United States A-Cat Association (USACA)

Get an early start on the NAs

2008-09-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

Come early to the NAs and sail with the locals in the SCYC Fall One-Design Race on Saturday, September 27th.

Practice races will also be held on Sunday, September 28th.

See the schedule for more information.

North American Championships Registration Now Open!

ABYC Labor Day Regatta

2008-09-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

Nine A-Cats gathered at the ABYC for the annual Labor Day Regatta. The weather was hot with light and shifty winds, compounded by confused wake from motored vessels.

While some wondered if they would even be able to fly a hull, Pete Melvin seemed at ease out on his trapeze -- straight bullets through seven races.

Sailed:7, Discards:1, To count:6, Entries:9, Scoring system:ISAF Appendix A - One Design 1 discard after 5 races (ABYC Stnd)


Rank Sail Helm                 Club     R1    R2    R3    R4    R5       R6      R7     Total  Nett                       
1st   69  Pete Melvin          ABYC     (1.0) 1.0   1.0   1.0   1.0      1.0     1.0    7.0    6.0 
2nd  250  Jay Glaser           ABYC     3.0   3.0   (8.0) 3.0   2.0      2.0     3.0    24.0   16.0 
3rd  280  Pease Glaser         ABYC     2.0   (4.0) 3.0   4.0   3.0      3.0     2.0    21.0   17.0 
4th  275  Jeff Newsome         ABYC     5.0   (6.0) 2.0   2.0   4.0      4.0     4.0    27.0   21.0 
5th  240  Craig Yandow         ABYC     6.0   2.0   4.0   (9.0) 6.0      5.0     7.0    39.0   30.0 
6th  260  Davi Ottenheimer     SCYC     4.0   (9.0) 5.0   5.0   7.0      6.0     8.0    44.0   35.0 
7th  241  Bill Westland        ABYC     7.0   (8.0) 6.0   6.0   5.0      7.0     5.0    44.0   36.0 
8th  279  Jeremy Laundergan    ABYC     (8.0) 5.0   7.0   7.0   8.0      8.0     6.0    49.0   41.0 
9th 1240  Andy Kolb            SCYC     9.0   7.0   9.0   8.0   (10 DNC) 10 DNC  10 DNC 63.0   53.0

2008 NA website launch

2008-08-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note that today we launched a website for the North Americans:

http://www.acatnas.org/

All the info on registration, weather, travel, lodging, etc. can be found there.

Registration is Open

Deadline for North American Championships

2008-08-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, just a reminder that the price of registration jumps at the end of this month. Don't forget to register early!

* Notice of Race
* Entry Form
* Website

Registration Fee: $250 (if received by September 1, 2008)

Late Registration Fee: $275 (if received after September 1, 2008)

Perfect seas, perfect wind, and beautiful sunny days this time of year. Last weekend we did four races on record time in 8-10 and flat water.

2008 NA's Notice of Race and Entry Form

2008-07-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

The Santa Cruz Yacht Club has posted the North American Championship's Notice of Race and Entry Form.

2008 North American Championships

2007-11-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

Just a quick announcement:

International A-Class Catamaran
2008 North American Championships

The Santa Cruz fleet is proud to announce the 2008 North Americans will be hosted by the Santa Cruz Yacht Club (SCYC) from Sunday, September 27th to Friday, October 3rd, 2008 in Santa Cruz, California.

The Regatta will be sailed in the open waters of Monterey Bay, south of the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor.

Transportation:

Santa Cruz Yacht Club
244 Fourth Avenue
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Phone: 831-425-0690
Fax: 831-425-7032

The San Jose International Airport (SJC) serves Santa Cruz. The Airport is located about 30 minutes away from downtown and 45 minutes (during off-peak traffic) from SCYC.

Several other airports are also within driving distance:

San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

Oakland International Airport (OAK)

Monterey Peninsula Airport (MRY)

Housing:

SCYC and the surrounding area offer many options.

There are a limited number of RV spaces available for reservation. These spaces are available on a first-come-first serve basis.

Location: Upper Santa Cruz Harbor

Cost: $40/night

For Reservations call the RV host at 831-475-3279

More details to follow soon.

Post Worlds & Midwinter's Florida A cat sailing

2007-10-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

Feb 8,9,10

Notice to all A cat sailors.

To coincide with the upcoming worlds and midwinter's, all A cat sailors are invited to join in for a long weekend of good racing and fun times at the beautiful Ft Desoto state park. 15min from St Petersburg, 30 min from Tampa Florida. The generous southern 505 fleet 15 have invited us to join in on to their already successful 505 midwinter championships.This can be the best time for sailing in Florida and Ft Desoto park is a beautiful place to sail! I know that there are a few Northerners, Texans and others that would like to get more use out of their toys so keep the this in mind before arranging to ship your boats straight home from the Worlds or Midwinter's.

To further ease the A cat bug we are offering for those keen enough, a chance to bridge these two or three FL regattas by considering joining us on the weekend of 15th and 16th of Dec for our regular Gulfport Yacht Club A cat sailing. Please also keep in mind the Gulfport Yacht Club A cat and F16 invitational in March.

I know for allot of people time seems to be the limiting factor when planning sailing opportunities, with this in mind our thoughts were to provide competitive weekend/ long-weekend regattas to minimize time away from Family and work. With this said St Petersburg and Ft Desoto park is also a great venue for families. For people interested we can arrange storage at GYC between events. We have a great local fleet now of 10 A cats and a couple of extras within an early morning drive away so a min of 10 - 12 without travelers. Flights in and out of Tampa are very well priced and we have a core group of local A caters that I am sure would be happy to pick up drop off and possibly house people over these weekends.

If you are interested please respond and email me a quick expression of interest: bmoon AT ronstan.us. Please also feel free to fill in an entrance form on the NOTICE OF RACE and send it in to Ethan Bixby at North Sails (postal address is on the entry form)

I will follow this email with further information on accommodation and further logistics in the coming days.

Looking forward to seeing allot of you in Islamorada in a few weeks time.

http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_Ft_DeSoto.htm

Kind regards,

Ben Moon

Southern Region and Mid Atlantic
Territory Manager

RONSTAN INTERNATIONAL INC

1421 Bay St, Suite 3
SE St Petersburg FL 33701
PH: +1 (727) 551-0406
Fax: +1 (727) 551-0430
Email: bmoon AT ronstan.us

Customer service
PH: +1 (401) 293-0539
Fax: +1 (401) 293-0538
Email: sangell AT ronstan.us
Web: www.ronstan.com

Worlds Advertising/Promotion

2007-10-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

The list of the approved entrants to the 2007 A-class WC is really impressive, no doubt the best ever with four past A class Champion (Glenn Ashby, Scott Anderson, Pete Melvin and Mitch Booth, who comes back to sail a major A class event after 13 years), six Olympic medalists (Randy Smyth, Jay and Pease Glaser, Charlie Ogletree, Andrew Landenberger and Goran Marstrom), a world known maxi-multihull skipper (Cam Lewis), a 18' skiff WC (Howie Hamlin), the current DN WC (Matt Struble), a prominent yacht designer (Mike Drummond) etc.

Very seldom a sailing event has gathered such a various and qualified attendance.

Equally impressive is the boats' roster which includes the first ever A-cat fitted with a wing sail, (according to me Ben Hall's project is worth at least the same deal of attention paid to Rohan Veal's flying Moth), the radical platform designed by Richard Roake for Ian and John Lindhal, (I read rumours about a new type of mainsail to be tailored for it by Randy Smyth), the evolutionary boat developed by Peter Cogan, the new Swedish state-of-the-art wonder (the Marstrom M5) together with the more or less old Flyer Mk2, Bimare/VMI XJ, Tools...

-- Maurizio Giuggioli

Long Beach A-Cat Helicopter Shots

2007-10-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

Some of the best photos and video you can see of sailing is taken from a Helicopter. The Long Beach A-Class fleet was lucky enough to have that opportunity on September 9, 2007 when Howard Hamlin took out his helicopter and Jay Glaser from Glaser Sails took photos, Howard took video and Keith and Howard took turns flying. The catalyst for the photo shoot was to get some sail development photos, but Jay also took some "tour shots" since you don't get aerial photos of your boat every day (and he was using my Canon Rebel XT SLR camera :-)

Nacra A2 & A3 co-designers Pete Melvin of Morrelli & Melvin and Jeremy Laundergan of Askeland Engineering are both sailing Nacra A2s. Pease Glaser of Glaser Sails is sailing a new Nacra A3. All three are using Glaser Sails.

Video posted on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlJHY1GvzQ8

Huge thanks to Howard, Keith and Jay!
_____________________
Jeremy Laundergan

Lake Hopatcong Fall Regatta and Atlantic Coast Champoinship

2007-09-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

Atlantic Coast Champoinship series

Lake Hopatcong Fall A-Class Regatta For many more photos from this weekend click on the link below to go to a Shutterfly.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8EaMXLhy5cMMO&emid=sharshar&linkid=link4

Lake Hopatcong A- Class Fall Regatta and Atlantic Coast Championship Series

The 2nd Annual Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club Fall A-Class Regatta was held this weekend September 29-30th.

The weekend started with a full and very long day with 15 sailors coming in Thursday night (Sept 27th) or early Friday morning for a full day of Coaching with Lars Guck. Lars started with some of the very basic concepts of boat handling and added some of the latest most up to date theory and knowledge of A-Class Racing. Starting strategies, Gate rounding strategies, and Sail trim and weight distribution were discussed with a very complete question answer session. After 2 hours of Lars demonstrating on his boat and running thru his version of tacks, string pulling, etc.. a break for lunch with Pizza and Sub-sandwiches was enjoyed. Then it was off the water for a series of drills and races.

Lars had all the sailors do repetitive starts on 3 minute count down and mixed in a short course one lap race every once in a while to keep everyone engaged. While the sailors were doing their drills a Video was recording their progress and showed later back in the club for further analysis. The starting line at first was very deep as sailors had a wide range of experience. As the drills progressed the group at the line as the gun went off, was very tight and very competitive, showing proof that practice does work. During the entire time Lars was barking out suggestions to the sailors and providing some limited one on one coaching when indicated. The clinic ended and boats were put away, only to allow a short period of time before the first party was to start. Peter and Nancy Hefele again hosted the Friday night dinner party at their lake front home with great music, food and plenty of cocktails. All guest sailors were shuttled back late in the evening to their respective host homes via boat.

Saturday we woke up to a beautiful sunny cloudless day with a 10-15 knot breeze out of the NW. The rest of the sailors from out of town arrived and we had some breakfast at the club and started 28 sailors on the line for the first race. The conditions were gusty and provided some very challenging windward beats but some fun and exciting down wind runs.

One of the best parts of Saturday was everyone walking around the club lawn looking at all the new boat designs and shapes. Peter Cogan and Ben Hall had their new hulls there, Steve Clarks design was represented by Bill Vinning from CT. John and Ian Lindahl also made the trip from Michigan with their new LR2 hull shape. Fred Smith from Canada was also there with his brand new LR2. All of this new technology sitting side by side with 30 year old CatNip boats. John Lindahl (Michigan boat builder) and Cal Fuller (father of the CatNip, from Lake Hopatcong) spent many hours discussing boat design. But, nothing was more interesting then seeing Ben Hall set up his new Fixed Wing boat and push it off the ramp into the Lake. We also had a Hydrofoil expert snooping around all day too looking to see what the A-Class is up to now and how he could push that technology into his new Hydro foil Cat boats.

