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Roleof theUSYRU
MultihullCouncil
I n the past, multihull sailors were homogeneouswith the rest of the sailing
I community within USYRU. Their representationwasmainly throughvariousoneI designclassassociations,not multihull sailorsas a whole. With the formation of
I the Multihull Council, multihull sailors as a group now have a more visible
position within USYRU. The Multihull Council has a seaton the USYRU Board of
Directors,and even though it is only one vote, we can be heard.
The Council is made up of multihull organizationsand other interestedgroups;the
direction the Council takes is largely determined by the input of the member organizations. The Council is not an arm of USYRU telling sailorshow things are going to
be; instead,it is their forum to determinethe multihull position on all USYRU affairs
and convey that positionto the Board of Directors. So, now that multihull sailorshave
a voice in the Union. use it! r
AMERICAN
SAILOR
o JULY199117
Cot
ConYerts
FourHot MonohullSqilorsTurnedMulfihullSoilors
ShoreSomeInsights
on theChqllenge,Excitement
ond Compeiilionof SpeedSoiling
BY TODD SMITH
il t is well understoodthat one of rhe
I t.V objectivesol sailboatracing is
I to get aroundthe courseas fast as
I possible.And whatbetterway to go
fast than to sail a high-aspect ratio,
lightweight multihull. Many of the
finest sailorsfrom monohull rankshave
recentlyrecognizedthat they can combine the challengesof yachtracingwith
that added excitement of adrenalinpumping speed.
This recent trend of accomplished
monohullers turned multihullers has
taken place in the land well known for
trendsetting,SouthemCalifomia. Perhapsthe most recognizedname to start
racingcatsis DennisConner,who made
the switch in the world's most prestigious yacht race.the America'i Cup.
Many otherpopularnamesin the racing
community have also started racing
multihulls to quench that "need for
speed," including Pete Melvin, Pease
Glaser, Steve Rosenberg and Craig
Leweck.
Pete Melvin
PeteMelvin has masteredmany different classesduring his sailing career.
In his younger years growing up in
Florida, Petewon the Optimist Nationals on numerous occasions. He then
moved into the 420 classwherehe won
the USYRU Youth DoublehandedChampionshipsin consecutiveyears. Then,
at the ripe old age of 14, Pete raced in
the 19'T6International470 Trials. It
was here that Pete starteda long campaign to representthe U.S. in an Olympic class.
Despitetwo very successfulU.S.Trials
in 1980 (secondplace) and 1984(third
place) in the 410 class,Petecontinued
on his quest to reach the Olympics.
After graduatingfrom Boston University, Petemoved to Long Beach,CA, to
begin his professionalengineeringcareer. And it was also at this time that
Pete made the switch from high performance dinghy sailing to master a
new breedof cat - multihulls.
In less than two years,Peteaccelerated on the leaming curve of multihull
sailing much like his Olympic-class
Tornado sprinting off the starting line.
In 1988,Pete,along with his crew, Pat
Muglia, won the Tornado trials and
representedthe U.S. in Korea. Since
that time. Pete has won the Tornado
Nationals, the 1989 ProSail circuit on
Hobie 21s, and competedin the Little
America's Cup on perhapsthe highest
technology catamaran afloat, the Cclass Catamaran.
During AmericanSailor' s interview,
Peteexpandedon his involvementwith
multihulls.
AS: What attracted you to the
Tornado versus the other Olympicclass boats?
PeteMelvin
Pete: After racing the 470 for so
many years,I wantedto try something
new and exciting. I had always liked
the Tomado; she looked fast and fun.
What also turned me on to multihulls
were the people sailing the boats.
Everybody seemed to have a good
attitude.
