Connecticut and. Rhode Island Sound

Transcription

1 Winter 2013 Once in a Blue Moon Jay Spalding Gets Top Honors in the 2012 Racing Season By Don Watson, Jay Spalding and Steve Parks Photos of the 2012 Buzzards Bay Regatta by Deb Druan From the stand-point of weather, participation and all-around good times, last year s racing season was fantastic. The season started in Newport, went West to Connecticut, East to Buzzards Bay, canceled its trip to Maine, re-grouped at Martha s Vineyard, went short-handed in Rhode Island Sound and around the buoys in Buzzards Bay, tacked back to Newport, and split for dual finishes in Connecticut and Rhode Island Sound. The 2012 Owen Mitchell Regatta, held on the Memorial Day weekend and hosted by the Newport Yacht Club, saw Mike Divon in Milk and Honey take the initial first place of the Season over Kevin Baxley in Three Little Birds and Peter Vakhutinsky in Tritium. The Owen Mitchell is a pursuit start race from Newport down to Block Island. There was a bigger turnout for the annual Spring Off Soundings regatta, which again has Block Island as the NEMA Annual Dinner Saturday, February 2, 2013 Speaker: Annie Gardner America s Cup 34 (2013) and the 2016 Olympics Venezia Restaurant, Dorchester, MA (see page 2) I n T h i s I s s u e continued on page NEMA Racing Season Wrap-Up. 1 Editor s Note NEMA Annual Dinner: America s Cup.2 Commodore s Letter Former Commodore & Editor Notes...8 Memories of Jan Gougeon NEMA Annual Dinner & Awards 10 Sponsor News NEMA Classified

2 The New England Multihull Association is a non-profit organization for the promotion of the art, science, and enjoyment of multihull yacht design and construction, racing, cruising, and socializing. The NEMA Newsletter is published at no additional charge for NEMA members. The editor apologizes in advance for any errors. Please submit articles to Andy Houlding andyhoulding@gmail.com mail: 101 Rogers Rd., Hamden, CT Elected Officers Commodore Tom Cox tom@sailtriad.com Vice Commodore Peter Vakhutinsky pvakh@rcn.com Race Chair Steve Parks sparks.ri@cox.net Cruising Chair Bob Gleason bob@themultihullsource.com Treasurer Michael Lipton m.lipton@neu.edu Secretary Ira Heller irasail@aol.com Newsletter Editor Andy Houlding andyhoulding@gmail.com Appointees Fleet Captains Jesse Deupree jdeupree@maine.rr.com, Mike Divon mdivon@lenoxhill.net, Directors at Large Phil Babcock babcock@draper.com, Richard Bluestein rbluestein@aol.com, Syd Miller sydsail@aol.com, Photographer Tom Cox Historian Life Members Dick Newick Walter and Joan Greene Les Moore Spencer Merz Bill Doelger NEMA Web Site See the website for membership application and meeting information. A Note from Your Newsletter Editor About 20 years ago, when I had a little Fireball sailing dinghy, I watched in awe as a trimaran probably an F-27-- headed out for a sail from Edgartown harbor in weather that had convinced me to get off the water. The obvious stability of that craft made an indelible impression, and I soon found myself at The Multihull Source buying, first, a Kurt Hughes-designed 19 foot Trikala, followed by a Corsair 24 and, since 2007, my 28R, Skedaddle. Having joined NEMA some years ago, and having given Phil Babcock a hand editing some articles for the NEMA Newsletter, I now find myself at the editorial helm of this publication, as Phil s professional work schedule has interfered with the volunteer work of editing and publishing. I want to thank Phil for his diligent efforts over the past four years, and I am grateful that Phil has agreed to provide substantial assistance with logistics as I take over the editing functions. Since I have some experience in journalism in a former life I was a daily newspaper journalist, a weekly alternative newspaper editor, and an investigative reporter on New Haven s ABC-TV affiliate, WTNH-TV I am pleased to take on this assignment, and am hopeful that my day job as an employment lawyer in Hartford will allow me enough time to get the newsletter out on a regular basis. That remains to be seen. NEMA News And I will need your help. As we go forward with the newsletter, we believe it will be necessary to move toward a digital publication. The so-called hard copy is expensive to print, fold, staple, and mail. Color copies are prohibitively expensive. Phil has produced gorgeous full-color newsletters, but only because of a special arrangement with a printer, and that arrangement will only last for a few more newsletters. Thus, we are planning on a digital version, one that you can read on line and, if you so desire, you can print it out for yourself at your home or office. We are not yet certain that this will be a digital-only publication, or whether members will be able to elect to receive the printed version by snail mail. But our membership dues would not cover the expense of quarterly full-color print publications. So something must change. As always, this is your publication, NEMA Members. We rely heavily on you to offer ideas, articles, and photographs. Tell us about your sailing trips, your sailing tips, and your adventures small and large. You can also tell me your ideas and preferences for newsletter logistics and delivery. Contact me at andyhoulding@gmail.com with NEMA in the subject line. I look forward to hearing from you. --Andy Houlding NEMA ANNUAL DINNER When: Saturday February 2, 2013, 6:00 pm 10:00 pm Where: Venezia Restaurant, 20 Ericsson St, Dorchester, MA Who: OUR SPEAKER: Annie Gardner Annie is a world-class multihull sailor and the America s Cup 34 television commentator who knows what she s talking about when the winged cats are out on the water. Her topics are the AC 34 races to be held in San Francisco in 2013, and the 2016 Olympics. SAVE THE DATE & RESERVE NOW. Dinner: $50 with advance reservation, $60 at the door. To reserve: Send checks payable to NEMA to Michael Lipton, 11 Rocky Pasture Rd, Gloucester, MA Or Online (Paypal): nemasail.org/dinner Buffet Style Dinner Will Include Abundant Appetizers and a Choice of Entres 2 N E M A Winter 2013

