Class Association is waiting for better offers. It has to be a contruction with lower costs. Older 14s has to be changed easy.If this problems are eliminated, Germany will decide for a new rotation.

D: Germany will bring this idea into European Council and World Council.Many 14 sailors arround the whole world agree with me.

(I have to appologize for bad English, I have no dictionary here, but I wanted to give you a quick answer. I hope you understand everything)

Posted by Bob

Hey guys!! I'm all in favor of:

1. Foam battens

2. 4:1 downhaul NOT usable from the trapeze.

That's it!! It's too easy; keep it simple. If you want fancy rotation systems, etc, then I advise you go sail another boat (FX-One). Bob Curry, Hobie 14 US National / World Champion

Posted by Fritz

Matt, I think everybody agrees that changes are necessary; otherwise, the Hobie 16 will become obsolete. In times where challenging new boats pop up, one has to keep an "experienced Hobie 16" up to date. Europe is undoubted the biggest representant in Hobie sailing worldwide.

This has led to a lot of innovations for the Hobie 16. Just some examples: Carbon Fibre Rudders; Extreme mast rake; Euro jib halyard system; Centre cleated jib halyard camcleat.

All that has been very successful and the (European) factory had found cheap solutions for that.

Now, as it was discusssed at the IHCA, we have the proposals on the table for the Hobie 16 upgrades: better mast step and rotation; downhaul adjustable from the trapeze; jib halyard adjustable from the trapeze; outhaul.

All these changes are very promising and to my mind they can be easily (and cheap) achieved. But, we should also allow two options, the present tuning kits and the new ones: IF YOU do not want to change your boat, so be it, but allow the others to do so. Both systems should be class legal!

I have raced over here in the US since another two years and back in Europe since 15 years and yes, I can follow the thoughts here in the US. But please just think how many sailors would be affected here in the US? 50? I do not know, but in Europe it is 50 in one regatta and I assume about 500 overall.We all should take this into consideration!

Of course all this can not be changed within 2 days, therefore there should be a changeover period! So, let´s go for it!

Posted by Mike

Fritz, I like your thinking,but your estimate of affecting 50 in the U.S. is a slight under estimate. I am from Canada and go down to the Div 7 regattas in the U.S. There is 30+ boats that are keenly interested to the changes on the 16.

Yes, I think the changes would be good as long as they are affordable and do not make older boats obsolete.

ISAF Worlds

AMERICA'S CUP HAPPENINGS

* (Alinghi's Ernesto) Bertarelli is adamant that not only is it right to wait until December to choose the venue, but also to wait four years before running America's Cup XXXII. "Realistically, I don't think we would have been in a position to offer a proper venue in less time," Bertarelli said. "There is no place naturally fitted for the cup's needs today. There are a lot of logistics involved in making a place more viewer-friendly."

A field of six to 10 teams seems realistic, given that the cup is now a professional contest beyond the reach of most individuals. Chris Dickson, the chief executive of Larry Ellison's Oracle BMW Racing team, has already said that $100 million (£61 million) is a "realistic" budget for 2007.

"People are waiting to see where the cup is going to be, and in what sort of boats," said Bertarelli, giving a clear hint that Alinghi are considering turbocharging the America's Cup class boats, in step with the latest monohull design trends. - Tim Jeffery, The Daily Telegraph, full story: http://tinyurl.com/oaml

* The next `Moët Cup' type event is almost certain to be in Newport next spring. Ernesto Bertarelli and Alinghi are to be the hosts, and the Oracle BMW team is sure to be there. There is hope that Team New Zealand, the fledgling K-Yachting team, and perhaps another European team will join the party as well.

Will it be called the Moët Cup? That probably depends on the title sponsor of the 2007 America's Cup. For over 20-years, Louis Vuitton has been a big supporter of America's Cup racing, pouring money into sponsorship of the Challenger series (the Louis Vuitton Cup) as well as being the organising body behind the media centre, and the host of some extraordinary parties. The America's Cup itself was a completely separate event to the LV Cup, with a completely different organisation behind it (hence the different Race Committees, two websites, different TV deals, etc.)