MultihullCouncil
USYRU
I99l Officersond Areo Representotives
Chairman
Gordonlsco
1602Eddings
lL 62901
Carbondale,
ViceChairman
HenryWaite
P.O.Box1328
TomsRiver,NJ 08754
Secretary
ToddSmith
10965Rochester
Ave.#303
Westwood,CA 90024
Area A
TonyVandenoeverP.O.Box660
SouthCarver,MA 02366
Area B
RogerMunz
P.O.Box236
LaureN
l , Y1 1 9 4 8
Area C
HenryWaite
P . O .B o x1 3 2 8
TomsRiver,NJ 08754
Area D
T o mH l l l s
11 4A l d e nD r .
Ft.WaltonBeach,FL 32548
Area E
TomTannert
178WichitaPlace
Akron,OH 44313
Area F
J . D .S m i t h
P.O.Box841
Corsicana,
TX 75151
Area G
WayneMooneyham
Dr.
3859Suncrest
SanJose,CA 95132
Area H
PaulUlibarri
10559Evanston
N.
WA 98133
Seattle,
Area J
RichardBlount
1 9 1 IS t r a n d
Hermosa
Beach,CA 90253
Area K
GeorgeGerhardt '1913Fairview
Oshkosh,
Wl 54901
IYRUMultihullRep. PeaseGlaser
258GlendoraAve.
LongBeach,CA 90803
Offshore
BillDoelger
34 WhitePineRd.
NewtonUpperFalls,MA 02164
PortsmouthCte.
MarkHarris
2027ValenciaWay
Sparks,NV 89434
PortsmouthCte.
DarlineHobock
5373E. 27thSt.
Chairman
Tulsa,OK 74114
(618)457-8702
(201) 349-2388
(213)473-4004
(508)866-7559
(516)298-4672
(201) 349-2388
(904)862-3880
(216) 836-01
11
(903)872-561
1
(408)272-2097
(206)364-9938
(213) 379-6345
(404)233-5153
(213) 433-9930
(617)964-2670
(702)355-7035
(918) 744-8803
AMERICAN
SAILOR
o JULY199119
After moving to California, I startedsailing the Tomado S
with my crew Pat Muglia. We both had the opportunityto sail
the boat threeto four times a week. often after work during the 3
6
summer. We went to the pre-trialsin Newport, RI, and came
in secondbehind Gary Knapp (another monohuller turned
multihuller). We were very encouragedafter that regatta.At E
the 1987TornadoWorlds in Kiel, we were the top American
finisher. We had come this far, so we decidedto go for it and
campaignedthe boat hard the next six months in preparation 6
for the U.S. Trials. We peakedat the right time and won the c
1988 Trials, representingthe U.S. in the Tornado class.
AS.. What advice would you give to other multihull
sailors?
Pete: Most peopleswitchingfrom monohullsto multihulls
have little problem getting the boat to do well upwind. What
really separatesthe cat sailors from the monohull sailors is
downwind vang.
In dinghies, you usually vang the main closed like a
bamdoor. In multihulls, you have to induce the proper twist
along the entire sail. This is where the experiencedmultihuller has the advantageover newcomers. Downwind sailing is totally different in catswith the way you sheetthe main,
the twist of the sailsand the angleson which you sail the boat.
The bestway to becomeproficient in multihulls is to spend
a lot of time on the boat. And one of the best things about
multihulls is that other cat sailors are very open about
sharing advice on boatspeed techniques, tuning tips,
rigging ideas,etc.
PeaseGlaser
In 1988, women sailors
becamethe hot topic of discussionamong sailboatracers when Allison Jolly and
Lynne Jewell brought home
the gold in the Women's
470 Olympic class. Women
have long been excellent
sailors,but the stellar successof Allison and Lynne
brought women sailors to
the limelight in the yachting community. And in
this booming era of more
women competitors, yet
another woman has made a
mark for herselfby becoming the first woman from PeaseGlaser
the U.S. to be ranked#1 in
an open (co-ed) Olympic class:PeaseGlaser.
The boat that Pease has masteredjust happens to be
anothertrendsetter,the hot-rod Tomado. But just how did
Peasego from a high-performancedinghy sailor to a highperformancemultihull sailor? As Peaserecalls, "After the
1988 Trials, I wanted to start racing a Snipe, which sportsa
strongfleet in SouthemCalifornia. My boyfriend at the time,
Jay Glaser, didn't want to hike and bought us a Tornado
instead.