3 Once in a Blue Moon (continued from page 1) destination with a start off Watch Hill. Seven multihulls signed up and started on Friday, June 8, in a light southerly breeze. The fleet had a close reach/beat to a buoy off the northwest coast of Block Island. From there the fleet sailed a leeward, windward and leeward leg to the finish off the entrance to the island s New Harbor. The long first leg to BI was rather uneventful. The windward leeward portion was more exciting as the breeze had freshened a bit and there were some tactics involved. Tritium did well in both parts to win the race. Saturday was again rather light wind for the race around Block Island. The Race Committee started all boats outside the entrance to New Harbor and sent us upwind into the light southerly in a counter-clockwise direction. The current was flooding, making the sail to the southwest turning mark long and tricky. Milk and Honey, Dennis Neumann in Milagro and Jay Spalding in Blue Moon traded the lead a few times during the upwind portion. Downwind around the island found Blue Moon and Milk and Honey in front. There was a huge traffic jam as monohulls and multihulls, spinnakers flapping in a ghost of a breeze, all tried to occupy the same spot. The RC shortened the course, which of course prompted the breeze to fill in a bit. Milk and Honey pulled in front to finish first at the Northwest side of the island, and as they crossed the finish line the multihulls promptly took off for their home ports. Later in June, Milk and Honey, Commodore Gleason in the latest Tri Me, Tritium and Don Watson in Swamp Fox competed in the annual Buzzards Bay Blast. This race proved the danger of relying on a weather forecast, as Ed Sinofsky passed on the race in anticipation of a drift-a-thon. After an hour delay, a nice little 7-10 knot breeze appeared and propelled Tri Me around the 14 mile course to its first win of many of the season. Tritium got second, Milk and Honey narrowly beat Swamp Fox across the line to take third. The race was followed by the NEMA picnic and post-race gathering at Bob and Jane s house in Wareham. The low point of the season (from the Race Committee Chair s perspective) was when the expected five boat fleet for the Downeast 180 became a three boat fleet and it was mutually decided to cancel the race. The Season rebounded strongly on July 21 at Vineyard Haven where a large fleet gathered for the annual running of the Black Dog Dash. Unlike 2011, there was wind this year and 13 boats dashed around the course to Edgartown Harbor NEMA Racing and back, while a couple more lay at anchor just looking good. The skippers and crews began with breakfast at the Black Dog Tavern, Dave Koshiol and Deb Druan convened the skipper s meeting, distributed the lavender T-shirts, and assigned the starting times for the pursuit. The start in Vineyard Haven went off smoothly as each yacht got away on a nice upwind beat to West Chop. A nice medium breeze with lots of reaching brought the fleet around in good time. The pursuit handicaps worked well with the top three positions going to a wide variety of handicaps. No one could catch Dick Bluestein in his fast F27, White Heat. Once again this was a most popular event with many casual racers and cruisers attending. The pursuit format is both competitive and fun as you either strive to catch boats or hold off the fast ones. The next weekend saw the annual running of the New England Solo/Twin hosted by the Newport Yacht Club. The race is a single or double-handed 95 mile race that has for many years run a double-handed multihull class. This year the course was run in reverse with the fleet going first to Nomans Land. Tom Cox s Triad, Swamp Fox, Kevin Baxley s Three Little Birds, Milk and Honey and Tritium competed. The race began in a light southerly that saw Triad move out to an early lead toward the RACON buoy off Newport. Once there, the fleet sailed a borderline spinnaker/screacher reach that saw Triad maintain its lead to Nomans over Swamp Fox, while Three Little Birds, Milk and Honey and Tritium battled with each other. About 10 miles from Nomans, the wind switched from Southwest to Northeast giving Swamp Fox an edge against the spinnakerless Triad. After sunset, the wind built to near by the time Block continued on page 4 Winter 2013 N E M A 3