But Ernesto Bertarelli, quite rightly, is trying to put a stop to all of the needless duplication that this arrangement ensures. A new company has been created, called America's Cup Management (ACM). It is charged with running all aspects of the 2007 event, from selecting the next venue, marketing and sponsorship, to television and media, and running things on the water as well. - Peter Rusch, The Daily Sail website, full story: http://thedailysail.com/

* Louis Vuitton, a division of LVMH Group, wants to return for the seventh time as co-producers of the Challenger Selection Series. And Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, gives full authority to Yves Carcelle and Bruno Troublé to convince AC Management. But unfortunately things are not so simple and rumors coming from Geneva that Rolex could be the next Challenger Selection Series partner. - Cup in Europe website, http://www.cupineurope.com/LatestNews/Orga4.htm

Olympics scheduled for August 13-29, 2004

Sailors aid rower at sea

In September 29-year-old Alex Thomson, the new owner and skipper of top Open 60 racing yacht Sill Entreprises, embarked upon his 1,000-mile qualifying sail with French co-skipper, World Champion Roland Jourdain, in order to compete in the classic double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race. However, their test sail out at sea became a real mission of mercy and the two skippers turned into `Saint Bernards of the Sea'.

Late last Friday evening, Jourdain and Thomson were sailing in 30 knots of wind and quite rough seas when they received an emergency call to go to the assistance of a young Frenchwoman, Maud Fontenoy, who was in a small craft rowing single-handedly across the Atlantic from America. She was located approximately 300 miles off Ushant, Western France, and had had her fresh water supply drastically cut off after the only two water-making devices on board had broken down and her emergency supplies were down to just 7 litres.

Midday on Saturday, which was Fontenoy's 100th day alone at sea rowing, Jourdain and Thomson finally located the craft in heavy seas and strong winds after covering 200 miles.

Alex explained the mission they then accomplished: "Thankfully her satellite phone worked so we could pin-point her location as the boat was so small and white, we only spotted it right at the last moment. We prepared 2 containers, one with 20 litres of water bottles, and another with fresh and tinned food. Then I tied a 40 metre length of rope to the containers and fed it out over the side as Bilou (ed: Roland) steered Sill at slow speed alongside the rowing boat. The moment she grabbed hold of the rope was an incredible relief!"

With enough fresh water onboard, Fontenoy's morale was boosted considerably. At that point Maud Fontenoy was still 290 miles from her finish line off Ushant, and facing 40-knot winds and 5 metre waves as she battled to complete her incredible voyage.

(From the September 23 Scuttlebutt)

NAHCA numbers down

The North American Hobie Class Association has 934 members in 2003, according to the latest NAHCA News -- and this is not GOOD news. On the other hand, we also do not know how BAD the news is, since we do not know how many members the class association had at its peak.

When was NAHCA formed?

How many members did it have at that time?

When did it separate from the factory?

How many members at that time?
What has caused the decline in members?

Did the factory give up on designing and building new boats because of declining sales? Or did the sales decline because Hobie gave up?

Is the concept of bulletproof and fun going out of vogue with all the new, high-tech, more fragile, lightweight designs?

Is it going to hurt recruitment efforts when you no longer have the Hobie 17 and Hobie 18 to offer people? What is left but the Hobie 20 and Hobie 16? Nothing in the middle. Hobie 20 seems as though it is not building any more, either.

Few places safe from freezing

"Most boaters believe that freeze related damage only happens in states like Minnesota, New York, or Maine," said Bob Adriance, BoatU.S. Marine Insurance technical director. "But the reality is that boats in the temperate states have a far worse record for freeze related damage, with sunny California leading the pack. Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia also experience similar problems," he added.