Unfortunately we had several causalities right of the bat with two major collisions occurring and sending three boats back to ramp. The 30 year old CatNip had its starboard bow ripped off at the start, amazing enough the helmsmen was able to sail the boat back to the club by keeping the damaged hull out of the water on the starboard tack, and keeping it from sinking. An XJ was speared and repaired via duct tape for the rest of the races. Lars Guck took 1st place in the 3 races Mike Gruber from LHYC, Ian Lindahl from Michigan, and Danny Goritski from LHYC taking turns at second and third.

Saturday night, “Rums of Puerto Rico” sponsored a Caribbean theme party and dinner at the LHYC. Nearly 75 sailors and guests attended the dinner, live DJ music and dancing until late at night. Sailors were again dragged away to their host homes for some well needed rest. Needless to say all the rum was consumed.

Sunday morning a very slow start to the day was felt by all sailors. A beautiful morning was found with bright sunshine and a light breeze out of the east. Everyone was egor to get another set of races in before calling it a weekend. The breeze shifted immediately to the North East then back again to the east. True to lake form, the wind was making it challenging. Only one race was attempted and a 5 boat photo finish was seen by the spectators at the finish line with local Danny Goritski taking the last race by a foot. Ben Hall pull across at third with Lars Guck third.

After breakdown and reloading the boats on the trailers a barbeque was served up with various meats. The award ceremonies were held afterward out on the lawn. During the announcements, it was noted that within the crowd there was significant representation of the A-Class best sailors. Call Fuller, Ben Hall, “Doc” Stern, John Lindahl, Lars Guck, Mike Gruber were all winners, most multiple times, of the North American Championships. As the awards were given out, Lars Guck with his series of bullets took first place in the fall regatta series, Mike Gruber 2nd, Ian Lindahl with the LR2 hulls got 3rd place, Danny Goritski 4th and Jim Godby 5th.

Since this was the last of the Atlantic Coast Championship series, we also handed out the trophies for this 4 event series. The series is based on the four race weekends held at West River in April, Bristol in June, Cayuga in July and Hopatcong in September. Jim Godby was the only sailor going to all four events, with Mark Skeels, Chris Brown and Andrew Burdett going to three of the four. The First Place trophy was captured by Jim Godby, with Lars Guck getting 2nd, Mark Skeels 3rd, Chris Brown 4th and Tony Arends getting 5th.

Now we are all done and it is time to rest. 3 days of good sailing, socializing, and talking about sailing has worn us all down. Can’t wait to do it again next year.

*Must have attended more then one event and was given a total number of sailors at that event plus one if they did not attend.
** To not give benefit to a sailor who did not attend more then 3 races, the throw out was the lowest non-attended race score. If a sailor attended three or more race events the throw out was the highest score.

New A-Class from Roake and Lindahl

2007-09-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

There is a new A boat sailing. This probably comes as no surprise to many of you as we haven’t kept it a secret and photos are on the web. The idea of building another boat was generated about a year ago when my son, Ian, thought “we” should build a new boat. The last A I built was 18 years ago and sailed it in the 1988 Worlds. Ian always liked that platform and thought that todays, more powerful rigs could drive it to potential. I had to contact the designer of that boat, Richard Roake, to see if he had any ideas to improve that design. Little did I know he would put all his energy and hours of computer time into a brand new boat. The question was “If I design it will you build it?” My answer was “yes” and we were off and running. The combination of Roakes computer and my epoxy and sandpaper had worked twenty years ago and has worked well again. Ian knew what was good and what was bad from his sailing experience in A boats, 18 squares and a variety of other boats. Dad listened and since we had a brand new design we came up with a very unique build method for the boat. We strip planked a hull shape with 3/8” thick foam. The shape was achieved by using female building frames CNC cut from Roakes design. The shape was carboned with WEST System epoxy and we came out with an exceptionally stiff platform. New boards and rudders were designed and built as well. We used an existing rig of Hall Spars and Glasier sail so we could evaluate the new platform independent of a rig change. So far the performance has exceeded expectations. This boat just feels different underfoot. There is almost no pitch, great stability downwind, and excellent windward VMG. We believe the design premise of a more responsive hull has been achieved. We have built two boats (one has gone to Fred Smith, who gambled with us, right from the beginning) and will have a third built in time for the Worlds.

Contact:
John Lindahl (jlindahl_lcd@yahoo.com)
Ian Lindahl (ian_lindahl@yahoo.com)

SAILOR'S CHECKLIST FOR THE 2007 A-CLASS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

2007-09-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

All competitors racing the 2007 A-Class World Championship are asked to be
ready with the following SIGNED (by an approved IACA measurer) documentation
for the platform, rig, and sails they plan to enter:

IACA General Calculation Form

IACA Sail Measurement Form (s) for sail to be raced at event and any
backup sail (some sailmakers are IACA approved measurers so check the tack
of your sail to see if the measurements are there and signed by a measurer)

IACA Hull Measurement Form

IACA Mast and Boom Measurement Form (s) for mast and boom to be used
and any backups

Copy of Insurance Policy (with $100K minimum liability coverage)

If you have all of the above, your measurement process will be simple and
fast and will consist of weighing your boat and stamping your equipment. If
you have any equipment you currently own and plan to race at this event that
is not measured, you should make every effort to get this done prior to
arrival to assist with expediting the measurement process and competitor
check-in.

If you have any questions about getting your equipment measured prior to
this championship, please contact Carla Schiefer at schiefers@earthlink.net
and she will advise you on how best to get it done. In the event you do have
equipment that will have to be measured at the event, it would be good to
let Carla know so she can plan the number and type of measurements that will
need to be done.

We appreciate everyone taking care of this prior to arrival in Islamorada.

Bob Hodges

lake Hopatcong Yacht Club Fall Regatta

2007-09-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

Your are cordially invited to attend the 2nd annual

Lake Hopatcong A-Class Catamaran Fall Regatta
Atlantic Coast Championship Series
September 28th and 29th (Last weekend in September)

Atlantic Coast Championship
This two day race series represents also the last of the Atlantic Coast Championship Series as well as the regular Fall Regatta for the LHYC.
Plenty of Trophies
We will have trophies for 5 places for both the LHYC Fall Regatta as well as the Atlantic Coast Championship series so there will be plenty of chances to go home with something after the 10 awards are given out.
Last Warm up for the Big Race in November
As this is also the last large regional race before the World Cup Championship race in November, this is a great opportunity to be one more time, on the line, with more then 40 boats and compete with our regions best sailors before heading south for the World Cup.
Fall Breeze in NJ
This is also the best times of the year for sailing on this Lake just 40 minutes west of New York City on I-80. Winds are usually coming straight from the North and give the Race Committee the ability set a long upwind course.
Bring your empty Stomachs
The beautiful 100+ year old, Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club will again host the event with numerous social events planned through out the weekend including dinners Friday and Saturday nights and evening entertainment as part of the race fees. Your race fees also include continental breakfast at the Saturday and Sunday. Sunday after racing we will have a grill going with some of Peter Blocks famous Sausage and Beer before heading home. And of course the famous LHYC T-Shirt are included.
Party the Puerto Rican Way.
Saturday night we are sponsored by Rums of Puerto Rico and have live entertainment. The theme is tropical so bring your worst Hawaiian shirt to be festive. We will supply the Rum Drink and the ride to the bed. Advil and Pepcid available in the morning.
Plenty of Free Housing
We have a very large network of Lake front homes for sailors that would like to stay with other sailors on the lake during the event. Housing is available Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.. so please contact Mark Skeels to get the prime spots soon. mskeels@soundvet.com or (201)-787-1886
SPECIAL NOTICE
Classroom and On the Water Coaching by the 2007 North American Champion, Lars Gluck
(FRIDAY September 27th)
We recommend all sailors to make a 3 day weekend out of it, as we plan on sailing Friday all day, as well with a course setup and coaching available from Lars Gluck. Lars will be giving a land based session at the Yacht club and then an on the water session with follow up discussions afterwards. We will have a videographer on the water as well Friday to help Lars demonstrate various trim settings. This is a perfect opportunity for those that are trying to figure out the wind and tuning the sails, as well as those that are trying to figure out how Lars tunes the apparent wind and beats them every time. Anyone is invited to sail or participate in the coaching session. We have lots of housing available for Thursday and Friday nights. There will be a small fee depending how many sailors join sign up.

NOR is posted on the USACA web site and for more information contact Mark Skeels, at mskeels@soundvet.com or (201) 787-1886

Canadian A-Cat Challenge

2007-08-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

Bob,

In the spirit of great Canadian challenges (and victories) our fleet would like to officially commit to hosting a full social evening on the Thursday night at the World Championships.

A couple of great victories come to mind. The War of 1812 you might recall from your history books was won buy our side and a little more recently we had "The Looney Affair" at the Salt Lake Olympics, which provided one of the best gold medal hockey games in years. While we can't promise a road hockey game we are promising a good time for all complete with some good Canadian Brew, food and other surprises to keep people thinking.

On behalf of Fred, Fred and myself, we look forward to seeing y'all at the Islander in November.

John Vincze
President
Canadian A Class Catamaran Association

West Coast Results are IN

2007-06-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

We have completed the West Coast qualification regattas for the 2007 IACA World Championships in Islamarada Florida this November.

The first event was the SOCKS regatta run by the Seattle Yacht Club out of the Corinthian Yacht Club on June 19 and 20. Nine A-Cats participated including Ian Storer from San Diego and Jeremy Laundergan from Long Beach. Four races were run on Saturday in very windy 20-25 conditions with COLD 48 degree water. The waves were fairly large even though the Puget Sound current was going with the wind. The waves got larger when the tide shifted! The fleet recovered over a great seafood dinner that night. Sunday had more moderate breeze and the fleet was able to complete another five races.

Rank	Boat	Helm	Club	SailNo	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	Total	Net
1	NACRA A2	Jeremy Laundergan	ABYC	279	1	-2	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	12	10
2	Flyer	Ken Marshack	VLSC	192	2	1	(3.0 DNC)	1	1	2	2	2	2	16	13
3	Libertine	Ian Storer	MBYC	195	3	-4	2	3.0 DNC	3	3	3	3	4	28	24
4	Waterat	Stan Breed	VLSC	23	4.0 DNC	(6.0 DNC)	3.0 DNC	3.0 DNC	4	5	4	4	3	36	30
5	BOYER MK IV	Sandy Dick	A-Cats NW	206	4.0 DNC	3	3.0 DNC	3.0 DNC	(7.0 DNC)	6	5	7	6	44	37
6	Black MajAC	Kim Alfreds	BYC	174	4.0 DNC	6.0 DNC	3.0 DNC	3.0 DNC	6	4	6	5	-7	44	37
7	Auscat	Ed Bourguignon	VLSC	55	4.0 DNC	6.0 DNC	3.0 DNC	3.0 DNC	5	7	7	6	-8	49	41
8	Nikolai	Randall Nikolai	VLSC	177	4.0 DNC	6.0 DNC	3.0 DNC	3.0 DNC	7.0 DNC	-8	8.0 DNC	8	5	52	44
9	Blue MajAC	Jason Arnold		176	4.0 DNC	5	3.0 DNC	3.0 DNC	7.0 DNC	(9.0 DNC)	8.0 DNC	9.0 DNC	9.0 DNC	57	48

The second event was the ABY C Memorial Day Regatta in Long Beach, California on May 26 and 27. Thirteen sailors competed in moderate breeze and beautiful weather. Ken and Eric Marshack even drove down from Oregon for the event (Ken probably needed to thaw out after the previous weekend).