4 NEMA Racing Once in a Blue Moon (continued from page 3) Island came abeam and Swamp Fox finally got by Triad about eight miles from Block Island. All the fleet had to sail upwind into the usual Rhode Island Sound chop to the finish from 1BI off the north end of Block Island and Swamp Fox was able to hold off Triad for line honors and the overall corrected time win. The remainder of the fleet suffered from the dreaded pre-dawn light air and finished hours later, but had close racing with each other around the course. The first weekend in August always brings the Buzzards Bay Regatta. This year, the multihull class had twelve entries which compares favorably to recent years. The regatta is three days of racing with a distance race Friday and short course racing Saturday and Sunday. Confusion was everywhere at the start of the distance race, and half the fleet missed the start, the Committee Boat choosing to rely on signals that could barely be heard. Six boats did sail the course though, and this races began a series in which Bob Gleason s Tri Me and Jay Spalding s Blue Moon seemed to be tied to each other with bungee cord finishing 14 seconds apart and taking second and first, respectively. Swamp Fox got line honors and corrected out third, just ahead of Andy Houlding s Skedaddle, Milk and Honey and Penry Jackson s beautiful new Dragonfly, Gwas Y Neidr. Saturday saw three races completed in about knots all of which were won by Jay Spalding, two of which saw Dick Bluestein get second (the other second was Ted Grossbart in Rosebud), and three of which saw Commodore Gleason get third. The fog was so heavy at times that racers couldn t see the marks; Ted s boat lost its GPS and managed only by dead reckoning. In each of these races, Tri Me and Blue Moon never finished more than 2 ½ minutes apart. These races saw the welcome return to competition of Dave and Tori Pellegrini in Trinity. Sunday saw about 3 knots more breeze and the final two races won by Tri Me giving her a second for the regatta behind Blue Moon and ahead of White Heat. Rosebud was out of the running with equipment problems. Overall, the regatta was well-run with good after racing events including an impressive bonfire and cookout at the Koshiol/Druan home, and even in fog the conditions were great for racing. The Newport Unlimited arrived August 25. This regatta seems to ricochet between extremes of weather: in 2010 we had painfully light air, while in 2011 the race was cancelled for too much air, in the form of Hurricane Irene. It was back to light air in No bother, we had an excellent turnout and got four races off with good competition. Ten boats turned out with just about every type of NEMA multi represented, ranging from Michael Divon in his Corsair 37, Penry s Dragonfly 35, to Dash 750s and Corsair 24s with the rest of us bringing up the middle. Perennial winners Bob Gleason and Ira Heller came through again, but not without some competition from the likes of Blue Moon, GlowBoat, and Flying Fish. Bob and Ira have a knack for sniffing out breeze in the light stuff, and Blue Moon always flies as the Spalding family just keeps getting faster and faster. Ed Sinofsky with a new crew of rock stars on GlowBoat was in the thick of the competition in every race. Steve Parks organized the racing and had recruited a race officer but she had to bail out at the last minute due to a 4 N E M A Winter 2013

5 Once in a Blue Moon (continued from previous page) sick child, so Steve jumped off Flying Fish to help Tom Pederson, Sandy Parks, and Henry Gleason run the races. While Steve made sure all the other racers were instructed to pass under the center span of the Newport Bridge, he forgot to mention this to the folks left sailing the Fish, and in their fourth race on Saturday they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, sailing under the wrong span of the Bridge into last place. The racers wound up with drinks and hors d oeuvres at the Newport Yacht Club. The traditional Round the Island race around Conanicut on Sunday was a bust. The wind early in the day was a tease as it died immediately after the start. It took hours to get to the north end of the island; the sea breeze didn t come on soon enough for anyone to get to the finish by 3 p.m., so there was no winner. (The Race Committee plans to adjust the sailing instructions for the 2013 edition, and we all hope that this year will bring a solid 15 knots all day.) A smaller fleet of four boats enjoyed the Fall Off Soundings regatta raced from New London, CT to Greenport, NY. Great weather, a nice destination and good party made for a great end to the season. Blue Moon bested the whole fleet, boat for boat in light wind on Friday while Milk and Honey had its turn on Saturday to take the weekend with Tritium second. On this same weekend, the New Bedford Yacht Club ran its Fall Classic, the Whalers Race, a 105 mile course that exits Buzzards Bay leaving Cuttyhunk to port, then goes to Nomans, rounds Block Island and returns to Padanaram, leaving Buzzards Tower to port. Gwas Y Neidr, Swamp Fox and Three Little Birds made the 08:35 start under a gray and sprinkly sky. Swamp Fox was also intent on beating an Alan Andrews 68-foot mono sled around the course, and had beers at stake against a Class 40. A tight reach out the bay gave way to a brisk run down to Nomans. Swamp Fox arrived at the whistle first followed by the sled and then Three Little Birds with Gwas Y Neidr falling in behind. The 20 knot northerly breeze resulted in a close starboard tack fetch to Nomans, and the trimarans sailed away from the big monohull all going fast and getting wet. Three Little Birds showed good speed in the reaching conditions and was reeling in Swamp Fox when all of a sudden the wind died down to about 5 knots for about 45 minutes. This allowed the big monohull to come up and go right past the two leading trimarans. Even more surprisingly, the breeze filled back in from the Northwest at and the race was on again. Swamp Fox got the new breeze first and extended on Three Little Birds and led at Block Island by about a half hour. Once around 1BI, there was a long and fast jib reach, Swamp Fox overtaking the big sled by 10 minutes at Buzzards Tower. As the sun was setting, Three Little Birds was holding bearing, but, as the breeze went light and came ahead, the big sled came powering up again and passed Swamp Fox a mile and a NEMA Racing half from the finish line for line honors. Three Little Birds followed up her win in the Vineyard Race with a second in the Whalers Race and Gwas Y Neidr corrected in third place. The Class 40 was beaten by three hours, so Swamp Fox was in the beer! Twenty-two boats competed in at least one event this year and 13 participated in at least three. This is good and an improvement over some recent years. Congratulations to all who participated for you have all had a season of experiences to remember this season by. Congratulations go to Jay Spalding in Blue Moon, Don Watson and Bob Gleason, who took first, second and third for the Season Trophy this year and to Kevin Baxley in Three Little Birds, who won the NEMA Offshore Award. Special thanks go out to Don Watson for his years of service as our Race Committee Chair, as Steve Parks takes over as Race Chair. Thanks to Bob and Jane Gleason for their warmth and hospitality; also to Dave Koshiol and Deb Druan for organizing and running the Black Dog Dash and for their BBR party; and to Steve and Sandy Parks for organizing and hosting the Unlimited. Thanks to Peter Vakhutinsky for promoting it all on the nemasail.org website and Facebook. And thanks to all the racers and their crew for getting out on the water and showing off their many hulls. Much appreciation and admiration to Deb Druan for the wonderful pictures used in this article. Now on to the 2013 season! --Andy Houlding. Winter 2013 N E M A 5

