I think that Will Sunnucks last two reports are interesting.
He has a lot of experience in most cats, from the Tornado down.

From: William Sunnucks [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 17 May 2003 04:00
Subject: Tybee 500 - that sinking feeling


Today we hit a stingray at full tilt, and came off worst. Our port dagger board kicked back and split the hull, which sunk fast. Luckily we were only about 3/4 mile offshore and managed to get it to the beach before it capsized. Disaster.

Rapid action from our ground crew meant that we had a spare hull on the beach within 3 hours. After another hour we were rigged up ready to go on, at which point the organisers phoned and suggested offered a time penalty rather than insisting we sail. Fortunate really, as with light winds we would have arrived well after midnight, and been too exhausted to race tomorrow.

We now know for certain that the Jav B is not tough enough for this type of sailing - the damage should not have been so terminal. We are out of the running for the race, but looking forward to a good 90 mile sail tomorrow to Tybee Island. Many thanks to Trevor and about six others who helped us get sorted.

William
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From: William Sunnucks [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 20 May 2003 12:11
Subject: Tybee 500 - finishing in the dark


After Friday's dramas, we got the boat rigged for a wonderful 90 mile sail to Tybee Island on Saturday. We finished second at 11pm after a couple of hours sailing upwind in the dark - steering is difficult when you can't see the telltales, and you need to be handy with the GPS when trapezing. We had had problems with shallow water and unmarked obstacles all day (by this time both rudders and one centreboard had been damaged), so we tacked right out to sea as the light faded, and used the GPS to bring us back to the finish.

We finally solved the boatspeed problems: we put flexible battens in the top of the mainsail, and found that we had power in medium winds - at last. Our damaged hull caused a lot of interest as it sat on the beach (see photo on www.catsailor.com) and we found out that our main rivals had reinforced the seam which split: something we couldn't possibly have done in the time available to us, any more than we could have dodged the manta ray.

Overall a great trip. Many thanks to Mark for tolerating over 50 hours on a boat with me, and to Trevor Milton and Sue Watson for providing the most efficient ground support possible.

William