Peaseand Jay have since married and have been tearing
around the courseon multihulls ever since. In fact, at their
first major regatta,the 1988 Tomado Nationals, Peaseand
Jay came in second. The combination of Pease'sdriving
skills (honed by 470 competition) coupled with Jay's vast
o JULY1991
20 AMERICAN
SAILOR
w.:-w
jamonboarda Prindle
19.
Pease
andJayGlaser
crewing experienceon the multihulls (world championTornado crew and multi-time Tornado national champion and
Prindle crew) havepropelledthis team to the #l U.S. ranking
in the Tomado class. Along the way have beentwo Tomado
North American titles, a Tornado Nationals title, a secondplacefinish at the 1990USYRU Alter Cup on Prindle l8-2s,
and many firsts on the SouthemCalifornia Prindle circuit.
Peaseshared some thoughts regarding women rn
sailing and multihull sailing.
AS.' You have shown that women can compete on
a level playing field with men in multihull sailing.
Not only are you the #1 U.S. Tornado skipper, but
you are also the first woman to be a top-ranked U.S.
skipper in an open Olympic class. Do you think that
this will help entice other women into multihull
sailing?
Pease: Women have been competing successfully
for awhile; I'm hardly the first. But yes, women can
compete equally with men in multihulls (and many
other classesfor that matter). I think that the recent
successand positive responseof dinghy sailors who
have begun sailing catamaranshas encouragedother
dinghy sailors to branch out. I would hope that my
successwould similarly encourageother women.
If anyonehad told me three years ago that I would be
helming a catamaran,I would have laughed. But the
boats are really fun to sail - not frightening. Women
can be effective skipperingor crewing. For us, it works well
to have Jay, who is stronger, stand on the side and trim the
main. On the other hand, one of the top-ranked Tornado
crews in the U.S. in the pastfew yearsis a mother of teenage
children,and shetrims the main from the wire. The issueisn't
necessarilystrength,but technique.
AS.' You have experiencedthe best of both worlds: the
formality and tradition of yacht club organized sailing
through the Olympic classesand the casual off-the-beach
sailing through the Prindle classes. How do these two
types of sailing compare?
Pease: Once you get on the water to go racing, it really
doesn't matter if you're sailing out of a yacht club in Europe
boats,one beinga Hobie l4 Turbo - main,jib andtrapezefor
one guy. I won the cat division and had a ton of fun.
I didn't really sail a catamaranuntil Pete Melvin and Pat
Muglia, two very close friends, won the Tornado Olympic
Trials in 1988. I begancoachingthem before the Olympics
and was able to sail the Tornado a bit then.
After the 1988 Olympics, Pete and I hooked up and
campaignedthe Hobie 21 on the ProSail circuit. After the
rigors of an Olympic campaign,cat sailing (especiallyfor
money) kept me in sailing and gave me a renewedinterestin
the sport. Now I have a very hard time sailing "slow boats."
I'm now a speedfreak
and only gravitatetowards multihulls and
speedmachines.And
I am a multihull
owner!
or off the beachin SouthernCalifomia. It all looks and feels
the same. Off the water, though,it is different. I've enjoyed
both. We are fortunatein that we belong to yacht clubs that
are very supportiveof our Tomado sailing. We also belong
to a very active and organizedPrindle fleet.
Each group is focusedon racing - in the yacht club that
focus is a little more varied. Severalweeks ago we were on
the racecommitteefor a 70-footerregatta. In productioncat
sailing,the focus is directedat only a few classes,and there's
more energy directed at making events fun and including
eventsfor new sailors. The off-the-beachgrouosdon't have
facilitiesto attractnew members.so they ha-ve
to work a little
harderon growth. Both organizationsoffer a chanceto get
involved and give somethingback to the sport - the basic
tasks of race management,social activities, etc., are the
same. The main thing is to get involved.
