Sandy Hook, NJ, July 8-9, 2006
One design racing has just about a thing of the past for catamaran sailors, except for the Hobie 16 Class and now the fast-growing Wave Class. The old, standby class is the sixteen, and the newcomer is the Wave.
The boat was not designed by Hobie as a racing class, but those that have ever raced on one of these simple boats knows what pure, one-design sailing is all about. The boat starts off as a very clean, no frills boat. And the class association has seen to it that it shall stay that way. For example, for a downhaul you are only allowed 8' of line. All sails must measure in, no matter who makes the sail – similar to such classes as the Shark and Tornado which are also strict one-design racing classes.
In other words, you cannot buy a "go-fast" for the boat and go out win – there is no way to buy a victory. You can only win by sailing well – good starts, good mark roundings, fast tacks, good tactics and reading the wind. To put it another way, "...you need to keep the loose nut on the tiller tuned up at all times."
Another reason for the growth of the class is that it is attracting folks that rode the wave of popularity for cats in the early 80s. Many of those teams of sailors are now buying two Waves so skipper and crew have become skipper and skipper on their own separate boats.

The North Americans
Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club hosted the event the weekend after their huge distance race, the Statue of Liberty Race. Despite most club members being burned out from that event they still managed to throw a great party with lots of racing going on.
Mostly through the efforts of the Kulkoski and Villa families and the never-tiring efforts of their Commodore, things got done.
The wind was not as accommodating as the hosts of the event, but were certainly good enough for some really hot competition.

The Races
The first day of racing had very light air. Yet the RC managed to get in three races in the afternoon.
Rick White started off with a bang winning two of those races and was just edged out for 2nd place in another. John Sullivan was hanging in there in second spot despite being new to this class. Stan Woodruff and Dan Kulkoski were also poised to jump into the lead if any one made a mistake.
The second day had wind that ranged from 2mph to 12 mph, with shifts as much as 50 degrees. It was a challenging day for the sailors and certainly a tremendous challenge to the race committee.
White took a bullet and a second in the next two race,s showing that the first day was no fluke. Sullivan had a bad race and Kulkoski could only muster a top 7th and 3rd in those two races. Woodruff, on the other hand, stayed in there for a 2nd and 1st to stay in contention with White
It appeared that White would win the second race of the day, but Woodruff nosed him out again by inches at the finish.., staying even and still poised for the upset.
With two races to go White seemed to fall apart and was on the wrong side of several shifts. Woodruff made no such mistakes. White finished 5th and then finished a distant 10th place in the last race. It was up to Woodruff to capture enough points to overtake the White. But, he turned up just one boat short.
Rick White won the regatta by a mere point to capture his 4th North American Championship and second in a row. Woodruff was second overall, followed by Dan Kulkoski, Dan Ward and John Sullivan.
In other classes, Barb Short was the top woman competitor taking the Women's North American Championship, White also won the Masters.

Medalists from l. to r., Stan Woodruff, Marylou Chambers, Dan Kulkoski, Jerry Matthews, Rick White and Barb Short

1. Rick White 13
2. Stan Woodruff 14
3. Dan Kulkoski20
4. Dan Ward 26
5. John Sullivan 28
6. Greg Raybon 35
7. Mark Scarpelli 42
8. Barb Short 48
9. MB Villa 52
10. Chip Short 54
11. Patrick Green 61
12. Marylou Chambers 62
13. Jon Robertson 67
14. Kat Kulkoski 72
15. Jason Spangler 86
16. Justin LaBarca 93
17. Melissa Worrell 101
18. Kim Dyers 105