Rank	SailNo	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Total	Nett
1	200	Pease Glaser	ABYC	-3	1	1	2	2	1	3	13	10
2	203	Howard Hamlin	ABYC	2	3	2	-6	3	2	1	19	13
3	279	Jeremy Laundergan	ABYC	-6	2	4	1	1	4	4	22	16
4	240	Pete Melvin	ABYC	5	-6	3	4	4	3	5	30	24
5	250	Jay Glaser	ABYC	1	5	-7	7	5	5	2	32	25
6	192	Ken Marshack		4	4	5	3	7	6	-8	37	29
7	195	Ian Storer	MBYC	8	8	6	5	8	-10	10	55	45
8	102	Steve Hansen	ABYC	(14 DNC)	7	8	9	6	7	9	60	46
9	241	Bill Westland	ABYC	7	-11	11	10	9	9	6	63	52
10	197	Eric Marshack		10	10	9	11	(14 DNC)	8	7	69	55
11	71	Scott Taylor	ABYC	9	-12	12	12	10	11	11	77	65
12	109	Hall Stratton	VSC	11	9	10	8	(14 DNC)	14 DNC	14 DNC	80	66
13	153	Steve Lemler		12	13	13	(14 DNC)	14 DNC	14 DNC	14 DNC	94	80

The last of the three events was the A-Cat Summer Open at the Santa Cruz Yacht Club on June 2-3. Six competitors participated including Steve Hansen and Jeremy Laundergan who drove up from Long Beach. In Santa Cruz, the wind at this time of year depends on the clouds. If there are clouds, there isn't wind. If it clears, you will have wind and lots of it. Saturday racing started at 1pm in moderate wind which built steadily through the second race when it was blowing a solid 25 knots at the 2nd weather mark rounding. The fleet was tempted to have the third race as scheduled, but decided that no one wanted to order a new mast. The race committee offered to start racing earlier on Sunday to make up the race. In a similar progression, racing started at noon in moderate breeze which built to the low 20s by the end of the third race.

Rank	SailNo	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Total
1	279	Jeremy Laundergan	ABYC	1	2	1	4	1	9
2	199	Davi Ottenheimer	SCYC	3	1	2	3	2	11
3	150	Mike Eagan	SCYC	4	6	4	2	2	18
4	184	Andy Kolb	SCYC	2	6	5	1	5	19
5	1	Rory McGgiffen	SCYC	5	3	3	5	4	20
6	102	Steve Hansen	ABYC	6	4	6	6	6	28

Following the West Coast qualification procedure, the allocations for the West Coast will be offered to the qualification regatta participants in the following order:

Ranking	Sailor	Qualification Event
1	Pease Glaser	So.Cal.
2	Jeremy Laundergan	Pac NW
3	Davi Ottenheimer	No. Cal.
4	Howard Hamlin	So. Cal
5	Ken Marshack	Pac NW
6	Jay Glaser	So. Cal
7	Mike Eagan	No. Cal.
8	Ian Storer	So. Cal
9	Stan Breed	Pac NW
10	Steve Hansen	So. Cal
11	Sandy Dick	Pac NW
12	Andy Kolb	No. Cal.
13	Bill Westland	So. Cal
14	Eric Marshack	So. Cal
15	Kim Alfreds	Pac NW
16	Rory McGgiffen	No. Cal.
17	Scott Taylor	So. Cal
18	Ed Bourguignon	Pac NW
19	Hall Stratton	So. Cal
20	Steve Lemler	So. Cal
21	Randall Nikolai	Pac NW
22	Jason Arnold	Pac NW

Division 2 report

2007-05-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang, we had a pretty fine weekend at West River SC this past weekend. This was the first regatta of Division 2's world qualifying events and regatta One of the Atlantic coast Championship.

It was also a perfect tune up event for the Westfield Annapolis Mall A cat North American Championships . Frank Gibson PRO used the event to get familiar with the A class fleet and train his race committee for the upcoming National event.

A-Cat sailors traveled from Massachusetts, Connecticut and Virginia while the locals enjoyed the familiar territory of their home club.

14 A-Cats registered. Saturday was pretty light and really flukey. we sailed out in the middle of the bay-- a good 5 mile cruise. the first race had a pretty big course and with the flukey breeze it seemed everyone got a chance up front (and way, way back). the race committee (headed up by excellent PRO Frank Gibson) shortened the course and we got another race in.

The A's got 2 racing in on Saturday. it was pretty challenging towards the end of the last race of the day when the breeze did a real 180 degree shift. Peter Cogan from Connecticut was unstoppable w/ 2 1sts in the A fleet

We rolled back to the club for a few cold ones and some good eats.

Sunday dawned clear w/ some good breeze. Racing started promptly at 11 in 10-20 knots of breeze. Racer X, Mark Bellerman and Jim Godbey shared the firsts in the a-cat fleet.

there were some flips, 2 right at the finish line and one sailor swam across the finish line, w/o his boat! lots of chances to practice getting in and out of the wild thing and a couple of very lucky saves in quasi-pitchpole events!

we had one collision and Sterling Merhing came out on the short end--hope he gets it fixed soon.

apologies to Dave Mack for incomplete Saturday results.

We had a couple of new folks to our fleets and they were looking good--Chris Brown and Mark Schneider in the A's .

Regards [Tony Arends] Division 2 fleet

Division: A Cat/ Atlantic Coast Championship/ Spring Regatta (14 boats) (top)
Boats in Red are from division One and will not be scored in Division 2 World qualifing event scores.


Pos Sail   Boat   Skipper      1      2       3         4        5     Total  
1   200    Godbey, James      [5]     2       2         2        1      7.00   
2   134    Bellerman, Mark     2      5      [6]        1        2     10.00     
3   135    Oliver, Tracy       3      3      [7]        7        4     17.00
4   124    Ford, Chris         4      4      [5]        4        5     17.00
5   226    Arends, Tony   [15/DNS] 15/DNS     1         3        3     22.00
6   107    Fornaro, David     [8]     7       4         5        6     22.00
7   146    Schneider, Mark    [9]     9       3         6        7     25.00
8   258    Cogan, Peter        1      1   [15/DNS]   15/DNS   15/DNS   32.00
9   233    Mack               10    [13]      9         8        8     35.00
10  191    Faber, Mike         7      8       8     [15/DNS]  15/DNS   38.00
11  108    Orr, Bob          [12]    10      10         9        9     38.00
12  193    Brown, Chris        6      6   [15/DNS]   15/DNS   15/DNS   42.00
13  159    Durritt, Ken       11     11   [15/DNS]   15/DNS   15/DNS   52.00
14  179    Mehrling, Sterling 13     12   [15/DNS]   15/DNS   15/DNS   55.00

2007 North Americans report

2007-04-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from WRSC, A class North American championship headquarters.

Planning is well under way and all indications suggest it will be a very successful regatta.

The NOR, entry and accommodation forms have been posted on the USACA web site http://www.usaca.info/ under upcoming regatta's. If at all possible please register and send your entries in to Mark Bellerman OR sign up online at www.sailcrac.com under the A cat nationals tab OR contact Tony Arends .

It is important to get everyone signed up and committed early for our planning.

West river sailing club is pleased to announce that the Westfield Annapolis mall has made a kind donation and will be named title sponsor of the event.

We all know this event is to crown a National champion and gain valuable fleet experience for the 2007 world championships. One World championship qualifying slot is up for grabs to the highest finisher that has not already pre-qualified for the 2007 worlds.

In addition to competitive racing, all efforts will be devoted to staging an event that can offer every competitor a good reason to attend this regatta.

Preparation is underway to have a respected sailing coach document the days' sailing action, then discuss his notes with the competitors during our post-race debriefs. Velocitek has also made available five GPS units to be placed on boats at random for the purpose of recording GPS tracks. These track will also be used during the debrief to Illustrate the gains and losses made on the race course. Such activities should make this regatta the most educational, enjoyable sailing experience in A cat history.

A photo slide show will run daily and each competitor will receive a photos CD at the end of the event. Reprints and photo enlargements will be available at a very reasonable price.

District report suggest over 30 boats will attend.

District 1 : Bristol has reported that 6-8 boats will attend: Hall, Guck, Gaynor, Atkins, Penfield, Godbey

District 2 : 23 boats : Ford, Bellerman, Llewellyn, Mills, Saunders, Mack, Taylor, Orr, Arends, Neilsen, Nees, Fabre, Oliver, Schneider, Fornaro, Kaiser, Brown, Skeels and 5 others from New Jersey.

District 3 : 4 boats: Hodges, Ogeltree, Moon, Cope.

District 4 : No report yet

District 5 : No report yet

Our food and social directors are hard at work to provide a top notch regatta menu including an upscale dinner, BBQ and pizza night. Not to mention a fun night out in Annapolis.

Our hospitality includes free accommodation with local sailors and club member. Contact Dave Fornaro dfornaro AT comcast.net

For a hassle free sailing vacation don't be afraid to ask about charter boats. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.

We plan to have plenty of awards and prize give always.

Velocitek, will run a VMAX competition awarding a Velocitek S10 to the person recording the highest speed of the regatta, Value $299

New England ropes, Spools of line

Astral. Buoyancy vest

Ronstan, Gloves

Shirts and hats

Special thanks go to our Beer sponsors

Jim Godbey Candy creek

David Nees Fitness resource

Plus the normal trophies for our top finishing champions

Regards Tony Arends (Division 2 chairman)

2007 SCYC A-Cat Spring Open

2007-04-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

The Santa Cruz Yacht Club hosted a 505 and A-Cat regatta in classic springtime conditions. The fleet in Santa Cruz has been exploding recently and five local sailors welcomed Jeremy Laundergan from SoCal to experience Monterey Bay sailing at its finest.

Saturday had a cool morning with light southerly winds that slowly gave way to warm clear skies and increasingly strong westerlys until a light easterly came around in the afternoon. Andy Kolb demonstrated some impressive performance enhancements on his new heavily modified flyer as he launched ahead of the fleet right on the heels of Jeremy's A2 in the light winds of the first race on Saturday.

Jeremy held on to a dominant lead, but due to a tactical mistake (a local rule) he found himself disqualified at the finish line. That left Andy to celebrate the day until he was called over-early in the second race and then suffered a ruptured downhaul line inside the mast that forced him to retire just as the winds shifted to the west and were building to his favorite conditions.

With the Kolb flying machine out of the picture, and high winds approaching, Bruce Edwards and Davi Ottenheimer found each other vying for a lead as they blasted over large ocean swell and through the choppy wind waves. Bruce showed his extensive 505 fleet sailing experience by roaring with Davi through an obstacle course of slow-moving spinnakers, as if the other boats were standing still, and then emerging clean ahead to the finish.

Towards the end of the third race the wind from the west started to ease and the day finished with a spectacular sail back into the harbor.

Sunday started out with clear skies much earlier in the day, which usually indicates a blow-out westerly is to be expected. Although big wind was not in the official forecast the fleet took off early for some extra time in the light morning southerly. The wind hesitated to build and so a fourth race was sailed in light southerly breezes.