Adriance explains that boaters in colder climates know the realities of freezing temperatures and therefore prepare accordingly. However, when bitter temperatures slip down into the Sunbelt, many boaters are caught unprepared. "It only takes one night of freezing temperatures to cause damage. This is especially true of boats stored on trailers.

Hiram's Haul

Performance Sail and Sport's

Hiram's Haul Sailboat Race

October 25-26

Flying hulls and traveling at speeds of up to 15 knots set the pace for 24 high performance catamarans October 25^th. The 7^th annual running of Performance Sail and Sport's Hiram's Haul was a 25-mile sprint down the Intracoastal Waterway and 25 miles back the second day. The race drew 24 catamarans ranging in size from 14 to 20 ft. A venerable group of sailors gathered from around the state including five Worrell 1000 and four Tybee 500 sailors.

The first day brought a 10-20 knot breeze from the ESE creating an upwind boat speed challenge for all. The second day winds were more southerly at 8-12 knots creating a very close downwind jibing match. The sailors tested wits with large wind shifts and unexpected shoreline holes. Weaving through three other racing fleets from the MYC Fall Regatta created an exciting river for the racers as well as spectators. The close shoreline finish brought cheers from the spectators with a virtual jousting match as many of the boats finished overlapped.

The awards banquet at Performance Sail and Sport following the race was a catered BBQ luncheon supplied by Texas Roadhouse. It was a gala of epic proportion creating a venue for the sailors to recant their stories of near misses, strategies and tactics. The trophies went 5 deep for overall corrected results of the two days.

1^st Scott and Dior Hubel Hobie Tiger (18')

2^nd Chuck Harnden Taipan 4.9 (16')

3^rd Dennis Green Nacra 6.0 (20')

4^th John Casey Nacra I20 (20')

5^th Steve Lohmayer Nacra I20 (20')

Zodiac named official boat of USSA

USA - US SAILING, national governing body of the sport, has named Zodiac of North America (ZNA), the world's largest manufacturer of rigid inflatable boats, inflatable boats, life rafts and marine safety equipment, as an official sponsor. Announced on 23 October, the partnership gives Zodiac of North America official sponsor rights as the "Official Rigid Inflatable Supplier of US SAILING," a Presenting Sponsor of the organization's Safety At Sea program and the "Official Rigid Inflatable Supplier of the US Sailing Team." More - http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=5684

Whatever floats is a boat?

In 2003, Belgian adventurer Fons Oerlemans, famed for crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a truck attached to a home-made raft, began to search for a brewery to fund his latest adventure: a transatlantic crossing in a six tonne steel-framed bottle outfitted with a motor, a kitchen, and a bedroom.

Oerlemans also once sailed to Barbados - in a steam boiler.

ARIZONA MULTIHULL FLEET 42 - OCTOBER 2003 UPDATE

* 9/20-21 - Come Sail Away " Youth Sailing Event (Sunday 9/21) and Family Fun Weekend at Lake Pleasant was a fun and successful weekend. Many thanks to all who helped, especially Bill Feil for organizing the event, those who brought up boats and sailed with the kids and their "Bigs" all day, and the shore crews who kept things running smoothly with food and sodas. Special thanks to the fleet members of 42, 514, and 66 who gave a lot of their time both Saturday and Sunday rigging, tuning, and teaching new sailors.

Hope to see all again at the last Family Fun Weekend of the year at Lake Roosevelt, Horse Pasture Campground, November 8-9. Come up for the day or the weekend (enjoy the cool fall evenings !). Saturday 6 p.m. Potluck (no theme, go for it !). Rigging, tuning, lessons, fun sailing, and fall birding (almost time for the geese to return for the winter).

