catamaran races 2022

Yachting World

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Newport Bermuda Race 2022: Everything you need to know

• Toby Heppell
• June 16, 2022

The 52nd Newport Bermuda race will start on Friday 17th June 2022 with nearly 200 yachts set to take in the 635-mile course races almost entirely out of sight of land

Tomorrow, Friday 17th June 2022 will see the start of the 52nd Newport Bermuda Race. The biennial race will, this year, see over 190 yachts competing in the race which was first sailed over 100 years ago.

The history of the Newport Bermuda Race

The first Newport Bermuda race was held way back in 1906, when many thought it was a reckless idea for largely amateur crews to take on an offshore race.

It was considered a particularly foolhardy endeavour as all three of the first boats to take on the course measured in at under 40ft. It was even rumoured that funeral wreaths were delivered to the three boats so the sailors would be prepared to make a decent burial at sea.

The smallest entry then (and in Bermuda Race history) was the 28-foot sloop Gauntlet . She was notorious for her size, and also for her crew because it included a woman, 20-year-old Thora Lund Robinson.

Having outpaced Gauntlet and another boat which dropped out, the winner of the inaugural Newport Bermuda race was the 38-foot yawl Tamerlane , with Thomas Fleming Day (then editor of The Rudder magazine and a vocal supporter of the concept) as sailing master.

In 45 races over a century, only two boats have been lost, one on Bermuda’s reef, and the other in a deadly fire in 1932 that also claimed the Bermuda Race’s only loss of life.

Initially the race was set to be held on an annual basis, but following the race’s rebirth after the first world war, the decision was taken to move the Newport Bermuda Race to a biennial.

The race begins at the mouth of the East Passage against the spectacular backdrop of the Newport and Jamestown shore, where state parks and Castle Hill Inn offer excellent viewing opportunities for race fans. Photo: Daniel Forster/PPL photo

Newport Bermuda Race 2022 course

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the start and finish location, the Newport Bermuda course is a relatively simple affair.

The 635-mile race sees competitors leave Newport and sail SSW straight to Bermuda. A unique element of this event when compared to other popular 600-milers such as the Rolex Fastnet Race , Caribbean 600 , or Middle Sea Race is that the Newport Bermuda is raced almost entirely out of sight of land.

In a typical race, the fleet enters the Atlantic and the Gulf Stream, with rough water, giving the race its nickname, “The Thrash to the Onion Patch.” Once through the rough Gulf Stream, the sailors press on to the finish off St. David’s Lighthouse, then winding channel to Hamilton, Bermuda to the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

How to follow the Newport Bermuda Race 2022

For those local to the race it can be a stunning sight to watch the fleet leave Newport. The startline is set at the mouth of the East Passage of Narragansett Bay, so if you can make it to Newport or Jamestown, you’ll find several vantage points to watch the fleet depart.

Race sponsor Castle Hill Inn offers ringside seating on its expansive lawn. Farther south, Brenton Point State Park also offers excellent views, as do the state parks at Fort Wetherill and Beavertail on the Jamestown side.

For international viewers there will be a Live Show streamed live on YouTube, with media team members Joe Cooper, Kate Somers, and John Burnham talking about the boats and teams.

Once the race begins, you can follow the Bluenose Yacht Sales YB tracker to see the fleet progress in real time towards Bermuda over the next two to five days. The tracker is also on the bermudarace.com homepage, updating the position of each boat via satellite tracker every 15 minutes.

Many boats will also Tweet messages via the satellite connection, so if you see small Twitter logos on the tracker chart, click and read what was happening on that boat at that position on the course.

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Local news | map: bear fire evacuation and perimeter north of tahoe, local news | photos: some of the world’s fastest sailboats will be on san francisco bay for sailgp races this weekend, f50 catamarans are capable of 60 mph speeds.

SailGP’s eighth and final event of Season Two takes place Saturday and Sunday, with activities centered around the St. Francis Yacht Club near Crissy Field.