Back to light air Jeremy turned on the A2 afterburners and walked away from the local heavy-wind loving fleet. Following the previous day's wave action kelp became a huge factor as the slimy green stuff filled the course and threatened to grab foils and bring competitors to a standstill. Mike Egan built up incredible momentum and flew into position just behind Jeremy on the second windward leg but he was mercilessly attacked and forced to retire by an angry kelp monster.

With Mike headed home Bruce Edwards then started to extend his lead on the fleet. He managed to keep his position ahead of Davi and Andy until the final leward rounding when Davi swept in from a big "righty" and initiated a tacking dual to the finish. Although Bruce started to build his lead again through the tacks, he cursed an oily appendage of kelp at the finish as Davi sailed ahead over the line.

After the fourth race the southerly wind shied away and left the sailors in lumpy trough-like seas waiting for new wind. Giant ominous-looking whitecaps could be seen in the far distance but the transition stalled. The committee took some readings and then decided to move inshore to pick up an early easterly instead of sending everyone further offshore into the full-on 20+ knt spring fury of Santa Cruz ocean breeze and swell.

Once again in light wind Jeremy turned the corner at the first windward mark and said "sionara" to the others. He had quick line honors on a shortened course. The big rolling waves combined with a breeze from the opposite direction provided some challenging conditions for sail trim and angles in the final race.

Photo by Bob Simpkins


Date: April 7-8, 2007
Sailed:5, Discards:0, Entries:6
1  199  XJ    Davi Ottenheimer   SCYC  2  2  2  2  2  =  10
2  244  Flyer Bruce Edwards     StFYC  5  1  1  3  4  =  14
3   79  A2    Jeremy Laundergan  ABYC  6  5  4  1  1  =  15
4  150  Flyer Andy Kolb          AKYC  1  6  6  4  3  =  20
5  184  Flyer Mike Egan          HBYC  4  3  3  5  6  =  21
6  181  Flyer Paul Allen         SCYC  3  4  5  6  6  =  24

West Coast Qualification for 2007 World Champs

2007-03-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

As many of you have seen, the USACA has released the qualification procedure for the 2007 USACA World Championship being held in from Nov 10-16 in Islamoralda Key, Florida.

As it stands for 2007, the entire west coast is considered a single district and will be allocated a certain number of slots for the worlds. We have proposed that the Pacific NW (Washington & Oregon) be split into a separate district, but that would not take effect until 2008.

After many discussions, many west coast sailors have expressed concerns regarding their ability to participate in a qualification series the the west region. Therefore, we will be proceeding with the following (imperfect but hopefully fair) qualification process:

Three separate qualification events will be held on the west coast: one in So Cal, one in Nor Cal, and one in Pac NW

Assuming that the west coast division is allocated at least three slots for the 2007 Worlds, each of the qualifying events will result in at least one competitor qualifying for the worlds.

The number of slots allocated per event will depend on how many paid USACA members compete in a specific event, not on the number of members from each of the sub-regions.

The total number of slots available for west coast A-Cats is unknown at this time and will depend on all of the variables described in the "USACA 2007 World Championship Entry Allocation" document

The winner of each of the three event will qualify for a slot at the worlds
Additional slots beyond the three will be allocated based on a ratio of the number of paid USACA members (PAY YOUR DUES!) competing in each event (see example below)

If the winner or other person qualifying for the worlds has already qualified at another event or by direct allocation, the next best finisher in that event will assume that allocation slot

If the west coast is allocated less than three slots, the winner of the largest event will qualify in the case of a single slot allocation and the winners of the two largest events will qualify in the case of two slot allocations

Note that sailors that can travel to multiple events will gain up to three opportunities to qualify for the worlds

The dates have been set for the three west coast qualifying events for the 2007 IACA world championship.

Pacific Northwest: Seattle Yacht Club S.O.C.K.S Regatta 5/19-20/2007 http://www.seattleyachtclub.org/Sailboat/Sailboat_Racing

Southern California: ABYC Memorial Day Regatta 5/26-27/2007 http://www.abyc.org/event.cfm?id=254

Northern California: SCYC 505/A-CAT Summer Open 6/2-3/2007
http://www.scyc.org/


Allocation Example                               Allocations
       Event         Dates      Boats  Ratio  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10
PacNW  SOCKS         May 19-20     12    26%  1  1  1  2  2  2  2  3
SoCal  Memorial Day  May 26-27     16    35%  1  2  2  2  2  3  3  3
NorCal Summer Open   June  2-3     18    39%  1  2  2  2  2  3  4  4

Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information

What happened at Eustis?

2007-02-22T17:41:00.000-08:00

OK, for those who have been asking; even though the Lake Eustis Sailing Club
immediately warmly greeted us it was not Zenda South. With record setting low
temperatures across the state of Florida I wasn't the only one walking around
in polar bear fashion. Lake Eustis is a great lake for sailing, it's big!
Almost every weekend in the spring there is some type of scow event and we felt
fortunate to be asked to join in on this large open regatta. Thursday was balmy
and light for those who got out, but Friday started the spiral down hill. We
(13 boats) rigged up on Friday and went for a sail in breezy, puffy conditions
with dropping temps. The forty to fifty MC Scows cancelled their practice race
Friday afternoon, something about the guys from Wisconsin saying it was too
cold? Friday morning after scraping the ice off the windshields we hit the
water in near perfect winds, just butt cold. The breeze built with typical lake
shifts and the clear skies made for warming temps. Finishes were never cast
until you crossed the line. It made for some great downwind runs ripping through
the big scow boat fleets across the lake. The folks at the club were just
excellent hosts. Even the local oyster bar got in on the action doing their best to
pour free tequila down the fleet leader's gullets.

Sunday morning was just bitchin'. We could tell the race committee just
wasn't going to budge off the beach. Then all those scow sailors from iceboat
country threw in the towel and we were notified no racing for Sunday. Of course
that made for great viewing of Daytona at the local bar over looking the lake. So
all was definitely not lost. What a finish!

I'll post the results when they are e-mailed to me. Yes Charlie won. As usual
it seems every regatta we go to now there are new faces with new boats.
Welcome Patrick!

So next stop is Gulfport, March 17-18 and yes I'm searching the Internet for
a fur lined survival suit!

Bob

Jennifer, Thanx for sending the results over.

George Washington Regatta Results
February 18,2007


Place Competitor       Sail                  Total
1     Charlie Ogletree 169   1     1     1      3
2     Bob Webbon       238   2     4     3      9
3     Woody Cope       209   9     2     2     13
4     Ben Hall          99   8     3     4     15
5     Chris Cordes     172   3     6     6     15
6     Rush Bird        231   4     5     8     17
7     Bret Moss        140   6     8     5     19
8     Jennifer Lindsay 147   5     7     7     19
9     Martin Hamilton    3   7    11   DNF     32
10    Jeff Shapiro     167  12    12     9     33
11    Dave Carlson     196  10     9   DNF     33
12    Patrick Burger   243  11    10   DNF     35
13    Gordon Isco      154 DNF   DNS   DNS     42

DNF/DNS=14

SCYA Midwinter Regatta

2007-02-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

Hosted by ABYC
A-Cat Fleet


Sailed:6, Discards:1, Entries:10
1  240 Pease Glaser      ABYC    1    1    2   1    2  (4) = 11
2    6 Jay Glaser        ABYC    2   (3)   1   3    1   3  = 13
3  244 Bruce Edwards     SCYC   (4)   2    4   2    3   2  = 17
4   30 John Vincze       RCYC   (6)   5    6   4    6   5  = 32
5  137 John Simpkins            (7)   6    5   6    4   6  = 34
6   79 Jeremy Laundergan ABYC    5    4    3   7* DNC DNC  = 41
7   71 Scott Taylor      ABYC (DNC) DNC  DNC   5    5 DNC  = 54
8  180 Pete Melvin       ABYC (DNC) DNC  DNC DNC  DNC   1  = 56
9  102 Steve Hansen      ABYC    3 (DNC) DNC DNC  DNC DNC  = 58
10 153 Steve Lemler           (DNC)   7    7 DNC  DNC DNC  = 58

DNC=11
* Broke a forestay but kept the mast up with the trap wire and finished that race too :-)

Photo by Rich Roberts/boat captain Dave Myers

Photos from Final Day of A-Cat Midwinter's

2007-01-27T09:44:00.000-08:00

Team California packed up and ready to go home. Extra thanks to Bill and Skip for driving the boats!

Left to right: John Simpkins, Mike Egan, Andy Kolb, Bill Erkelens, Jay Glaser, Pease Glaser, Skip Elliott, Jeremy Laundergan, Davi Ottenheimer
Not pictured: Pete Melvin, Bruce Edwards, Steve Hansen, Ian Storer

Islamorada Friday

2007-01-27T05:01:00.000-08:00

Morning winds were from the north (offshore) and at the upper range of class rules (22 knts). The sailors held a quick skippers meeting and decided to postpone until noon and wait for moderation. About twenty of the more than fifty competitors said they would definitely brave the conditions.

The races started on time in small chop and 15-20. Only seventeen boats decided to participate (including all four boats from Santa Cruz, California) out of the fifty-six registered for the event. Some competitors had already packed and left by the time racing began. Fortunately, even with the risk of high winds there were no major accidents, although Mike Egan was forced to retire after being fouled during a start sequence. The winds did moderate a little towards 3pm and, in all, five races were held.

Again, Lars Guck dominated the fleet and took the 1st place prize. Pete Melvin took second and Woody Cope third, with Roberto Casadei fourth. Since Lars and Pete are already qualified, Woody is the next US sailor to qualify for November 2007 Worlds.

Draft results:


Sail Helm             Nat  R1   R2   R3  R4  R5 TOTAL Rank
232 Lars Guck         USA  (1)   1    1   1   1   4    1st
69  Pete Melvin       USA   2    2    2  (3)  2   8    2nd
209 Woody Cope        USA  (9)   4    3   2   4  13    3rd
1   Roberto Casadei   ITA   4   (7)   4   4   3  15    4th
4   Chimio de Freitas BRA   3    3   (6)  5   6  17    5th
230 Bob Hodges        USA   6   (8)   5   6   8  25    6th
199 Davi Ottenheimer  USA (11)   9   10   7   5  31    7th
204 Dave Penfield     USA   5    6   11 (14) 10  32    8th
195 Ian Storer        USA (13)   5    9   8  13  35    9th
150 Andy Kolb         USA (12)  12    7   9  12  40   10th
200 Jim Godbey        USA  10  (13)  12  11   7  40   11th
134 Mark Bellermann   USA (16)  11    8  10  11  40   12th
169 Ward Cromwell     USA (14)  10   13  13   9  45   13th
236 Matt McDonald     USA   8   14  (15) 12  15  49   14th
2   Roger Wright      BRA (17)  15   14  16  14  59   15th
184 Michael Egan      USA   7 (DNC) DNC DNC DNC  61   16th
198 John Vincze       USA  15  (16)  16  15  16  62   17th

To cap off the week of racing Bob Webbon delivered free pizza at the final awards ceremony.

Some like it mild, while some go wild

2007-01-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

Differing styles of "downwind" sailing at Islamorada, Florida, January 22nd, 2007:

Left to right:
170 Clive Mayo
199 Davi Ottenheimer
169 Ward Cromwell
22 Kristian Mattsson

Photo by Tony Arends

A-Cat Midwinter Racing Postponed

2007-01-25T08:54:00.000-08:00

The first race of the A-Cat Midwinters (which immediately followed the A-Class Coconut Grove Classic) is being postponed due to inclement weather. A large cold front is approaching and the races have been postponed ashore. A-Cat sailors have tied down the boats and are waiting for the front to move through Islamorada Key. The forecast is calling for gusty 15-20 knot winds moving from the Northwest to Northeast from the through Friday.