Steve Rosenberg
AS;
You have
Steve Rosenberghas made a mark for himself in the
crewed extensively
sailing community as a hot crew. Whether crewing to first
on many different
place at the 1990 505 North Americans, winning the 1990
types of boats: HoCongressionalCup as Chris Dickson's tactician, or cambie 21s, Flying
paigning in the Flying Dutchman Olympic class with his
Dutchmans, Interbrother Ron, Stevehas proven himself a top-notchcrew on
national 14s,C-class
any type of sailboat.
Catamarans, etc.
Steve has also demonstratedhis prowessfor crewing on
Which do you find
someof the most exciting boatsto raceon - multihulls. In
the most exciting
1989,Stevecrewedfor PeteMelvin on the Hobie 2l ProSail
and why?
circuit and dominatedthe series.taking first place and winSteve: I havesailed
ning thousandsof dollars! And in Januarythis year, Steve
many of today's greatcrewed again for Peteon Freedom's Wing, the Little Amerest "speed" boats
ica's Cup C-classCatamaran,againstthe Australiandefend- SteveRosenberg
except Aussie l8s.
ers. Even thoughthe American syndicatedid not wrestlethe
My favorite boats are
Cup away from the Aussies,Steve and Pete pushedthe deFDs, l4s, 505s,Open 30s,sportcatsand largemultihulls, but
fendersharder than any other challengersof recentyears.
all for different reasons. The most exhilarating,intriguing
We askedSteveto sharehis thoughtson multihull sailing
and fastestboat is the C-classCatamaranthat Peteand I raced
from the crew's perspective.
in the Little America's Cup. The technicalaspectsand intriAS.' How did you become a multihull addict?
caciesof the C-classare what makesit so special. It was the
Steve: I first got hookedon catsin 1984when I was invited
fastestboat I'd ever sailedand by far the most complex. But
to the Inter-Class Solo Championshipsin Barrington, RI.
what makes it special is the experienceI gained during the
Competitorswererequiredto sail threetypesof singlehanded
campaign. As frustratingand difficult as it was, it was also
extremely satisfying. The thrill of competition during
t":1,:."',;;,,' that event was high and emotional.
,;;
;111
AS; What advice can you give other sailors as to
how to get involved with multihull sailing?
tr
Steve: Multihull sailorsasa group tendto be a lot more
laid back and relaxedabout their racing and recreational
outlook. While multihull sailorsare competitive racers,
there is more of a relaxed, "have fun" attitude found at
beach cat regattas. I can't remember ever being in a
protest or even a hassleat a cat regatta. I have always
found multihullers to be verv friendlv and heloful.
6
=
Sponsored
by
GORSAIR
A R
E
M
ThesePrindle
19sailors
enjoya lastreaching
legonthetrapeze
N
AMERICAN
SAILOR
o JULY199121
My adviceto someonelooking to get involved in cats
would be to try a local cat regatta. Come with a relaxed
attitude, ready to have fun. Let your hair down and
enjoy some speedbums. I have found cat dealersto be
among the most service-orientedboat dealers in the
country; they're always at local and regional regattas,
ready to assistin any way. Take your time and try a lot
of different boatsand find a size and make that fits your
needs. There is one out there for everyone.
Craig Leweck
Well known among dinghy sailors,Craig Leweck is
one of the latest to add another hull to his sailing
information.
Prindle
National
Champion
Multihull
to beveryopenaboutsharing
sailors
areknown
program. Craig hasenjoyeda successfulcareerin many RandySmythshares
audience.
tuning
tipswitha largeandenthusiastic
dinghy classes,including two back-to-back National
and North American
Craig has since been racing his Tornado and sailing Prindle
titles in the highly com19son the popularSouthernCalifornia circuit. His hard work
*#
petitive Snipeclass,two
paid off as he placed fifth (despite some equipment
has
4er
National titles in the
"'tu'r-- r * *
at the TornadoOlympic Pre-Trialsheld at Calibreakdowns)
Lido 14,anda National
April.
fornia
YC
last
title in the Capri 14.2.
somethoughtson what it has been like to go
Craig
shares
Craig earns his living
from
one
hull
to
two.
making one-designsails
AS; As one of the most recent converts to multihull sailat the San Diego
ing, could you describe the biggest differences between
Sobstad loft and is
dinghy and multihull sailing?
mounting an Olympic
campaign.