6 NEMA Racing Boat Owen-Mitchell Spring Off Soundings (Day 1) Spring Off Soundings (Day 2) 2012 Season Trophy Results Buzzards Bay Blast Down East 180 Black Dog Dash New England Solo/Twin New England Solo/Twin BBR Day 1 Rinderle Points BBR Day 2 Rinderle Points Blue Moon Swamp Fox Tri Me Milk and Honey Tritium Skedaddle Glowboat White Heat Three Little Birds Triad Milagro Rosebud Gwas Y Neidr Flying Fish (Parks) Trinity Skateaway Try Oomph Zoom Mooncusser Hawk 5 5 BBR Day 3 Rinderle Points Newport Unlimited Fall Off Soundings Fall Off Soundings Whalers Race Whalers Race Total (7 Best Days) Peter McGowan Photo 2012 Offshore Trophy Results Boat Down East 180 New England Solo/Twin Around Long Island Monhegan Island Race Vineyard Race Whalers Race Total (3 Races Required) Three Little Birds Swamp Fox Supply &Demand of Triad Alegra Falcor Tritium Tri-Betty Milk and Honey Intruder Gwas Y Neidr SORN 5 5 Irish Lady N E M A Spring 2011

7 Commodore s Corner A Letter From the New Commodore Editor s Note: Tom Cox was elected in December to a term as NEMA Commodore. Tom has done this job before and has contributed extensively to NEMA over many years. We asked him to re-introduce himself to our readers. My first exposure to multihull sailing (apart from having a brief sail on a Hobie from time to time) was in 1978 when I was cruising in the Virgin Islands on Tilly Twin, my 35 Laurent Giles monohull cutter in company with my college pal Chet Osborn, who owned Ologbo, a 32 Iroquois catamaran. While down island I met Nick Bryan-Brown aboard his 35 Newick Trice III trimaran Charis; he was a good friend of Chet s and we ve been fast friends ever since. While interested in going for the occasional ride with my pals, I thought I d never want to own a multi as they had only two stable positions and I wouldn t want to be caught in a capsize. Fast forward 12 years to 1990 when some Boston friends bought an F-27 trimaran and asked me to help sail it up to Owl s Head in Maine for a NEMA cruise. The overnight sail was a delight and I was impressed with the performance and quality of build. Subsequently, Nick and I were invited to race aboard Windspirit in Buzzard s Bay, and at the Key West race in Florida. That was my introduction to modern multihull sailing and to NEMA. In 1991 I joined NEMA in order to meet some multihull sailors and get some more experience on different boats. I met Spencer Merz at a race community meeting who got me invited aboard Greenwich Propane, a 40 Newick wingdeck tri that has a long history with NEMA. I was hooked on the handling and speed and the interior layout was sufficient for extended cruising. This led directly to my search for a similar boat, which I found on Dick Newick s listing sheet. I flew down to St. Martin in July of 1992, and after a protracted negotiation wound up the proud new owner of Triad, a 42 Newick wing deck Creative class trimaran. Spencer and I whipped her into shape in a week s time, and he helped sail her back to Massachusetts the next spring, along with Nick Bryan-Brown and his brother Mike. We made the 1800 mile trip in 8 days, logging almost half the distance in 3 days in a trade winds romp. I ve been involved with the NEMA board ever since I joined the club; I ve worn the hat of Cruise Chair (2 years), Treasurer (6 years), Vice Commodore (2 years), and Commodore (2 years). I m resuming as Commodore after 4 years of retirement as a fleet captain and NEMA s official photographer. My business background is in real estate, initially as a broker, and ultimately as a licensed appraiser of both residential and commercial properties. I also do yacht deliveries (specializing in multihulls) and am a dealer for both Iridium and Globalstar satellite telephones. My avocation, apart from sailing is fine art photography; I show and sell my work at regional art associations and in local galleries. Triad s home port is Gloucester, MA where I own a mooring. I daysail frequently, race now and then (less now than then) and cruise occasionally. Last year I logged about 50 days of sailing from mid June to mid October. One of my favorite destinations is the Cape and Islands as I enjoy trekking to Martha s Vineyard for the Black Dog Dash, crusing through the Elizabeth Islands, and winding up in Newport, RI for the Solo Twin, one of my favorite races. It gives me great pleasure to live aboard for the duration and have friends and family out for the fun. My good friend (and NEMA Treasurer) Mike Lipton is my always available crew and partner in all things Triad, helping with haulout, repairs, deliveries, races and cruises, and experiencing with equal aplomb the ecstasy of ripping good sailing and the agony of the occasional mishap. My vision for NEMA is to encourage members to get out and have some fun - to make it easy and appealing for them to participate in the great events that we help organize, from cruising to racing, to just plain socializing with fellow multihull enthusiasts. This is a great time for multihulls, with enthusiastic acceptance from all quarters; from burgeoning charter fleets world wide, to speed shattering racing records, to the holy grail of yachting the America s Cup. The last AC saw the multihull faceoff between BMW Oracle s enormous, wing-sailed tri and Bertarelli s Alinghi catamaran, and AC34 will show the world the speed of winged catamarans. Who would have predicted the technological achievements we ve seen in the development of these formidable racing machines? It s an exciting time to be involved in multihulls, and NEMA is a great place to meet like- minded sailors and enjoy their company, whether trading tacks around the buoys, bending elbows at the bar, or gamming at a cruiser s pot luck or general meeting. Judith Monteferrante Photo Winter 2013 N E M A 7