Islamorada Thursday

2007-01-25T08:51:00.000-08:00

Heavy weather warnings this morning, so the competitors are working on their boats, securing them, and watching the storm clouds roll in...

By 3pm the heavy downpour, high winds and limited visibility finally gave way to clearer skies. The PRO gave warning for a 4pm start, but only a half hour later winds in the area near the reefs were reported at around 30 kts (the class max is 22 kts) and even when winds were recorded by the RC in the 15 kts range they noted quick gusts of 20 kts or higher. With only a couple hours of daylight left, and unpredictable and building offshore breezes that could easily send a sailor in distress out into dangerous waters, the decision was made to postpone again and get an early start Friday.

2007 Coconut Grove Classic Final Results

2007-01-25T08:36:00.000-08:00

Lars Guck again finishes well ahead of the fleet, sailing a custom Nacra A3 with Glaser sail and Hall spar:

Photo by Tony Arends

Results are final as of 8:31 on January 25, 2007

Islander Resort, Islamorada, Florida

Sailed:6, Discards:1, To count:5, Entries:56

    
Sail  Helm               Nat  R1  R2  R3  R4  R5  R6 TOTAL Rank
---------------------------------------------------------------
232   Lars Guck          USA   1   1   1  -2   1   1    5   1st
69    Pete Melvin        USA   7   4   3   1  -9   5   20   2nd
22    Kristian Mattsson  SWE   3   5   4 OCS   3   7   22   3rd
27    Eric Andersson     SWE   6   3   2  -7   7   6   24   4th
209   Woody Cope         USA   9   9   5   4 -14   3   30   5th
2     Teo DiBattista     ITA   5   6 -17  13   8   2   34   6th
235   Bob Webbon         USA   4   8 -21  11   4   9   36   7th
956   Thomas Persson     SWE   8   2   6 -18  11  10   37   8th
1     Goran Marstrom     SWE  12  12 -23   9   6   4   43   9th
230   Bob Hodges         USA  DNS 11   9   6  10  13   49   10th
102   Steve Hansen       USA  10   7   7  17  12 OCS   53   11th
200   Jim Godbey         USA  17  10  10   8  22 -25   67   12th
123   Skip Elliott       USA  18  13  16  10 -20  11   68   13th
213   Ian Lindahl        USA  13  16  13 -31  17  14   73   14th
150   Andy Kolb          USA  11  17   8 -38  26  17   79   15th
180   Jay Glaser         USA  20 -35  15  16  13  18   82   16th
99    Ben Hall           USA   2 DNF DNC  12   5   8   84   17th
195   Ian Storer         USA -25  20  11  14  18  21   84   18th
240   Pease Glaser       USA  28  18  29   5  15 DNC   95   19th
199   Davi Ottenheimer   USA  21 -28  14  24  16  26  101   20th
11    Malin              SWE  30  23  12  22  19 DNF  106   21st
79    Jeremy Laundergan  USA  19  26  26  23 -29  12  106   22nd
205   Mike Gruber        USA DNF  24  24  25  25  16  114   23rd
135   Tracy Oliver       USA  23  30  22  20 -35  23  118   24th
122   John Schiefer      USA  24  19  20  32  24 DNF  119   25th
170   Clive Mayo         USA  16  14  19 -36  36  35  120   26th
231   Rush Bird          USA  15  15  30 -34  32  31  123   27th
169   Ward Cromwell      USA -31  21  18  28  28  30  125   28th
121   Carla Schiefer     USA  33  25  27  21 -42  22  128   29th
236   Matt McDonald      USA  27  32  28  27 -43  15  129   30th
204   Dave Penfield      USA  29  33 -38  15  38  20  135   31st
184   Michael Egan       USA  14 DNC DNC  19  23  27  140   32nd
147   Jennifer Lindsay   USA  32  29  25 DNF  30  24  140   33rd
3065  Peter Block        USA DNS  27  31  35  31  19  143   34th
134   Mark Bellermann    USA  22  22 DNF  26  27 DNF  154   35th
3     Martin Hamilton    USA -41  31 RDG  30  39  29  154   36th
1     Roberto Casadei    ITA DNF DNC DNC   3   2 OCS  176   37th
212   Kevin Grice        USA  34  40  33  29  47 DNC  183   38th
137   John Simpkins      USA  36  41  37 -43  33  38  185   39th
227   David Nees         USA  37  38  35  41 -46  34  185   40th
198   John Vincze        USA  39  36  34  40 -41  39  188   41st
22    Leandro Spina      USA  40 DNF DNC  39  21  32  189   42nd
214   Bill Erkelens      USA  38  34 DNC  37  44  37  190   43rd
194   Tim Llewellyn      USA  26  37 DNC OCS  40  33  193   44th
172   Chris Cordes       USA DNF DNF DNC  33  34  28  209   45th
51    Fred Smith         CAN  43  43  40  45 -51  41  212   46th
841   Patrick Burger     AUS  42  42  39  48 -50  42  213   47th
823   David Taylor       AUS  35  39  32 DNC DNC DNC  220   48th
30    Andrew Burdett     USA  44  44  41 DNF  52  45  226   49th
154   Gordon Isco        USA DNF DNC DNC  46  37  36  233   50th
160   Steve Levine       USA  45 DNF  42  49  53  46  235   51st
223   Mark Skeels        USA DNC DNC DNC  42  45  40  241   52nd
179   Sterling Mehring   USA DNC DNF DNC  44  48  44  250   53rd
108   Bob Orr            USA DNC DNF DNF  47  49  43  253   54th
799   Tom Siders         USA DNC DNC DNC DNF DNC DNC  285   55th
215   George Saunders    USA DNF DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC  285   55th
================================================================
DNC Did not come to the starting area (57)
DNF Did not finish the race (57) 
DNS Did not start the race (57)
DSQ Was disqualified (57)
RDG Redress Given - Points set by protest hearing
  - Race 3, 25 set for USA3 Martin Hamilton

A Cat Ketch

2007-01-24T19:46:00.000-08:00

Hot breaking news on A-Cat design from Islamorada, Florida!

This "A Cat Ketch" design showed up in wraps on Tuesday. Hard to say for sure what is going on with the platform, but even with the covers on it is pretty clear that Jeremy Laundergan has some new designs up his sleeve. Inside sources report this will use two 75 sq/ft sails to stay class legal. However, it is not clear how the weight of the main mast will keep things down to 165 lbs, especially as wood tends to be quite heavy (unless that's also new camoflage treatment to hide its true material).

Photo by Harriet Ottenheimer.

Coconut Grove Classic Awards Dinner

2007-01-24T17:05:00.000-08:00

Current and past Coconut Grove Classic winners (laft to right) Bob Hodges, 2007 winner Lars Guck and four time winner Ben Hall. Former winner Phil Kinder was unable to attend this year

Awards dinner at the Islamorada Fish Company

And our committee boat photographer Vaness Hamilton from the A-Cat fleet in Houston Texas

Coconut Grove Classic - Day 2 (Jan 24)

2007-01-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

The second day of racing for the Coconut Grove Classic after a day off due to no wind in Islamorada Florida had great conditions and a big fleet. Here are a few of the photos highlights taken by Houston fleet member Vaness Hamilton from the committee boat (thanks Vaness!).

Islamorada Wednesday

2007-01-24T13:35:00.000-08:00

The morning started without wind and racing was postponed. By 11am a steady southeasterly filled in and the boats were off again. There were two general recalls as the first race started in light breeze. On the third attempt the I flag went up (round-the-ends rule) and no further general recalls were called for the day.

The wind gradually filled in so that by the third race hulls were flying in puffy 10-15, with small confused wind waves. Pete Melvin won the first race of the day, but Lars Guck took line honors in the other two establishing a dominant first place finish overall.

At the end of the day the sailors all were invited to retire to an informal awards ceremony and a Prix Fixe menu (US$20 for a Cheese Burger, Chicken Salad, Fried Shrimp, or Fish Sandwich) at the Islamorada Fish Company. Tables were set right along the water with nice views of the bay side and sunset. The Fish Company's regular menu is viewable online here.

Islamorada Results: Day 1

2007-01-23T07:24:00.000-08:00

Here are the complete results, as recorded by the race committee, for Monday, January 22, in Islamorada, Florida:

 
Sailed:3, Discards:0, To count:3, Entries:55
----------------------------------------------------
Sail  Helm               Nat  R1  R2  R3 Total  Rank
232   Lars Guck          USA   1   1   1    3    1st
27    Eric Andersson     SWE   6   3   2   11    2nd
22    Kristian Mattsson  SWE   3   5   4   12    3rd
69    Pete Melvin        USA   7   4   3   14    4th
956   Thomas Persson     SWE   8   2   6   16    5th
209   Woody Cope         USA   9   9   5   23    6th
102   Steve Hansen       USA  10   7   7   24    7th
2     Teo DiBattista     ITA   5   6  17   28    8th
235   Bob Webbon         USA   4   8  21   33    9th
150   Andy Kolb          USA  11  17   8   36   10th
200   Jim Godbey         USA  17  10  10   37   11th
213   Ian Lindahl        USA  13  16  13   42   12th
1     Goran Marstrom     SWE  12  12  23   47   13th
123   Skip Elliott       USA  18  13  16   47   14th
170   Clive Mayo         USA  16  14  19   49   15th
195   Ian Storer         USA  25  20  11   56   16th
231   Rush Bird          USA  15  15  30   60   17th
199   Davi Ottenheimer   USA  21  28  14   63   18th
122   John Schiefer      USA  24  19  20   63   19th
12    Malin              SWE  30  23  12   65   20th
180   Jay Glaser         USA  20  35  15   70   21st
169   Ward Cromwell      USA  31  21  18   70   22nd
79    Jeremy Laundergan  USA  19  26  26   71   23rd
240   Pease Glaser       USA  28  18  29   75   24th
135   Tracy Oliver       USA  23  30  22   75   25th
230   Bob Hodges         USA DNS  11   9   76   26th
121   Carla Schiefer     USA  33  25  27   85   27th
147   Jennifer Lindsay   USA  32  29  25   86   28th
236   Matt McDonald      USA  27  32  28   87   29th
3     Martin Hamilton    USA  41  31 RDG   97   30th
134   Mark Bellermann    USA  22  22 DSQ  100   31st
204   Dave Penfield      USA  29  33  38  100   32nd
205   Mike Gruber        USA DNF  24  24  104   33rd
823   David Taylor       AUS  35  39  32  106   34th
212   Kevin Grice        USA  34  40  33  107   35th
198   John Vincze        USA  39  36  34  109   36th
227   David Nees         USA  37  38  35  110   37th
99    Ben Hall           USA   2 DNF DNC  114   38th
3065  Peter Block        USA DNS  27  31  114   39th
137   John Simpkins      USA  36  41  37  114   40th
194   Tim Llewellyn      USA  26  37 DNC  119   41st
841   Patrick Burger     AUS  42  42  39  123   42nd
184   Michael Egan       USA  14 DNC DNC  126   43rd
51    Fred Smith         CAN  43  43  40  126   44th
214   Bill Erkelens      USA  38  34 DNC  128   45th
30    Andrew Burdett     USA  44  44  41  129   46th
160   Steve Levine       USA  45 DNF  42  143   47th
22    Leandro Spina      USA  40 DNF DNC  152   48th
179   Sterling Mehring   USA DNC DNF DNC  168   49th
172   Chris Cordes       USA DNF DNF DNC  168   49th
154   Gordon Isco        USA DNF DNC DNC  168   49th
215   George Saunders    USA DNF DNC DNC  168   49th
1     Roberto Casadei    ITA DNF DNC DNC  168   49th
223   Mark Skeels        USA DNC DNC DNC  168   49th
108   Bob Orr            USA DNC DNF DNF  168   49th
----------------------------------------------------
DNC Did not come to the starting area (56)
DNF Did not finish the race (56) 
DNS Did not start the race (56)
DSQ Was disqualified (56)
RDG Redress Given - Points set by protest hearing
  - Race 3, 25 set for USA3 Martin Hamilton

Islamorada Tuesday

2007-01-23T06:03:00.000-08:00

The wind forecast for today is 0 ("Light and variable winds..."). The water is currently glassy calm, unlike yesterday's steady onshore breeze.