* 10/18-19 - Cholla Challenge/JJ's Challenge Weekend. Long distance racing on Saturday, triangle racing on Sunday. Sponsored by Az Multihull Fleet 42 and JJ's Cantina. Open class/Portsmouth racing - All catamarans welcome. Entry form on both web sites, azcatsailor.com and fleet42.complain

* The motel is full for Cholla weekend. Limited camping is available in the parking lot ($10/night - no hookups). Condos/Casitas are also available at La Sirena and full RV hookup camping now available at the Reef RV Park, 5 minutes from Cholla ($14 and $17 a night). Contact Claudia for further information.

* Long Sleeve T-shirts will be offered for the Fall Cholla (design by Sue Kopca). These will be a PREORDER/PREPAY item and not included in the fall racing package. Deadline for ordering is 10/1. Claudia at [email protected] NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO EXTRA T-SHIRTS FOR SALE AT THE EVENT, SO IF YOU WANT A SHIRT, PLEASE EMAIL YOUR SIZE TO [email protected] BY - THAT MEANS NO

LATER THAN - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8. OR YOU CAN LEAVE A MESSAGE AT 623-934-5460

* Help needed for Cholla Weekend: Race Committee Saturday or Sunday, someone to ride in chase panga on Saturday, food choppers Friday night, cooks for fajita dinner Saturday night. - Please let Claudia know if you can help out.

Thanks !

* 11/8-9 - Family Fun Weekend at Lake Roosevelt - for more information, [email protected]

* 11/8 - Fleet 66 Trash Pickup - Lake Pleasant Highway - [email protected]. Saturday morning.

* Fleet Year End Party & Awards - Saturday, January 10, 2004 - at the home of Patrick "Plugs" Bryson (aka Sparky). Don't miss this one ! Special Fleet awards/roast by the 2003 officers. Address and directions via special holiday flyer.

* 03/27-28 - 2004 7th Annual SailFest and 13th Annual Fleet 66 Chili Cookoff at Playa Bonita, Rocky Point, Mexico. Mark those

calendars now ! And don't forget to get your reservations in to Playa Bonita. We have reserved a block of spaces as usual. Fun sailing and Chili Cookoff. Great weekend for the whole family. More information ? Claudia at [email protected]

* 2004 Cholla Challenge - tentatively planned for : 4/24-25 and 10/23-24

* Other 2004 Regatta events: 5/8-9 Cinco de Mayo, 5/29-30 San Carlos Regatta, September TBA Sail Away Day for Youth, 9/11-12 San Diego Classic, 10/2-3

Pinata Regatta.

* Time for membership dues ! Please help support your Fleet. Fleet 42 dues go towards our yearly events, regattas, trophies, hats, shirts, fun lake events, Sail Away Day for Youth, fleet equipment, Arizona Catamaran Sailing paper
newsletters and Fleet 42 paper special flyers. This past year, Fleet 42 dues helped to increase our safety on the water with 2 new VHF radios and panga chase boat for the Cholla Challenge. Mail those to Jim Hurley - forms on
www.fleet42.complain, www.azcatsailor.com

* Need crew ? or want to crew ? Check out the postings on www.azcatsailor.com

* Need a boat ? Looking for a boat ? Need boat parts ? Selling boat parts ? Check out or list on Azcatsailor.com and Fleet42.complain

* Congratulations to new boat owner and new Fleet member Stewart Martin of Tucson - H16

* Happy October Birthday wishes to Dan Adamen (10/2), Rob Mahar (10/15), Claude Sabino (10/23), Hank Morris (10/31).

* Happy October Anniversary wishes to Larry & Judy McMillan (10/15), Blair & Colleen Feldman (10/20), and Dana & Terry Marshall (10/24).

WARNING: Because of the potential for viruses, there will NEVER be a download file attached to any E-loop updates, notices, flyers or mail from Multihull Fleet 42, [email protected], [email protected], azcatsailor.com/yahoo or [email protected].

NOTE: If you do not wish to continue receiving the E-loop updates, please email to [email protected] or [email protected].

Hope to see you at our next event !
Claudia Kirscher, Secretary - Arizona Multihull Fleet 42