Jimmy Spithill, the U.S. SailGP Team CEO and driver, is best known for masterminding the 2013 America’s Cup comeback in San Francisco.

“Yes, we have qualified for the final, but time has shown that anything can happen. The team has rallied, yet I believe we are still the underdog,” Spithill said.

Though there are plenty of free viewing areas, limited tickets remain for premium on-land viewing near Marina Green or on-water experiences to see the action unfold on the bay between the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. Racing begins at 2 p.m. each day. For more information, go to the SailGP website .

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2022 Boat of the Year: Best Performance Catamaran

• By Cruising World Editors
• December 15, 2021

During and in the four days immediately following the US Sailboat show in Annapolis, Maryland, the  Cruising World  judges inspected and sailed on 27 boats vying for recognition. Learn more about the boats in our  2022 Boat of the Year  »

OK, confession time. When the roster of nominees for the 2022 Boat of the Year awards was released, the contest’s team and judging panel couldn’t help themselves, and quietly put three check marks, little symbols of anticipation, alongside a trio of boats: the untamed cats that would vie for the title of best performer in their class. After all, both Balance and Seawind had entered the winner’s circle in previous BOTY competitions, and it was clear they’d have a serious contender for the throne in yet another player from cat-crazy South Africa, the Kinetic KC54. How’d it go? Let’s just say, nobody was disappointed. The conditions on Chesapeake Bay were ideal for putting the three nominees through their paces, and the trio of scalded cats all acquitted themselves superbly. 

For 2022, if anything, the trend for flybridge catamarans is on a major upswing. New cats for 2022 from both Lagoon and Fountaine Pajot continued down that design path, putting an emphasis on living accommodations, not performance. But not aboard the latest Seawind 1600 , a brand originally built in Australia that is now produced in Vietnam. And that suits judge Tim Murphy just fine. “This boat was very dialed in,” he said, “and one place Seawind has always been innovative is with their helms. This one was really great; it was -outboard and aft with great visibility, sort of half-protected where you could step in and out. There was also good access to the boom and mainsail, which you don’t always see on cats. The deck layout was excellent, particularly the forward trampolines. Some cats have lacings with large openings where you can twist an ankle, but these were nice and tight.”

“Compared to other Seawinds that I’ve seen, I was just blown away with it in terms of what it could do and how it performed,” said Ed Sherman.  “It’s a fairly conservative boat in terms of technology compared to some of the other boats in the same category, which depending on a potential buyer’s state of mind, could be either a good thing or a bad one. I loved the centralized winch aft which is where all the sail-handling takes place. It’s pretty brilliant for a short-handed crew, and it’s all in a very safe and easy-to-access location that a cruising couple can deal with without scaring the heck out of themselves.”

The Kinetic KC54 is a fresh entry in the cat universe, and we’ll let Tim Murphy get right to the point: “This is a fairly new company that was started within the past couple of years. My breath was absolutely taken away by this boat; it was spectacular. I think it was the best-built boat in the entire fleet. It’s an all-carbon boat, with a foam core, epoxy resin, all infused–fantastic. The whole boat felt integrated. You didn’t feel like there was a conflict between the forces in terms of accommodation versus performance.” With a price tag approaching $3 million, it perhaps should not be astonishing. That was a major factor in evaluating the boat, and while it did not win its class, the experts panel did present it with a Judges’ Special Recognition prize to honor the boat’s overall excellence.

“It was my personal favorite in this year’s contest,” said Sherman. The materials that were used are absolutely the highest quality available in our industry at this point, and it’s a very high-tech boat in terms of systems.” Gerry Douglas was also duly impressed: “This was the Tesla of sailboats. I think that that was their model. In terms of design and execution and technology, it hit all three of those marks. This boat is built without compromise, and what it cost was not an issue, they just wanted to do the best they could in every aspect of the boat. The construction was impeccable, the fit and finish was amazing. There are some very clever design things in the boat, but it all really worked seamlessly.”  