8 Former Officers A Note from Bob Gleason Fellow NEMA members, I am honored to have been the Commodore of NEMA for the last four years. It has been good to see the club prosper. We ve seen some new faces and events in the past few years, but still the strongest draw continues to be the Annual Dinner, the winter meetings and a select few regattas that always draw a crowd. The addition of fleet captains for Long Island Sound and the Gulf of Maine has helped to keep NEMA more visible in our far reaches. I have been pleased to host the Buzzards Bay Blast and a NEMA picnic every summer, and we ve also had some special new events like the Herreshoff Museum picnic and open house in Bristol, R.I. that have added new dimensions to the multihull sailing experience. We ve had some great multihull racing, too. In 2008, my first year as Commodore, we hosted a very successful Corsair Nationals event out of the Beverly Yacht Club in Marion, Massachusetts, right after the Buzzards Bay Regatta, and last year s Newport Unlimited featured our first Unlimited party at the Newport Yacht Club and everyone who was there really appreciated it. We want to provide membership activities for everyone to enjoy. Hopefully we have seen the worst of the downturn in the economy and that people can now spend more time playing with their multihulls. As I depart as Commodore I can assure you that I will still be very active in NEMA. As Cruising Chair, I am looking forward to getting more involved in cruising again now that my boys are in college and I am considering cruise activities in several places including one on Moosehead Lake. Moosehead is the largest lake in Maine and the largest mountain lake in the eastern U.S., 1,023 above sea level. We re also considering cruises down Long Island Sound and in the Gulf of Maine. Our new Commodore, Tom Cox, is familiar with all aspects of the club and will guide the club well. I urge you to come have some fun and participate in the activities already planned for 2013, and to help make the plans for additional ventures. I especially urge you to come to the Annual Dinner on February 2nd and hear Annie Gardner's talk. She s a great speaker and it will be a big and welcome change to have a female sailor at the helm for this dinner. Come chat with old friends and make some new ones. I ll see you there! --Bob Gleason Bob is known to all NEMA sailors as the principal, with Ira Heller, of The Multihull Source in Wareham, sailing many different boats with the same name, TriMe. On the race course, we usually see only TriMe s transom. It s a demo boat: a demonstration of how to sail a multihull fast. Thank You Istarted as the NEMA newsletter editor four years ago. Throughout my tenure, I had a wonderful time working with all of you in creating a newsletter that was 100% written, edited and printed by NEMA members. As editor I had a front row seat for the telling of many of your cruising and racing adventures, and I had the first look at who would be making the interesting presentations we get at our general meetings and at our annual dinner. With all of your help I was able to put out a newsletter that looked quite good and contained something, I hope, for everyone. During 2012 my real job and some things on the home front started to require substantial time, and I have been unable to put out the last three newsletters. This was very disappointing to me, since I have gotten much enjoyment from publishing the newsletters. With this issue, I am pleased to be able to hand off the editorship to Andy Houlding, who has written articles and been a guest editor for the newsletter over the last four years. Andy has the advantage of having real publishing and editing experience in his background, and I know he will produce an excellent newsletter, which has been the NEMA tradition reaching all the way back to the first NEMA Newsletter. Even though I am no longer the editor of the newsletter, I will still be participating in NEMA. I will be assisting Andy in the mechanical portions of layout, printing and mailing the newsletters. I will also be contributing articles and pictures to the newsletter (as I encourage you to do, too). As I look back on the last four years, I am struck by the uniqueness of the NEMA membership. I always got a strong response when I asked for volunteers to help, I got many wonderful articles and pictures sent from all of you, and I received many positive s along the way. It has been a pleasure and a real treat to be the editor of your newsletter. Thank you. Phil Babcock Amy Babcock Photo 8 N E M A Winter 2013