A skipper's meeting was held at 8:30am and the racers all agreed to take a lay day today and resume sailing tomorrow, Wednesday. Time to hit the pool...

...and to meet the locals, like this big guy:

Islamorada Monday

2007-01-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

The day started with a welcome to competitors from six countries who are participating in the largest A-Class Catamaran event in the Northern Hemisphere. Bob Webbon also warned about jellyfish and the hazards of sailing in the Atlantic Ocean..."Miami is to the north and to the south...you're headed to Cuba."

The wind was onshore again and more from the southeast at 10-15. The seas were flat close to the shore, but lumpy and confused further out.

Lars Guck moved ahead of the fleet by a wide margin with three straight bullets (three points). The next closest competitor was Eric Andersson from Sweden with eleven total points.

At least a couple competitors had incidents involving jellyfish (or siphonophores), and unfortunately Mike Egan had to retire early from the effects of a portuguese man-o-war that had wrapped itself around his ankle.

We'll probably all be wearing full suits tomorrow.

Current top ten out of fifty-eight boats:

                               
                                 01/22          
POS Sail    First    Last        R1  R2  R3  Total
 1  USA232  LARS     GUCK        1   1   1      3
 2  SWE 27  ERIC     ANDERSSON   6   3   2     11  
 3  SWE 22  KRISTIAN MATTSSON    3   5   4     12
 4  USA 69  PETE     MELVIN      7   4   3     14
 5  SWE956  THOMAS   PERSSON     8   2   6     16
 6  USA209  WOODY    COPE        9   9   5     23
 7  USA102  STEVE    HANSEN     10   7   7     24
 8  USA  2  TEO      DIBATTISTA  5   6  17     28 
 9  USA235  BOB      WEBBON      4   8  21     33
10  USA150  ANDY     KOLB       11  17   8     36

Coconut Grove Classic - Day 1 (Jan 22)

2007-01-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

The first day of racing for the Coconut Grove Classic in Islamorada Florida had perfect conditions with 10-15 knot winds. Here are a few of the photos highlights taken by Houston fleet member Vaness Hamilton from the committee boat (thanks Vaness!) and start photo by Tony Arends (thanks Tony!)

And a couple of Lars Guck who is currently in the lead

Islamorada Sunday

2007-01-21T15:19:00.000-08:00

Boats continue to arrive and get tucked among the trees:

Grassy spots seem favored, and are getting full:

Friends help friends deal with an onshore breeze in ankle-deep water off a rocky shore:

Here are some early action shots from Jeremy Laundergan:

2007 Team California Arrives in Islamorada

2007-01-20T18:58:00.000-08:00

The past couple of days have seen a trickle of sailors arrive at the picturesque Islander Resort to unload and unpack...and go for a sail!

Plenty of parking, nicely situated in between the hotel rooms and the launch area:

Jeremy Laundergan, John Simpkins, and Steve Hansen dissasemble the last bits from the Team California twelve-boat trailer:

Carbon among the palms:

Boats, boats, everywhere. How nice to walk out of your hotel room and have your boat right there:

Andy Kolb curses a bolt and contemplates gluing his beams:

And away Ian Storer goes (note the short sleeves and board shorts):

2007 Team California en route to Islamorada

2007-01-09T14:05:00.000-08:00

Twelve A-Cats California have started their 10,000 mile road-trek for the Islamorada midwinter regatta.

Eleven boats on a trailer plus one on the roof. Pease says "we'll win the biggest trailer contest!"

She also points out that "The gang standing in front of the trailer are the ones paying the additional self-employment tax of 'Able to meet to pack the trailer on a Monday'"

Left to right: Skip Elliott, John Simpkins, Bill Erkelens, Jay Glaser, Pease Glaser, Steve Hansen

Ready to roll...

The group that started filling the trailer in Santa Cruz included Mike Egan, Andy Kolb, Bruce Edwards, Eric Willis, and Davi "I love glued beams" Ottenheimer.

2007 A-Class Catamaran World Championships

2006-12-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASE

The United States A-Class Catamaran Association (USACA) is pleased to announce the 2007 International A-Class Catamaran World Championships to be held on Islamorada Key, in the beautiful Florida Keys from November 10th through November 16th, 2007.

This prestigious event will include the most accomplished catamaran sailors in the World. Olympic Medalists, World and Continental champions will gather from every continent to compete in the newest and most exciting sailing venue in North America - The Islander Resort. The A-Class catamaran is one of the most technically advanced racing catamarans in the World. These 5.49 meter (18 foot) cats are built of state-of-the-art carbon fiber and weigh a mere 75 Kilograms (165 pounds), making sailing fast and exciting even in the lightest breeze.

Competition will be held on the Atlantic Ocean, above some of the most pristine coral reefs and beautiful water in the tropical USA. Onshore facilities at the Islander Resort include fresh and saltwater pools, beachside tiki bar, restaurant, and ocean front rooms with competitor boat storage at their doorstep.

Race officiating will be directed by members of the St. Petersburg Trophy winning Houston Yacht Club, and other well-known volunteers from yacht clubs throughout the USA.

Competitor registration and press coverage information will be found at http://USACA.info/

Transportation Information

Islamorada is almost exactly halfway between Miami and Key West. The Islander Resort is located at Mile Marker 82.1 Oceanside in Islamorada, the Florida Keys. The resort is visible from the highway, by a historical landmark sign with easy accessibility to the property.

The Islander Resort
82101 Overseas Hwy
Islamorada, FL 33036
(305) 664-2031

More location information and directions can be found here

From Miami International Airport

Take LeJeune Road south to 836 West.

Take the Florida Turnpike south toward Key West.

The Turnpike ends at US 1 in Florida City.

Follow U.S. 1 south about 22 miles to Key Largo.

From Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

Exit the airport and follow the signs for 595 West.

Take 595 to the Florida Turnpike and follow the signs for the Florida Keys.

Keys Shuttle offers door-to-door service from Ft. Lauderdale and Miami International Airports to
Key Largo and other points in the Keys. Call 24 hours ahead. 888-765-9997 or 305-289-9997

Traveler Rigging

2006-10-06T18:26:00.000-07:00

Posting on behalf of George Saunders, USA 215:

"I’ve had a few people ask about how I rigged my traveler…a picture is worth a 1000 words.

The brackets are carbon with nomex or foam core. The entire system is nearly friction free and cleats and uncleats from the wire with no effort...great for rounding the weather mark smoothly and with leech tension!"

1st Pic is the turning block under the tamp and attached to the main beam:

2nd Pic is the cleat for the traveler just behind the mast:

3rd Pic is the turning block under the tramp attached to the aft beam:

4th Pic is the floating block for the 2:1 under the tramp, the dead end is looped over the bracket for the traveler cleat (Pic 2):

5th Pic is the exit block behind the traveler. There is a Harken air-block sheeve mounted with the turning axis horizontal inside square housing behind the traveler:

2006 Atlantic Coast Championship Series - FINAL RACE

2006-09-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

October 7-8th are the dates for the final regatta in the 2006 Atlantic Coast Championship series and will be hosted by the Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club in New Jersey. The event is held on the beautiful fresh water Lake Hopatcong where A-Class Sailing started 40 years ago. Sailors from the Atlantic coast states are meeting for this final major event for the year during the ideal wind conditions of the Fall in the Pocono Mountain foot hills. Previous events in the series were held in the West River, Finger Lakes and Bristol earlier in the spring and summer.

Two award groups will be presented at this event as it is also the Annual Fall regatta for the A-Class Fleet at Lake Hopatcong with the Championship Award being presented on Sunday after racing.

There are a number of social events being planned from Friday night thru Sunday. A Presentation by Peter Block, a 30 year A-Class sailor will have a evening presentation after dinner on "The History of A-Class Sailing"

Plenty of private home housing is available so out of town sailors can stay with local sailors in homes right on the water front of the lake near the Yacht Club.

Contact Mark Skeels at 201-787-1886 or mskeels [AT] soundvet.com if you want more information about housing or the event.

Go to http://www.USACA.info for the NOR or http://lhyc.com/LHYC1/A/acat2006fallnor.htm at the LHYC

2006 North American Championship: Photos

2006-09-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

United States A-Cat Association (USACA)

Photos from the 2006 USACA North American Championship are now available on the Bristol A-Class Fleet BLOG:

http://aclassracing.blogspot.com/

Lars Guck, 2006 NA Champion, sailing to victory with a Nacra A2, Glaser Sail and Fibrefoam Mast

2006 North American Championship: Day 4

2006-09-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

United States A-Cat Association (USACA)

Friday September 15 was the fourth and final day of racing for the 2006 United States A-Class Catamaran Association's North American Championship being run out of the Bristol Yacht Club in Rhode Island. It was moderate northerly breeze and drizzle for the final two races of the 14 race event. Bristol local Lars Guck continued his dominating performance sailing a perfect series. Another local sailor, Phil Kinder, sailed a very consistent series for a comfortable margin holding 2nd place. Bob Hodges from Ponchatrain YC in Louisiana also sailed a consistent series for 3rd overall. Multiple North American champion and Bristol local Ben Hall sailed into fourth. And multiple World and North American champion Pete Melvin recovered from the collision on opening day to take 5th overall.

Thanks again to the Bristol fleet as well as the Bristol YC staff and outstanding race committee for putting on a great event in 2006!

