News from the Multihull World

This posting was made on March 6^th. Check back for the next posting on March 24^th.

 

2008 Tornado Worlds

Congratulations to Darren Bundock and Glen Ashby on their victory at the Tornado World Championships in Takapuna, New Zealand. After a tough first day, with finishes of 14 and 23, Darren and Glenn rallied with finishes of 2 – 2 – 8 – 1 – 1 – 6, and won the event by 5 points. This is Darren’s unprecedented 6^th win at the Tornado Worlds. Glenn won the A-Class Catamaran Worlds last September. So this is his second world championship victory in less than 6 months!

Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby during a training session.

 

Other notable finishes at the event include USA’s Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree and Canada’s Oscar Johansson and Kevin Stittle. Johnny and Charlie finished 8^th overall in the very competitive 51 boat fleet. I want wish Johnny and Charlie the best of luck as they prepare for the Olympic Games this coming August. Johnny and Charlie are the returning Silver Medallists, and will be competing in their 4^th Olympic Regatta. It would be great to see them bring home another Tornado medal.

Congratulations also to Oscar and Kevin, who finished 2^nd at the Tornado Worlds. They have been working very hard for several years now, and clearly it has paid off. It is great to see them with such a solid result at a major championship!

 

Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz of Spain, who finished 7th at the Takapuna Worlds. Fernando and Anton are currently ranked 2nd in the ISAK Tornado rankings.

 

The Everglades Challenge

Randy launching his new creation during the Everglades Challenge.

 

My buddy Randy Smythe entered a funky race known as the Everglades Challenge earlier this month. It was pretty much an anything goes sail and paddle race down the West Coast of Florida. At intervals, the competitors were required to pass through check points which were often located inside of narrow channels and mangrove areas. Randy built the boat shown above specifically for the event. The central hull of his trimaran is an A-Cat hull. He built the outside hulls himself. If I remember correctly, the mast is from an A-Cat, but of course, he built a jib and spinnaker for the boat as well. The boat is over 18 feet wide counting the racks, so he figured it was not necessary to add a trapeze. I guess he was smoking right along, winning the race before he broke down.

Two-time Worrel 1000 Champion Jamie Livingston won the race sailing with Steve Longmire in a Tornado. Randy won the Worrel 6 times, but he entered most of those races with more conventional boats.

 

International Multihull Council

Feeling disenfranchised, some multihull sailors have gotten together and started a new organization - the International Multihull Council. The following is an excerpt from a press release I was sent regarding the formation of the IMC,

“The decision of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) to exclude any Multihull Event from the 2012 Olympic Games has shown that we cannot entirely rely on others to promote our interests, so [we] need to establish our own organisation to do so. As there is no representation for Multihulls within ISAF, either formally through a Multihull Committee, or informally, through the interests of individual Councillors, national multihull associations from several leading ISAF Member National Authorities (MNA) have jointly founded the IMC.”

I made some phone calls to try and learn more, but I was unable to reach anyone who I know is affiliated with the organization. John Williams, the current chair of US Sailing’s Multihull Committee, was named in the release as the IMC’s Vice President.

Collegiate Sailing Season Getting Underway

Posted on February 21^st, look for next posting on March 6th

I head down to Charleston with the Boston University Sailing Team early tomorrow morning for a team race intersectional. When we scheduled the event, the plan was for the team to drive down. But times have changed in collegiate sailing, and the school administration has decided it is not safe for the team to make a drive of such distance. So we will fly. That’s fine with me, it makes life a lot easier. But it feels odd, and signifies the changing landscape of collegiate sailing. I did not graduate that long ago (1999), and only boarded an airplane one time for a collegiate regatta. That was the 1997 collegiate nationals, in Portland, Oregon (quite far from Boston). At the end of my freshman year of college, I remember totaling up the hours I had spent driving to sailing events for the year (for BU and outside of collegiate sailing), and it was over 9 solid days. Most people who sailed in college prior to the new millennium will say the same, and they have great memories of those road trips. I guess the same memories can be gathered from plane flights, but it is not as romantic.

Boston University Sailors Kyle Assad and Juliet Lewis competing at the Schell Trophy on the Charles River.

Regardless, it is exciting to see the start of a new collegiate sailing season. The Boston University Dinghy Team (BUDS) have a promising year in front of them. I look forward to going on this trip with them, and accompanying them to their spring break, which will also be in Charleston in mid-March.

The BUDS getting ready for spring break practice in 2005 at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL.

In other news …

Groupama flipped over near New Zealand earlier this week. A beam holding on their leeward hull broke off, and before they could gybe to make it their windward hull, it broke off completely, and then the boat capsized. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the boat is currently being salvaged. This is disappointing as the team was on a run to break the around the world record. The crew is optimistic, and they are anticipating their next attempt at the record.

Groupama III capsized near the New Zealand Coast.

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