9 Jan Gougeon, one of the legends of multihull sailing and iceboating, died Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, after a long battle with respiratory issues. He was 67. Most of us have probably used or benefited from the Gougeon Brothers West System epoxy. NEMA Life Member Les Moore got to know Jan Gougeon when he and Mike Conley built a Newick trimaran, Quicksilver, using WEST epoxy. In 1989, Les bought Jan s catamaran, Pocket Rocket. Les wrote, I've always been in awe of Jan's design ingenuity and creativity...from the wonderful three-wheeled car that he built for himself when he was a teenager (with two rear drive wheels and a front wheel steered with a tiller) to his latest 40-foot tri, which he started shortly after he sold Pocket Rocket, and finished a year or so ago. The sailing community will miss these great qualities but especially Jan's generous personality through which he shared so much with us all. Jon Alvord, who moved out to Michigan a couple of years ago, sent us the following memoir: Idid not know Jan for very long, but his name is legendary among multihull sailors. I can t recall when I first heard of West Epoxy or the Gougeon brothers, but somehow I managed to find the shrine on my second trip to Michigan, while scouting out new homes for Triceratops a couple of years ago. I was told that visiting the Gougeon shop in Bay City, Michigan, was a must and that I should check out Jan s boat, Strings, then under construction. I walked into the factory office and stated that I was just moving to Michigan and looking for a new home port and within a couple minutes was being led on a tour and taken out the back door to the shop where Strings was being built. There is likely not another shop in the country that has so much history hanging on the walls. There were well over fifty 1st and 2nd place pennants, and many more that were not hung for lack of space on walls that were also festooned with things like the nose of one of Jan s boats, wooden spars, and pictures galore of major races, friends, and family. I met Jan briefly that day, he had a small frame, graying hair, and a pleasant smile. He showed me around the shop and a few of his current projects. The shop is also used for building projects with local youth and adults who want to learn some crafty tricks of the trade. They had just finished building a little monohull day sailer that was to be auctioned off. It was a beauty. It would be another five months before I was able to get out on the water and race against Jan. Bay City is an interesting port, and from where Triceratops was launched we were about 3 miles from the starting line and you can t sail or motor straight there, you must follow the channel out of the river into the bay. After a season of rushing to get to Wednesday night races, I was about to cut my ties when Jan asked if there was anything he could do to help. I let him Memories of Jan Gougeon by Jon Alvord know that there were no docks available to accommodate our beam without folding at the yacht club, and folding was not an option for me. Jan said it shouldn t be a problem to get the yacht club to just pull a piling to make room! He was not going to take no from the yacht club if it meant accommodating another racer-- in his mind, the more the merrier. Unfortunately, I had to withdraw my application, due to time constraints with school and kids, and only launched for a couple of races last year, the 2012 Great Lakes Multihull Championships and the Chicago to Mackinac race. Prior to the start of the Chi-Mac race Jan had Strings tied to the dock behind us and was consulting with Randy Smyth, who crewed on Triceratops, about sails and furling gear. Jan s crew had just Multihull News Jan Gougeon, Meade Gougeon, Jon Alvord, Randy Smyth (L to R) twisted or possibly broken his ankle, and they had taped it up after a dock side consult with an orthopaedic surgeon and fellow F31R owner. Strings does not have a lot of space on deck and the crew was settled into the cockpit. Jan wasn t going to let a little fracture interfere with their race. We fought it out with Strings for 300 miles in a light air downwind race, and entered the Straits of Mackinaw shortly after Strings. It was only somewhere in the last 17 miles that we steamrolled Strings on a beam reach, and finished about an hour ahead. We saw Jan and Meade at the dock, both in their element talking to the crews of all the multihull boats. Jan was happy, probably because everyone was gawking at Strings, and he made time to come congratulate the four crew of Triceratops on our victory. He knew the feeling of winning a big race and was more that happy to share it with this young buck! We raced against Jan one last time at the Great Lakes Multihull championships in September. I think the number of Gougeon multihulls may have outnumbered the Farrier/Corsair boats. If you had asked me six years ago if I ever thought I would own one I would have laughed, but after sailing against them I would have little hesitation. Jan sailed Strings that day very well, as he did every day. Afterwards, at the awards, Jan was sitting in the Yacht Club, telling great stories, and we all were listening and enjoying! Jan Gougeon was a leader, an innovator, a great multihull sailor and much more. He motivated everyone to be better, to lead by positive example, and to finish what you started. He will be missed. Fair winds and following seas! Winter 2013 N E M A 9

10 NEMA Events The NEMA Annual Dinner for 2012 Gunboat Cruising/Racing Catamarans by Jesse Deupree Phil Babcock Photo Tom Cox Photo 10 Due to an unfortunate lack of NEMA Newsletters for much of 2012, some of the stories of that year haven t been told to the membership yet. In February last year 100 NEMA members and guests gathered at the Venezia Restaurant for the 2012 NEMA Annual Dinner and Awards Presentation. This report and the following one about the racing awards are in this better-late-than-never category. It is timely to relive this evening now, which is one of the best-attended NEMA events of the year, as this year s Annual Dinner is coming up on February 2, If you haven t done so already, please sign up for this dinner, presentation, awards ceremony and time for socializing with other NEMA members. The featured speakers at last year s Annual Dinner were Peter Johnstone and Rachel Jesperson of Gunboats, the large luxury catamarans. Peter Johnstone, a member of the Johnstone family that created J-Boats, is the founder of Gunboats. Peter briefly outlined the company s history and then introduced Rachel, a Gunboat representative who assisted Lloyd Thornburg, the owner of Phaedo, a Gunboat 66 built in Capetown, S.A. Thornburg caught the racing bug and decided on a three race campaign in 2011, entering three well established ocean races contested mostly by pure racing monohulls and competing in his cruising Venezia s buffet never disappoints at the NEMA Annual Dinner N E M A Winter 2013 multihull, complete with pizza oven, yet built of carbon and capable of speed. The owner first entered the Bob Gleason with Rachel Jesperson and Peter Johnstone from Gunboat (L to R) Caribbean 600, a 600-mile ocean race based in Antigua, with a course among the islands nearby in the steady trade winds. Gunboat helped him find racing crew including Cam Lewis, well known to many NEMA members. Phaedo finished sixth in this race, beaten only by much larger monohulls and pure race boats. Thornburg then decided to seek entry in the Transatlantic Race being organized Peter Johnstone, Gunboat Founder for early summer by the NYYC and the RORC, and Gunboat again provided help with crew, and logistics, and negotiated to get permission for a multihull to enter a traditional monohull event. Phaedo was welcomed to race but, there being no other multihulls or a method for determining a fair rating against monohulls, she Phil Babcock Photo was placed in a special class with Maltese Falcon, the 289 modern square rigged superyacht. Race prep meant removing as much cruising gear as possible to reduce weight and adding more professional crew. Phaedo beat Maltese Falcon to the finish, and in fact crossed the line fourth behind Rambler 100, the Volvo 70 Puma and Zaraffa, another large racing monohull. Phaedo had the eighth fastest elapsed time on the course. The remaining race on the owner s list was the legendary Fastnet Race. This race allows multihulls but all except Phaedo were racing machines. The race entry list was close to 400 boats, and Phaedo was the 10th boat across the finish line. Rachel showed short professionallyproduced videos of each of the three races and then turned things back over to Peter, who explained the limited video from the Fastnet Race: Rachel had been on the photo boat that was waiting at Fastnet Rock to film Phaedo as she

