News

NEW ORLEANS, LA. (October 21, 2004)

Principal Race Officer Wallace Paletou (New Orleans) and Chief Umpire Dobbs Davis (Annapolis, Md.) determined today that conditions were not suitable for racing at the 2004 International Catamaran Challenge Trophy (ICCT). Racing in the Defender Series concluded yesterday with Johnny Lovell (New Orleans) and Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) winning the right to defend for the 24th Little Americas Cup. Racing in the Challenger Series will resume Today, Friday, October 22, to determine whether Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen of The Netherlands or Enrique Figueroa and Jorge Sanchez of Puerto Rico will challenge for the ICCT. Both teams are currently tied at three points each.

Revived in 2003 after a hiatus of more than seven years, the ICCT is an international match racing event for catamarans. Sailing from Southern Yacht Club in F18HTs, the winners of the respective Defender and Challenger eliminations will compete head-to-head in a first-to-four points series for the Trophy on Friday, October 22, and, if necesssary, Saturday, October 23.

Additional information can be found online athttp://southernyachtclub.org/index.cfm?


regards,

Bruce
St. Croix

brobru,
the HT mast bends to lee in a puff, but it also twists a little too. The net effect is that the sail flattens and dumps power at the top of the sail. The downhaul holds the mast in a backwards bend, particularly at the top - which combined with the correct sail cut, correct sheet tension, and mast rotation can flatten the whole sail.

Do this right and you are fast, do it wrong and you are slow.

Bill

Sorry there were no pictures of the ICCT 18HT's showing the tops bend to lee

But in this picture you can see what is meant.



Look especially at the boat in the back. That one just got a gust and you can see the mast bend off quite dramatically. Sadly we can't the leeches very well, but rest assured that they look wobbly

Wouter

On the A-cat I reduce mast rotation until the mast flips to leeward. Then I increase the rotation a little bit to get the mast to flip the other way and flatten the sail.

Too small angle of rotation, the sail gets fuller! Compare the mast rotation on the two pictures.



Correct angle of rotation where the top of the sail flattens.


/håkan

Well finally the challenger series were completed.

Enrique FIGUEROA and Jorge SANCHEZ win over Mitch BOOTH and Herbert DERCKSEN with a final 4:3 score

Apparently the winds were again light and shifty and it seems the vamped M18/18HT does not like light weather. That or the PUR sailors quickly traversed the learning curve to close the gap.

The small final between Mitch BOOTH/Herbert DERCKSEN and Bob HODGES/W. F. OLIVER is not to be. In the past days it was hinted that it may be cancelled due to time constraints. However it seems that Mitch BOOTH/Herbert DERCKSEN withdrew from the small finals and thus made Bob HODGES/W. F. OLIVER the winners. Considering that many regard the gunboat the better boat of the pack may have lead Booth/Dercksen to see little point in racing it with their M18/18HT.

This way this event goes down reminds me eary of the ICCC event. Both had two crews totally new to the 18HT's; one crew never sailed such a boat before they other had a boat that was not really race ready. The small final was determined by one crew withdrawing from racing. The grand final sees the two standard boats racing and not the new boats. That and it seems destined that the cup goes to the crew who has shown to be dominant all week. The race that they lost was due to a 15-degree shift favouring the other creww. I think patient lady 6 put one win in over Cogito for the same reasons.
Okay the winds are with smaller margins than in the ICCC but still. We have no major surprises up till now. Lets pray that Enrique FIGUEROA/Jorge SANCHEZ find some extra inspiration in the next series.

The grand final final standing is currently :

Johnny LOVELL/Charlie OGLETREE vs Enrique FIGUEROA/Jorge SANCHEZ 3:1

Johnny and Charlie need only one more win to retain the cup. Enrigue and Jorge need 3 straight wins to concur it from the defenders.


Here is the press release :

********************************************************

USA TAKES THE LEAD IN THE ‘LITTLE AMERICA’S CUP’



Lovell and Ogletree on three wins in the first-to-four point Trophy Series



New Orleans, LA – Olympic Silver Medalists John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree have taken the lead in their defense of the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the ‘Little America’s Cup.’ In the first-to-four point series, the two Tornado class veterans have taken a 3-1 lead against Enrique Figueroa and Jorge Hernandez of Puerto Rico with one day left in the competition.



Yesterday’s light and shifty northerly solidified enough to finish the final match of the Challenger Series between Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen of The Netherlands and the Puerto Ricans who were tied on three wins each after Wednesday’s racing. Booth mastered the pre-start, built a lead which was challenged only once on the first run, but then on the final run to the finish let the speedy Puerto Ricans go to the opposite side of the course and cross them with only 50 metres to the finish.



Emboldened by what looked to be superior speed in the 6-8 knot conditions, Figueroa and Hernandez went on the win the first match in the Trophy Series against Lovell and Ogletree, with help from a 15-degree favorable shift on the first beat.



