Fleet 204 is very proud to bring the sailors a different format in the approach to the Guest Expert Program. Typically the GEP program is led by one person focusing on one type of cat. This year at Madcatter XXX we have put together a panel of Experts to bring a very diversified and interesting perspective of learning through a panel discussion. Our five Experts will be conducting an OPEN discussion seminar and will be available throughout the weekend for tips. Please give a warm welcome to our experts:
MATT BOUNDS originally from Richmond. VA currently living in Detroit says “he has been sailing way too long.” His Dad built a sunfish in the basement when he was 4. They got their first Hobie 16 in 1973. Matt sails a Hobie 14, 16, 17 and Tiger. At various times he has sailed lasers, sunfishes, Hobie 18’s & 20’s. Matt’s greatest sailing accomplishment has been getting his daughter involved in Hobies, everything else is just gravy. His sailing goals include having fun, keeping the pointy end up and… oh yeah, beating Billy Jeffers. Matt has been to 12 Madcatters every one from 1993, except 2000. What a ride!
KATHRYN GARLICK learned to sail on Rondeau Bay on Lake Erie, Ontario Canada. Kathryn’s first boat was a 14’ mono-hull in the mid 70’s. She then moved to a Hobie 14 and finally to a 16 so she could out-run the guys on the Hobie 16’s. After teaming up with her husband on a 16, competing in about 17 regattas per season, Kathryn decided to be victim of her own doing and bought her own Hobie 17. She definitely prefers one-design sailing. Kathryn preference is the Hobie 17 but she has raced Waves, 14’s, 16’s, 18’s, and 20’s. Kathryn won the Women’s’ Hobie 18 North American Championship in 1995. Her sailing goals have evolved, realizing no matter how well or poorly she may place, she is always s having fun meeting new people and traveling to new places. Kathryn’s current goal is to retire from work so she can sail more. She started going to the Madcatter in the late 80’s and has only missed two since then.
BOB MERRICK from Branford, Conn. is entering his 5th year of Hobie 16 racing. His back ground includes winning an Olympic Silver Medal as crew in 470 class in 2000. This will be his 3rd Madcatter including the first one in which he broke his arm rigging the boat and never sailed. Bob’s 3rd Madcatter he won by “the skin of his teeth, so that kind of made up for the broken arm”. His best finish at a North American Hobie 16 Championship was 3rd place on Oneida Lake in 2004. Bob says he likes our Lake. His goal for the summer is to qualify for the Pan American Games in 2007, “but it’s a tough crowd out there in the 16 fleet”.
JOHN TOMKO resides in Texas on Canyon Lake. He has been sailing for 27 years. He currently sails a Tiger but has sailed the Hobie 20 for many years. Most notable sailing accomplishments for John, in 2002 he won the Hobie 20 North American Championship. In 2005, John finished 8th in the Hobie Tiger Worlds held in Santa Barbara, California. He has been in the top five at two Alter Cup Championships. His current goal in sailing is on winning a World Championship. This will be John’s first MADCATTER, so let’s make it a memorable one for him.
WALLY MYERS originally from Woodbury, New Jersey is now living in Beesleys Point, New Jersey and works in Ocean City. Wally began sailing at age 22 and went to his first regatta in 1975, Midwinter’s East in Tampa. He has sailed Hobie 16’s, 17’s, 20’s, Catalina 22’s and larger mono-hulls regionally and SORC. Wally holds 5 Hobie 16’ and 3 Hobie 17’ National Championships Titles. He has been a member of the US Team to the Pan Am Games in 1999 and a member of the US Team to the USIYRU Championship in La Rochelle, France and Dubai. His goal in sailing is to retire and go cruising. Wally has attended 7-10 Madcatters and we are very glad he is back.
Tom....You forgot to mention that Matt Bounds is the reigning Hobie 17 North American Champion. (That's not just gravy for thoes of us that tried to prevent it from happening).