11 Tom Cox Photo 2012 Annual Dinner (continued from previous page) rounded. Her photo boat was one of the closest boats to the scene when Rambler 100 broke her keel, capsized and turtled, leaving her crew sitting on her bottom except for five, including owner George David, who drifted away. These five managed to stay together and were rescued by the Phaedo photo boat, who joined in the search coordinated by the British Life Saving Service. Not surprisingly the rescue efforts interfered with the photography. Peter said that Tribe, his personal boat, proved that a big cruising multihull could sail at substantial average speeds while offering comfort and safety to her crew. Peter explained that the carbon construction was to make the hull light enough to allow the extras necessary for comfortable luxury cruising, while giving speeds comparable to a grand prix racing monohull. Average sustained cruising speeds are in the miles per day range. While Phaedo has demonstrated the competitiveness of a comfortable ocean cruiser, Peter said that Gunboat is working to create a second generation boat. Phil Babcock Photo NEMA Events Tom Cox Photo Tom Cox Photo The NEMA 2011 Awards by Tom Cox Congratulation are in order to Racing Chair Don Watson who along with his son Nat sailed his self-designed and -built 35 trimaran, Swampfox to first place on the Season Trophy circuit. Swampfox was sailed consistently in her 6 days of racing, winning the Owen Mitchell, Buzzard s Bay Blast, and Solo Twin, and placing at the Downeast 180. The Watsons efforts Nat and Don Watson (L to R) raking in the loot also earned them both the Elapsed Time trophy and the Mileage Award for fastest boat, uncorrected time, and most miles raced over the season. Don was tireless in his attempts to bring more boats to the start line throughout the season and was a bit embarrassed to reap all three awards in spite of his best efforts to urge the fleet to take their best shot at Swampfox. Peter Vakhutinsky and Tritium (F 27 trimaran) earned second place in the Season Trophy standings, winning 3 of the 7 days raced over the summer. Peter and crew Roman Danilov were victorious in the Downeast 180 overnight race and the first day of the Spring Off Soundings. Ted Grossbart and his custom 30 carbon catamaran and part rocketship Rosebud placed third on the circuit, racing on 5 days, winning the Black Dog Dash and placing at the first day of the Buzzard s Bay Regatta. Rosebud was campaigned from her new headquarters at The Carbon Club in Middletown, RI where she and her stable-mate Running With Scissors are meticulously maintained. The crew of Triad (42 Newick Creative trimaran) was awarded the Moxie Trophy for their efforts in the Downeast 180. Tom Cox, Nick Bryan- Brown, and Mike Lipton were delighted to share good company, if not trying conditions, on this longest ocean race of the NEMA season. Moxie Award - Mike Lipton, Nick Bryan-Brown, Tom Cox (L to R) Tom Cox Photo Winter 2013 N E M A 11

12 NEMA Sponsors Aeroyacht & Arrowcat Sign Dealer Agreement Arrowcat and Aeroyacht have joined forces to market the Arrowcat line of great looking, smooth riding powercatamarans. This is good news for all power boaters on the US East Coast looking to step up to the fuel efficiency and stability of power multihulls. Arrowcat builds a line of 30 and 42 power catamarans which can be found in every part of the globe. The Arrowcat is not only a great family boat or weekender. Fishermen will enjoy her big decks and super-tough composite construction and cruisers will relish the spacious interior, ease of operation and offshore proven safety features. The Arrowcat is the true SUV (Sport Utility Vessel) of the ocean. If you have a powerboat that you need to sell, Aeroyacht offers zero commission on the sale if you decide to purchase an Arrowcat through us. Contact us to reserve your Arrowcat 30 or Arrowcat 42 power catamaran. Gregor Tarjan: gt@aeroyacht.com THE MULTIHULL SOURCE News Many NEMA members know THE MULTIHULL SOURCE handles Corsair, Motive, Pakboats, SeaRail, Weta and Windrider trimarans as well as SeaWind Catamarans and brokerage boats. Some do not know that we have become the distributor for SPADE Anchors in MA and RI. The line includes aluminum, galvanized steel, and stainless steel SPADE anchors as well as Skrew moorings. In addition, we handle PAKBOAT folding canoes and kayaks, which easily pack away on your bigger boat or in the trunk of your car. We are also adding the SeaRail SR 19 Trimaran to our multihull offerings. Look for more information at 12 N E M A Winter 2013