Craig: The speedthat the multihulls generateaffectsa few
One would think that
areas.More communicationwith my crew is neededas there
with sucha strongbackis lesstime for me to look around. I must keepthe boat going
ground in dinghy sailfast, so I needconstantchatterabout mark location,laylines,
E ing that Craig would opt
fleet position, etc. Initially, I had trouble planning for new
to campaign an Olymcourse legs since so much would happen so quickly in appic dinghy. But Craig
proachingmarks. Another problem is the adrenalinincrease
electedto go for speed
in a big breeze(due to the high speed),which can be fatiguand race the Tornado.
ing. Mast rotation was another new concept, wherein we
CraigLeweck
And, if Craig continues
Ieamedto basically control the mast to keep its leadingedge
on his presentlearning
into the wind on all points of sail. As fbr boat preparation.
curve on multihulls, combining his proven tactical prowess
there were now fwo hulls to fair, two sets of centerboard
and potential warp drive multihull speed, other Tornado
gasketsto install,and two setsof bladesto align, shim and
Olympic hopefuls,including PeaseGlaser,PeteMelvin and
f a i r - -d e f i n i t e l ym o r et i m e c o n s u m i n g .
Randy Smyth, had better watch out.
AS.. You still race your Snipe in addition to your
Craig first started sailing multihulls in mid-1990. With
Tornado;
do you think that other sailors would enjoy
some expert coaching from Pete Melvin, Craig caught on
monohulls and multihulls?
sailing
both
very quickly. Early accomplishmentsincluded a first at the
1990ABYC Labor Day Regattaon a Tornadoand a first at the
Craig: Definitelyl I havefound that therearea numberof
USYRU Championshipof Champions on a Hobie 18-SX.
multihull sailors who are very fast, but not strong tactically
(boat positioning and windshifts). While boatspeedis top
priority in cats,you still haveto know when and whereto turn.
Sailing low-to-medium-performance,small, monohull one( o r " C o tS o i l i n gl 0 l " )
designswill help in this area.As for the monohullsailorwho
is confident tactically, cat racing will force him to study the
that contributeto speed. When superiorspeedand
elements
his summer, with the help of a grant from the
meet, successis the result. The problem is not the
tactics
U.S.Olympic Committee,the Multihull Council
concept;it's the commitment. Cat sailors saii cats because
hasa programfor youthsto enjoy the fun and exthey like the speedthrill, and the thoughtof committingtime
citement of multihull sailins.
to a slow boat to understandits tacticalvit'tuesmay be tough.
At one or more locationsin each of the ten USYRU
Dinghy sailorsmay alsoget frustratedwith catsby the stifling
Areas,we areplanninga multihull day. Youths will have
few
tactical optionsthat exist. The importantpoint to realize
an opportunityto seewhat multihulls are all about. With
is
that
the fun will come from gaining new knowledge.
the help of volunteerfleet and club members,we hopeto
Now thatyou haveseenwhatthe world of multihull sailing
g i v e t h e ma h a n d s - o ne x p e r i e n c e .
is like through the eyesof thesecat converts,why not hitch a
It is our hope that some of the participants in this
ride on a cat? Come and experiencethe thrills, fun and
program will become part of the U.S. Olympic Sailing
friendlyworld of multihull sailing.Who knows? Maybeyou,
Team in the future. r
too, will becomeaddictedto speedsailing. Sheetin! r
1991
22 AMERICAN
o JULY
SAILOR
:""'dt33ir i,x xxss#'
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