2006 North American Championship: Final Results

2006-09-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

United States A-Cat Association (USACA)

2006 A-CLASS NORTH AMERICANS
**** FINAL RESULTS ******

BRISTOL YC
BRISTOL RI USA

DATE 13-Sep-06

PRO PJ SCHAFFER
RC BILL SLINKO
RC TRIPP ESTABROOK
RC PETER ALARIE
RC GREG ANTHONY
RC CHUCK NORRIS
RC JOHN CUMMINGS
RC MIKE MILLS
RC BOB YAYLAIAN

WIND various
TEMP cold
# Races 14



AVERAGE POINTS AWARDED ARE IN GREEN
OCS  DNF  DNS  DSQ           29  27  26  24  30  30  30  28  30  30  28  28  27  27      
20%                           6   5   5   5   6   6   6   5   6   6   5   5   5   5      
# Starters                   28  26  25  23  29  29  29  27  29  29  27  27  26  26      
                                        
                             9/12            9/13            9/14           9/15  
POS Sail First    Last       R1  R2  R3  R4  R5  R6  R7  R8  R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 THR1 THR2 Total
 1  232  LARS     GUCK        1   1   1   1   1   1   1   1   1   1   1   1   1   1    1    1   12
 2  110  PHIL     KINDER      2   2   2   6   3   4   2   5   5   2   2   2   2   3    6    5   31
 3  230  BOB      HODGES      6   4   8   7   5   5   4   6   3   3   6   4   8   5    8    8   58
 4   99  BEN      HALL        5  10   9   2  15   3   4  10   7   7   5   7   5   8   15   10   72
 5   69  PETE     MELVIN     29  27  26  24   2   2   3   4   2   4   9   3   3   2   29   27   84
 6  209  WOODY    COPE        8   3   3   5  10  25   7   2   8  15  12   6  14  19   25   19   93
 7  234  ANDREW   GAYNOR      9   9   9   9  20   8   9   3  13   6  11   5   4  11   20   13   93
 8  226  TONY     ARENDS      7   7   4   9   6  12  11  16   9   9   8   9   6  21   21   16   97
 9  213  IAN      LINDAHL    10   8  14   3  14   6   6   7  15  13   7  10   7  20   20   15  105
10  218  PETER    COGAN       3   5   6   4   9  19  30  28  12   5   3  28  10   6   30   28  110
11  200  JIM      GODBEY     17  22  15  14   7  17   8   9  10   8  13   8  21   9   22   21  135
12  134  MARK     BELLERMAN   9  14   5  13  13   9  14  11   6  12  23  19  19  14   23   19  139
13  204  DAVE     PENFIELD   16  17  12  19  18  18  16   8  18  10   4  14   9  10   19   18  152
14  129  CHAD     ATKINS      4  20  13  15  27  15  10  19  21  23  14  12  16  12   27   23  171
15   66  IAN      STORER     13  16   7  18  12  22  17  18  14  16  18  13  15  13   22   18  172
16  236  MATT     MCDONALD   21   6  17  16   4  10  22  24  11  11  15  21  20  22   24   22  174
17   79  JEREMY   LAUNDERGAN 23  11  21  12  24  24  15  13  20  18  17  11  12   7   24   24  180
18  124  CHRIS    FORD       14  13  11   8  23  14  21  21  17  20  21  20  11  15   23   21  185
19  211  DANNY    GORITZKY   18  18  18  10   8  20  18  20  16  21  22  16  13  24   24   22  196
20   28  ERIC     ANDERSEN   11   9  22  22  16  13  12  12  23  19  26  22  28  16   28   26  197
21  147  JENNIFER LINDSAY    15  15  16  20  22  23  23  22   4  17  16  15  27  27   27   27  208
22  231  RUSH     BIRD       12  27  26  24  21  11  19  14  22  14  20  18  18  17   27   26  210
23  235  BOB      WEBBON     22  21  10  17  11   7  13  15  19  30  28  28  27  27   30   28  217
24  116  BILL     GRAVES     25  23  20  21  19  16  20  25  27  24  19  23  22  18   27   25  250
25 3065  PETER    BLOCK      19  12  19  11  26  27  24  23  24  25  24  28  25  26   28   27  258
26  222  STEVE    CLARK      29  27  26  24  30  30  30  28  25  22  10  17  17   4   30   30  259
27  191  MARTIN   HAMILTON   20  19  26  24  17  21  30  17  26  30  28  28  27  27   30   28  280
28  223  MARK     SKEILS     24  24  23  23  29  28  27  26  28  26  25  25  25  25   29   28  301
29  215  GEORGE   SAUNDERS   26  25  26  24  28  29  25  27  29  27  27  26  23  23   29   29  307
30  154  GORDON   ISCO       29  27  26  24  25  26  30  28  30  30  28  28  27  27   30   30  325

2006 North American Championship: Day 3

2006-09-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

United States A-Cat Association (USACA)

Thursday September 14 was the third day of racing for the 2006 United States A-Class Catamaran Association's North American Championship being run out of the Bristol Yacht Club in Rhode Island. Winds were light to moderate again for the first two hour-long races. During the second lap of the third race a rain squall swept the course and everyone had to quickly shift gears into go fast. The fourth race was back to a moderate breeze in the drizzle to conclude another good day of sailing. This is the first North American Champs I can remember in recent history that we have stuck to the schedule of races without being blown out or postponed due to a lack of wind (of course I have missed a couple of events and this one isn't over yet). The sailors continued to get the royal treatment ashore with the third night of BBQ and open bar. Hats off to the Bristol Fleet as well as Nan Hall, Blair Kinder and Carol Webbon for putting on great dinners for very hungry sailors! And PJ Schaffer is leading a really outstanding race committee efficiently getting in four races a day for three days in a row!

2006 North American Championship: Day 3 Results

2006-09-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

United States A-Cat Association (USACA)

2006 A-Class Catamaran North American Championship
PRELIMINARY RESULTS for Day 1-3 of 4 day series

DATE 14-Sep-06

POS	Sail number	First	Last	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	THROW 1	THROW 2	Total
1	232	LARS	GUCK	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
2	110	PHIL	KINDER	2	2	2	6	3	4	2	5	5	2	2	2	6	5	26
3	230	BOB	HODGES	6	4	8	7	5	5	4	6	3	3	6	4	8	7	46
4	99	BEN	HALL	5	10	9	2	15	3	4	10	7	7	5	7	15	10	59
5	209	WOODY	COPE	8	3	3	5	10	25	7	2	8	15	12	6	25	15	64
6	69	PETE	MELVIN	29	27	26	24	2	2	3	4	2	4	9	3	29	27	79
7	226	TONY	ARENDS	7	7	4	9	6	12	11	16	9	9	8	9	16	12	79
8	234	ANDREW	GAYNOR	9	9	9	9	20	8	9	3	13	6	11	5	20	13	80
9	213	IAN	LINDAHL	10	8	14	3	14	6	6	7	15	13	7	10	15	14	84
10	218	PETER	COGAN	3	5	6	4	9	19	30	28	12	5	3	28	30	28	94
11	134	MARK	BELLERMAN	9	14	5	13	13	9	14	11	6	12	23	19	23	19	106
12	200	JIM	GODBEY	17	22	15	14	7	17	8	9	10	8	13	8	22	17	109
13	236	MATT	MCDONALD	21	6	17	16	4	10	22	24	11	11	15	21	24	22	132
14	204	DAVE	PENFIELD	16	17	12	19	18	18	16	8	18	10	4	14	19	18	133
15	129	CHAD	ATKINS	4	20	13	15	27	15	10	19	21	23	14	12	27	23	143
16	66	IAN	STARER	13	16	7	18	12	22	17	18	14	16	18	13	22	18	144
17	28	ERIC	ANDERSEN	11	9	22	22	16	13	12	12	23	19	26	22	26	23	158
18	124	CHRIS	FORD	14	13	11	8	23	14	21	21	17	20	21	20	23	21	159
19	79	JEREMY	LAUNDERGAN	23	11	21	12	24	24	15	13	20	18	17	11	24	24	161
20	147	JENNIFER	LINDSAY	15	15	16	20	22	23	23	22	4	17	16	15	23	23	162
21	211	DANNY	GORITZKY	18	18	18	10	8	20	18	20	16	21	22	16	22	21	162
22	235	BOB	WEBBON	22	21	10	17	11	7	13	15	19	30	28	28	30	28	163
23	231	RUSH	BIRD	12	27	26	24	21	11	19	14	22	14	20	18	27	26	175
24	191	MARTIN	HAMILTON	20	19	26	24	17	21	30	17	26	0	28	28	30	28	198
25	3065	PETER	BLOCK	19	12	19	11	26	27	24	23	24	25	24	28	28	27	207
26	116	BILL	GRAVES	25	23	20	21	19	16	20	25	27	24	19	23	27	25	210
27	154	GORDON	ISCO	29	27	26	24	25	26	30	28	30	0	0	28	30	30	213
28	222	STEVE	CLARK	29	27	26	24	30	30	30	28	25	22	10	17	30	30	238
29	223	MARK	SKEILS	24	24	23	23	29	28	27	26	28	26	25	25	29	28	251
30	215	GEORGE	SAUNDERS	26	25	26	24	28	29	25	27	29	27	27	26	29	29	261

2006 North American Championship: Day 2

2006-09-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

Photo by Louisa Gould (http://www.louisagould.com/)

United States A-Cat Association (USACA)

Wednesday September 13 was the second day of racing for the 2006 United States A-Class Catamaran Association's North American Championship being run out of the Bristol Yacht Clib in Rhode Island. Winds were light for the first two hour-long races and perfect 15 or so for the next two hour long races. Andrew Gaynor and Pete Melvin were back on the race course after repairing the damage to their boats. As the results show, Lars is having a great series at the midway point sailing on his home waters.

2006 North American Championship: Day 2 Results

2006-09-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

United States A-Cat Association (USACA)

2006 A-Class Catamaran North American Championship
PRELIMINARY RESULTS for Day 1 and 2

DATE 13-Sep-06

RC PJ SCHAFFER BRISTOL YC
RC BILL SLINKO BRISTOL RI USA
RC PETER ALARIE
RC JOHN CUMMING
RC BOB YAYLAIAN

WIND SSW 4-18K
TEMP 65



OCS,DNF,DNS,DSQ               29  27  26  24  30  30  30  28   

# Boats  29   20%              6   5   5   5   6   6   6   5   
# Races  6   
# Starters                    28  26  25  23  29  29  29  27   

Date                        9/12 ---------> 9/13 ---------->       

POS Sail First    Last        R1  R2  R3  R4  R5  R6  R7  R8 THROW Total
1   232  LARS     GUCK         1   1   1   1   1   1   1   1    1    7
2   110  PHIL     KINDER       2   2   2   6   3   4   2   5    6   20
3   230  BOB      HODGES       6   4   8   7   5   5   4   6    8   37
4   209  WOODY    COPE         8   3   3   5  10  25   7   2   25   38
5    99  BEN      HALL         5  10   9   2  15   3   4  10   15   43
6   213  IAN      LINDAHL     10   8  14   3  14   6   6   7   14   54
7   226  TONY     ARENDS       7   7   4   9   6  12  11  16   16   56
8   234  ANDREW   GAYNOR      10  10  10  10  20   8   9   3   20   60
9   218  PETER    COGAN        3   5   6   4   9  19  30  28   30   74
10  134  MARK     BELLERMAN    9  14   5  13  13   9  14  11   14   74
11  200  JIM      GODBEY      17  22  15  14   7  17   8   9   22   87
12   69  PETE     MELVIN      29  27  26  24   2   2   3   4   29   88
13  235  BOB      WEBBON      22  21  10  17  11   7  13  15   22   94
14   28  ERIC     ANDERSEN    11   9  22  22  16  13  12  12   22   95
15  236  MATT     MCDONALD    21   6  17  16   4  10  22  24   24   96
16  129  CHAD     ATKINS       4  20  13  15  27  15  10  19   27   96
17   66  IAN      STORER      13  16   7  18  12  22  17  18   22  101
18  124  CHRIS    FORD        14  13  11   8  23  14  21  21   23  102
19  204  DAVE     PENFIELD    16  17  12  19  18  18  16   8   19  105
20  211  DANNY    GORITZKY    18  18  18  10   8  20  18  20   20  110
21   79  JEREMY   LAUNDERGAN  23  11  21  12  24  24  15  13   24  119
22  231  RUSH     BIRD        12  27  26  24  21  11  19  14   27  127
23  147  JENNIFER LINDSAY     15  15  16  20  22  23  23  22   23  133
24 3065  PETER    BLOCK       19  12  19  11  26  27  24  23   27  134
25  116  BILL     GRAVES      25  23  20  21  19  16  20  25   25  144
26  191  MARTIN   HAMILTON    20  19  26  24  17  21  30  17   30  144
27  223  MARK     SKEILS      24  24  23  23  29  28  27  26   29  175
28  215  GEORGE   SAUNDERS    26  25  26  24  28  29  25  27   29  181
29  154  GORDON   ISCO        29  27  26  24  25  26  30  28   30  185
30  222  STEVE    CLARK       29  27  26  24  30  30  30  28   30  194

AVERAGE POINTS AWARDED ARE IN RED

2006 North American Championship: Day 1

2006-09-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

United States A-Cat Association (USACA)

Tuesday September 12 was the first day of racing for the 2006 United States A-Class Catamaran Association's North American Championship being run out of the Bristol Yacht Clib in Rhode Island. Winds were moderate and shifty with good gusts to keep everyone on their toes. PJ was able to run four 1-hour races to start off the series. Unfortunately two of the top competitors, Andrew Gaynor and Pete Melvin, had a collision in the first race and they both retired for the day with some damage to the boats.