13 NEMA Classified FOR SALE / RENT More details on these items can be found at nemasail.org/memberspage.html#sale 1995 F-31 Aft Cockpit Freebird: This boat is a 1995 fixed mast aft cockpit, long cabin model which has been adapted for extended cruising. It has recently updated Dodger/ Bimini, tramps, standing rigging, tiller pilot, Pentex jib,honda 9.9 outboard, Engel refrigerator run by 2 solar panels. The boat and all equipment are in excellent condition. On the hard in Wareham, MA, $79,000. For more info and pictures please look at yachtworld.com, or contact Bob Gleason or Ira Heller at The Multihull Source, at Outremer 45, Aldora: Well maintained and equipped circumnavigator, ready to go again. $369,000. Contact John Spier for details or johnspier@me.com. SCRIMSHAW Jim Brown s original Searunner 31 trimaran for sale. Personally built, cruised and maintained for 37 years by the designer. Very sound and highly developed for Spartan extended cruising. One owner. Lying in Southern Chesapeake ready to go anywhere. Failing eyesight forces sale. Ask for free DVD. (804) , outrig@crosslink.net Searunner 31 Trimaran A-frames Pro built by ALMAR Marine in Sausalito. For your refurb ar new build project - or possibly a Searunner/Seaclipper clone. See pictures and more details at , 37' Granger Custom: Current Price: US$ 250,000 Located: Somerset, MA / Moored: East Greenwich, RI YW# For additional photos and specs go to If you are serious about comfortable cruising, you should see this boat. This is the popular 3 cabin arrangement with the galley down but open to the main saloon. Bob and Chris Kozak S/V Masquerade catamaranmasquerade@gmail.com. 38ft Tri SEA SWAN TOO Want to prepare for a year or more sailing your own trimaran yacht in the Caribbean? We did! Consider our 38 ft. Harris cutter: foam sandwich/glass; center cockpit, hard top, plus Bimini. Both jibs roller furling, wheel steering auto pilot 20hp Buhk diesel. Fiberglass dinghy with 5hp outboard. Located Swansea, MA. More info: Free Depth Sounder Kenyon Marine, Model DS-300, SN BB, 12 Volts, #3 Transdocer. It is in the original box. Free to anyone who wants it. Call Wayne Allen Contour50 Trimaran, 2001 Full recent refit and extensive sailing. She is 100% ready to go. Get all the details with recent travels, refit, survey, pictures and price at Contour50forsalebyowner.com. Boat is presently being sailed out of St Maarten ' Walter Greene trimaran SCOUT Well built and maintained custom performance cruiser. Many upgrades. Carbon spar and sails, composite rigging. Lying Yarmouth, Maine. $135,000. Owner: Tom Egan. Call: Bill Full, ECYS. TEL: (207) FAX: (207) F31R Aft cabin, carbon interior, all cushions, electronics, multiple sails, rebuilt trailer in 2011 has not seen salt water since. Winner of many NEMA Season Trophies, and 2012 Chicago-Mackinaw race. Currently in inside storage in Michigan. Contact Jonathan Alvord, Doyle Mainsail and Jib Built about 1993, kevlar based cloth, in good serviceable shape. Jib: luff 23', leech 22' 2", weight 13.5 lbs.; Main: luff 36' 10", foot 10' 10 1/2 ", weight 42 lbs. Main has 3 reefing points, 7 batten pockets, might have a few battens. Pictures available upon request. These sails worked beautifully on a 40 foot carbon mast. Trim well. No holes rips or patches. Plenty of life left in them. Always stored dry. Offers: Tom Grossman tgnacl@comcast.net Mast & Mainsail For Sale Transient's old spar, replacing it with a carbon one. 46' Gougeon B section wing mast, Walter Greene built. Good condition, just heavy compared to carbon Spectra Main Sail. Still has a few seasons left in it. 5/16 stainless shrouds and headstay (main 20mm hound shackle not included). $1000. Lies in New Jersey. Contact Tim Ross: cell tiross@verizon.net Hobie 16 and Trailex aluminum trailer. Needs cleanup and trampoline. All parts are original. Was disassembled and stored for years. Located in Mansfield MA. Located at $800. Contact ksesk@aol.com Wanted and Opportunity Sought Navico Corus Network Instruments. Trying to maintain an old Navico Corus network and need spares for rebuilding and parts. Donate your old Navico Corus components, sensors, autopilots, etc., and I will make a generous contribution to your new electronics fund. Units need not be in working condition to be of use. Tom LaMers, Chat de LaMer, tlam45387@aol.com Winter 2013 N E M A 13

14 P.O. Box 51152, Boston, MA First Class Mail NEMA Annual Dinner Saturday, February 2, 2013 Speaker: Annie Gardner America s Cup 34 (2013) and the 2016 Olympics Venezia Restaurant, Dorchester, MA YOUR FULL-SERVICE MULTIHULL YARD ON BUZZARD S BAY BROKERAGE STORAGE TRANSPORT Gregor Tarjan new & pre-owned multihulls from Gregor Tarjan: gt@aeroyacht.com info@aeroyacht.com Tel: Box 951 Wareham MA / sailfast@themulithullsource.com This issue is being printed in color, at no additional cost to NEMA, through a special arrangement with the printer. Management Developers, Inc. Business Development Specialists Adjust your business for: More revenues, Better production, Higher profits Dale Boch, President db@managment developers.com Chestnut Hill, Ma. Dick Newick 55 Years of Multihull Experience Available Design, Consulting or newnaut@gmail.com Paul van Dyke 125 Old Gate Lane, Milford, CT T: F: M: E: Paulvd@sales.northsails.com W: A DIVISION OF NORTH SAILS GROUP, LLC Marine Hardware Solutions for Racers and Cruisers Composite Engineering 277 Baker Ave., Concord MA Carbon Spars Racing Shells Specialty Composites Design Engineering Deliveries Pickertown Rd, Chalfont, PA kaveathome@aol.com MC 30 & MC 41 and NEW MC 33 Performance Sailing Cats MC P-47 Power Cat Maine Cat Charters, Abaco, Bahamas info@mecat.com