But as the breeze built to a more solid 8-9 knots, the match race prowess of the Americans helped them at the top of the first beat, where they forced a penalty on the Puerto Ricans just a few lengths from the top mark. Using their superior downwind speed, Figueroa and Hernandez then managed to take a sizeable lead, but not big enough to allow for their penalty turn at the finish, where the Americans slipped by with only three seconds to spare.



In the third match, Figueroa and Hernandez rallied to take and hold on to a slim lead on the first two legs, but a bad covering tack on the second beat allowed for Lovell and Ogletree to slip by, and win this match by only three seconds.



In the final match of the day, it was the American’s turn to benefit from a big shift, where after a split start Lovell and Ogletree sailed to the right corner and a 15-degree right shift with more pressure. This vaulted them into a lead of 30 seconds at the windward mark, an eternity in the fast-paced world of catamaran match racing.



“Tomorrow we’re going to focus more on using our speed to our advantage,” said Figueroa. “We’re new to match racing, so this will be our best strength.”



Tomorrow’s forecast for 10 knots will promise an exciting finale to the competition, with a large weekend spectator crowd expected on the Lake Pontchartrain venue within sight of the host Southern Yacht Club.



For more information on the ‘Little America’s Cup’, visit www.southernyachtclub.org, and for photos visit www.syc.photosite.com.

Hello All,

Thanks to all the pics and tips on the topic of mast/sail on a Uni. It helps me tons,...so thanks to all.

Just a note, Puerto Rico is apart of the United States of America. In fact, the U.S. suggested they become the 51st state.




Right now, Puerto Rico is classified as a' Commonwealth' , as a result of the 1903 Spanish-America War.

And the US Virgin Islands as a 'Territory' , which was purchased from Denmark in 1917.

We have all the benefits of the US, are citizens, pay most taxes, but cannot vote in a national election.

Being an area rich in sailing history, plus a favorite hang out for Pirates ( of old, of course)...we gladly say

Go PUERTO RICO! Let the Caribbean Team rule!

(...we need to send some trade-wind weather up there for the boys )

regards,

Bruce
St. Croix

USA SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS ICCT TITLE IN ‘LITTLE AMERICA’S CUP’



Lovell and Ogletree win Trophy Series on 4-2 record



New Orleans, LA – In an exciting final day of competition, the Olympic Silver Medal team of John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree from the USA have successfully defended their claim to the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy (ICCT) by defeating Enrique Figueroa and Jorge Hernandez from Puerto Rico. After going ahead on a score of 3-1 yesterday the pair needed to win only one match today to hold on to their title in the first-to-four point series sailed in Lake Pontchartrain and hosted by Southern YC.



But the win did not come easily. In the first do-or-die match for the Challengers, Lovell and Ogletree repeated the mastery they’ve shown all week in match race sailing, controlling the Puerto Ricans in the pre-start and leading around the first mark by several lengths. And while the 9-12 knot southerly breeze was the most promising all week for match racing, there were many opportunities to speed away in the puffs but also pitfalls to die in the lulls over the 2.5-mile course. Soon after their rounding, Lovell and Ogletree gybed away to protect their lead, but fell into a hole while Figueroa and Hernandez sped away to a spectacular 3-minute lead, the largest of any match of the week.



“Thanks for the mulligan,” quipped Figueroa to a disappointed but smiling Lovell between matches. “We lucked into that one.” Even with the rivalry between these two which goes back to their Tornado competition in the Games in Athens, the FA18HT sailors in this event have maintained their good nature and camaraderie both on and off the water.



The sixth and deciding match was the last opportunity for the Challengers to even up the score, and they showed more aggression than in any match of the week. Pushing the Americans hard just seconds prior to the start, they thought the Defenders had not kept clear and signaled for a penalty. Umpires Dobbs Davis and Dwight Le Blanc disagreed, and green-flagged the incident which threatened to put Lovell and Ogletree over at the start. In a repeat performance seen in several prior matches, the Defenders effectively controlled the Challengers all the way to the port tack layline, but this time guarded their lead more carefully to sail into victory by 27 seconds.



“That was really hard,” said a relieved Lovell while sailing back to the harbor. “There were plenty of holes and puffs we felt could close the gap. We’re just glad its over.”



According to John Dawson of the Sea Cliff YC, the Trustees of the Deed of Gift, it will now fall once again on Southern YC to organize the next challenge and defense of the ICCT, also known as the ‘Little America’s Cup.’ “We hope to see this event held again on an annual basis,” said Dawson, “and provide more eligible competitors the opportunity to sail for this prestigious trophy.” An announcement of the dates, venue, and catamaran class to be used in the next event will be made before the end of January 2005.



For more information on results on this year’s event and on the history of the ‘Little America’s Cup’, visit the regatta website at www.southernyachtclub.org. For photos from the event, visit www.syc.photosite.com.

I was pretty surprised too at how 'new' some of the sailors were to their rides. I think some of this is due to this being an Olympic year and that took all the available resources of three of the four top teams. I do see, however, a little more readily available technology in the 18HT (notice no 'f' anymore ) than the C-class boats and I believe that next year will see more prior testing and development by some of the challengers.