2006 North American Championship: Day 1 Results

2006-09-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

Bristol A-Class Racing

2006 A-Class Catamaran North American Championship
PRELIMINARY RESULTS for Day 1



Place  Name             Sail  1   2   3   4   Total
1      Lars Guck        232   1   1   1   1    4
2      Phil Kinder      110   2   2   2   6   12
3      Peter Cogan      218   3   5   6   4   18
4      Woody Cope       209   8   3   3   5   19
5      Bob Hodges       230   6   4   8   7   25
6      Ben Hall          99   5  10   9   2   26
7      Tony Arends      226   7   7   4   9   27
8      Ian Lindahl      213  10   8  14   3   35
9      Mark Bellermann  134   9  14   5  13   41
10     Chris Ford       124  14  13  11   8   46
11     Chad             129   4  20  13  15   52
12     Ian Storer        66  13  16   7  18   54
13     Matt McDonald    236  21   6  17  16   60
14     Peter Block     3065  19  12  19  11   61
15     Eric Anderson     28  11   9  22  22   64
16     Danny Goritski   211  18  18  18  10   64
17     Dave Penfield    204  16  17  12  19   64
18     Jennifer Lindsey 147  15  15  16  20   66
19     Jeremy Laundergan 79  23  11  21  12   67
20     Jim Godbey       200  17  22  15  14   68
21     Bob Webbon       235  22  21  10  17   70
22     Rush Bird        231  12  27  26  24   89
23     Martin Hamilton  191  20  19  26  24   89
24     Bill Graves      116  25  23  20  21   89
25     Mark Skeels      223  24  24  23  23   94
26     George Saunders  215  26  25  26  24  101
27     Andrew Gaynor    234  29  27  26  24  106
27     Pete Melvin       69  29  27  26  24  106
27     Steve Clark      222  29  27  26  24  106
27     Gordon Isco      154  29  27  26  24  106

2006 North American Championships NOR

2006-07-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

Notice of Race (pdf)

Map and directions to Bristol YC courtesy of Yahoo!

Note the "find on the map" tab with information on local hotels, restaurants, etc.

Here's the same map with local brewpubs highlighted (in case you want to arrive a few days early for "training").

September 11-15th, 2006

Bristol A-Class Catamaran Race Web Log

Even smaller foils

2006-07-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

They're almost invisible:

Team NZ A-Cat?

2006-07-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

This photo of the Emirates Team New Zealand boat made me do a double-take...for a second I thought I was looking at a giant A-Cat. Maybe that's the idea. Don't know if the rules have changed yet but I heard more downwind sail area is in the works.

Seems to me they could more easily solve their speed problems by adding a hull or two, not to mention that multi-hull wipeouts are far more interesting to spectators.

Check out the video of an ORMA 60 trimaran doing an end-o:

http://www.multicup60.eu/videos/618/Trophee-du-CG-des-Alpes-Maritimes-Debut-muscle.html

And then there was that Volvo Extreme 40 incident:

http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0531/

A-Cats can do that and they don't even need a spinnaker.

Skipper and forever-optimist Smyth said: “In a way I am quite pleased that we cartwheeled the boat, because at least now we know how to recover from it!”

2006 SCYC Spring Open

2006-06-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

The Santa Cruz Yacht Club hosted the annual Spring Open this year on June 17th and 18th (Sat and Sun). The local fleet now has seven boats and every Weds night club race usually sees at least three or four A-Cats sailing ahead of the mixed fleet of big boats such as Sydney 38s, and Santa Cruz 50s and 52s.

Winds on Saturday were tricky with a large transition between gingerly easterly and westerly breezes. A few boat lengths could mean five or even ten knots of difference. The leward mark eventually succumbed completely to a light easterly, and so the course was shortened and then moved closer to the beach for the third and fourth races.

Sunday started with light to no wind from the east on the way to the race course, forcing postponement, but a classic summer westerly soon blasted in with hefty 20-25 puffs over long heavy ocean swell and big cresting wind waves. Whoa bessie! Only minor carnage was suffered -- two torn sails -- in spite of the challenging conditions on Sunday.

Final results:

1	XJ	99	Davi Ottenheimer	SCYC	2.0	4.0	2.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	13.0
2	WtrRat	102	Rory Giffen	StFYC	3.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	DNC	18.0
3	Flyer	150	Andy Kolb	AKYC	1.0	3.0	3.0	DNF	2.0	4.0	3.0	20.0
4	A2	214	Eric Willis	SCYC	4.0	2.0	4.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	4.0	26.0
5	Flyer	181	Bruce Edwards	StFYC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	2.0	1.0	28.0

Photos courtesy of Larry Herzberg

Dude, where's my leward hull?

Takeoff and landing with Waterat and A2 hulls:

Upcoming A-Cat events in Santa Cruz:

Summer Open July 8-9

A-Cat Regatta August 5-6

Fall Open Sep 30 - Oct 1

2006 ABYC Memorial Day

2006-05-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

Andy Kolb (USA 150) rounding the windward mark at full speed:

Photo by Rich Roberts/photo boat skipper Ken Reiff

Jay and Pease Glaser hosted an A-Cat clinic on Friday, May 26th, with ten participants from California, including six from Santa Cruz. They followed sailing with dinner, debrief and review of on-the-water movie footage. Saturday had four races, also followed by a debrief. Friday had light to moderate conditions, Saturday moderate to heavy, Sunday light to moderate. (There was some playful dialogue about the actual windspeed, so I leave it to someone with official data to clarify).

Final results:

1	A2	69	Pete Melvin	ABYC	1.0	1.0	1.0	~~2.0~~	1.0	1.0	2.0	7.0
2	WtrRat	70	Pease Glaser	ABYC	2.0	2.0	2.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	~~5.0~~	11.0
3	Flyer	180	Jay Glaser	ABYC	3.0	3.0	4.5	~~DNC~~	5.0	3.0	1.0	19.5
4	XJ	99	Davi Ottenheimer	SCYC	4.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	~~6.0~~	5.0	3.0	22.0
5	Flyer	181	Bruce Edwards	StFYC	7.0	5.0	~~8.0~~	4.0	4.0	4.0	8.0	32.0
6	Flyer	184	Michael Egan		5.0	~~9.0~~	4.5	5.0	3.0	9.0	6.0	32.5
7	Flyer	150	Andy Kolb		~~12.0~~	6.0	7.0	7.0	10.0	7.0	4.0	41.0
8	A2	214	Eric Willis	SCYC	9.0	~~10.0~~	10.0	6.0	7.0	6.0	7.0	45.0
9	WtrRat	102	Rory Giffen	StFYC	~~10.0~~	7.0	6.0	9.0	9.0	8.0	9.0	48.0
10	MkIV	66	Ian Storer	MBYC	6.0	8.0	9.0	8.0	~~DNC~~	DNC	DNC	57.0
11	MkIV	71	Scott Taylor	ABYC	11.0	11.0	11.0	~~DNC~~	8.0	10.0	10.0	61.0
12	A2	79	Jeremy Laundergan	ABYC	8.0	~~DNC~~	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	73.0

Pete Melvin (USA 69) in the lead (again):

Worlds 2007

2006-01-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

Have dates or a month been chosen yet for the 2007 Worlds?

2005 Pacific Coast Championship Series

2006-01-29T10:06:00.000-08:00

We tried an experiment on the West Coast this year in an attempt to increase participation in regattas. We instituted a 4-regatta series (with sponsorship from West Marine) with the idea of combining regatta scores to crown a Pacific Coast Champion.

May 14-15, 2005 - S.O.C.K.S. Regatta in Seattle, WA
August 15-19, 2005 - North American Championship in Cascade Locks, OR
September 3-4, 2005 - SCYC Fall Regata in Santa Cruz, CA
November 19-20, 2005 - Turkey Day Regatta in Long Beach, CA

First a congratulations to all three A-Cat (Santa Cruz) sailors that have sailed in the first three Pacific Coast Championship Events: Michael Egan, Davi Ottenheimer and Andy Kolb.

Final Results were calculated by having 2 throw-outs for the SOCKS event (which had 10 races total), 2 throw outs for the NA's (which had 10 races total), and 1 throw out for SC (which had 5 races total) and 1 throw out for Turkey Day (which had 6 races total). Since other sailors are out of the running just due to cumulative DNS's, the final standings are:


Place     Skipper             Sail #     TOTAL
  1       Mike Egan           102        117
  2       Davi Ottenheimer    99         127
  3       Andy Kolb           162        205

So congratulations to Mr. Michael Egan of Santa Cruz, the 2005 Pacific Coast Champion

2005 Santa Cruz Invitational Results

2005-09-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

Santa Cruz Yacht Club (SCYC) hosted the third regatta in the Pacific Coast Championship Series. Six A-Cats turned up for a classic big wind and big wave event this past weekend.

Saturday started with the fog burning off around noon, allowing the breeze to fill in nicely for a 1pm start. Winds were steady from the West at 18-24 mph. Sunday saw the fog clear earlier with a breeze that started at 1pm, going from a shifty 5 to a full-on 20+

Ian Lindahl, from San Diego, started with a loud shot across the bow of the local "we love big wind" fleet by taking a firm lead in the first race and dominating the course. An unfortunate mishap in the second race took Ian out of the running, opening the door to a duel between Mike and Andy for the bullet with Mike eventually taking top honors. Eric showed what his new A2 can do as he plowed ahead race by race eventually slipping into the lead in the final heat and never looking back. Although this was Jack's first sail on an A-Cat he was declared a natural by all, demonstrating unbelievable talent for a first run. Davi wished he had raced his old boat one more time before jumping ship.

Saturday night the racers enjoyed a patio feast at Andy's that included delicious marinated steak, fresh local salmon, and a range of wine from the Santa Cruz mountains. Several of the participants had a Sunday breakfast at the Harbor Cafe.

More photos available here: http://acatsantacruz.blogspot.com/

Final Results:
Mike    102    2    1     2    1     2    8
Andy    162    3    2     1    2     3    11
Eric    214    5    3     4    3     1    16
Jack    165    4    6     3    4     6    23
Ian     213    1    6     6    6     6    25
Davi     99    6    6     5    6     6    29

Ian in the lead:

Welcome!

2005-09-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

This is a test for the first blog post.