A-Class Catamaran North American Championship
Photos by Walter Cooper
The world had its eyes on the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club in May when close to fifty high performance A-class catamarans (A-cats) with Olympic and America’s Cup-caliber skippers were competing for the A-Class Catamaran North American Championship from May 19- 22.
Matt Struble secured his third North American championship title.Bruce Mahoney, last year’s champion, finished the event second overall with a 3-2 scorecard on the final day of racing.Bailey White captured third overall.Fourth place Woody Cope also brought home the great grand master title (65+ years old).
“A few of us have raced in Panama City in the past and have been so impressed by the natural beauty, easy style of the area, and great hospitality of St Andrews Bay Yacht Club,” said Bailey White, president of the United States A-Class Catamaran Association. “Last year, when we thought about where we wanted to have our North Americans in 2015, St Andrews Bay Yacht Club came to mind immediately.”
The A-Class Catamaran (A-Cat) is the fastest singlehanded small catamaran in the world.Sailors range from 17-years-old to more than 70. The A-cat is a highly responsive lightweight boat (165 pounds), and the powerful rig means that even the heaviest sailors are on the trapeze upwind in six knots of breeze and flying a hull downwind. The top sailors have now mastered the art of trapezing downwind and foiling downwind, making the boat even faster and more exciting for the sailor and spectators alike. The boat is very easy for an experienced sailor to sail, but challenging to sail really fast.
Beginning with the A-Cat NAs, Panama City and St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club plan to show the world that their premier sailing and tourist destination is ready for primetime.
Panama City recently approved a tourism grant to introduce racing and cruising sailors to its beautiful town on the bay, which offers ideal conditions for sailing events: protected deep water, consistent breeze and easy access to the Gulf of Mexico. The fantastic sailing conditions, St.Andrews Bay Yacht Club’s warm hospitality and top-notch race management, combined with Panama City’s family-friendly atmosphere, great restaurants and boutiques, provide the perfect package to host premier sailing regattas. Several social events were organized in conjunction with the event at local businesses to introduce visitors to Panama City. Competitors and organizers participated in a wine tasting at Avenue Sea and a meeting at Little Village.
“St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club is thrilled to be hosting this prestigious regatta. We are grateful for the City’s assistance in leveraging this North American championship to promote Panama City as an incredible sailing and tourist destination,” said Richard Dodd, Commodore. “We look forward to introducing our beautiful town on the bay to top sailors from all over the United States and Canada.”