With that level of competition, the Balance 482 had a tall order to overcome to win its class. And it did. “The sailing performance was excellent,” said Douglas. “The boat felt really good. The steering was terrific. The structure of the boat throughout was exemplary. Storage is really good. Visibility was good. Ventilation was great. There was even a rain collection system on the cabin top, which is the only one of the boats we looked at had that. It was very well concealed because the gutters formed a handhold going forward. The solar panel installation was also well done. The panels were encapsulated into a fiberglass tray that elevated the deck so the panels wouldn’t overheat. Very clever.”

The driving force behind Balance cats is Phil Berman, a world champ at racing beach cats who brought that passion to developing and marketing fully found cruisers. Judge Murphy knows him well: “Phil comes from a very strong view of wanting to see boats that have solid sailing performance. He’s also a strong proponent of daggerboard boats, which tends to be quick shorthand for the dividing line between cats that are more about payload versus cats that are about performance, but not so much where you’re going to fly a hull or break a rudder. There’s a balance within a boat that really performs that you can still live aboard.” A winning balance, it turns out, with the Balance 482 securing its position as the Best Performance Cruiser for 2022.

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AUGUST 20-21 @ SAIL NEWPORT

32nd NEW ENGLAND 100

Test your speed, skill and toughness, a multihull regatta covering 100 miles in 2 days.

Sandra Tartaglino and Chas MacBain at New England 100 2015 / Photo: Lindsey Duca

Next Event: August 20-21, 2022

Sail newport.

The regatta is open to all non-singlehanded beach catamarans with a Portsmouth P-PN # lower than 77.6 and NEMA vessels.

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LATEST NEWS

December 11, 2023

NAASA Winter Newsletters

In this newsletter, the board gives us a recap on what to expect in 2024 and asks for your help!

August 8, 2023

NAASA has solid showing at F18 Worlds

The US was well represented by NAASA members Ravi Parent and Henry Lee sailing USA 1 who finished 8th and Lars and Olin Guck sailing USA 2 who finished 18th out of a fleet of 97 boats.

NAASA Featured in Latest WindCheck

Fostering Competitive Sailing and Community Engagement

July 25, 2023

NAASA Weekend #2 Wrap Up

Our second NAASA weekend is in the books and we have passed the midpoint in the season.  It was a super nice racing weekend – wildly exceeded expectations. 

July 22, 2023

NAASA hosts 2023 New England 100

Time to sign up for our big event of the year.

July 13, 2023

Women breakthrough at the 39th Newport Regatta – in the most physically demanding class

Not only were 4 of 11 teams skippered by women – at the end of the weekend 2 of 3 teams on the podium were women led

June 28, 2023

NAASA Race Weekend #1 is in the books 

We had some great racing – Team Surf Club was on another level, followed closely by Lars and Olin who are looking ready for the Worlds – but after that the scoring was really tight for the rest of the fleet with only 10 points separating 3rd and 9th – and a 3 way tie in there for good measure

January 13, 2023

2023 NAASA F18 League adult scholarship applications are open

Join the high-performance sailing world with a fully funded boat.

August 29, 2022

Founding Board Member, Lars Guck, and his son win U.S. Multihull Championships co-hosted by NAASA

Congrats to the Guck team on their amazing win in Newport.

July 11, 2022

Team Surf Club wins the 2022 Sail Newport Regatta

Full Recap of the Sail Newport Regatta 2022

June 14, 2022

F18 League Brings out the Top Sailing Athletes on Narragansett Bay.

The NAASA 2022 F18 League kicked off last weekend with 2 days of racing at the Wickford Regatta. Each day is scored separately and counts as an individual F18 League Race.

May 4, 2022

New England 100 Registration is Open

Don't miss one of the best multihull events of the year. August 20-21, 2022 in Newport, Island.

March 3, 2022

High-performance sailing scholarships awarded for 2022

Two teams of young sailors have received an F18 Scholarship boat with NAASA for Summer 2022.

March 2, 2022

Seeking a Sailing Video Summer Intern

NAASA needs a media person for the summer 2022 in Newport, RI.

January 24, 2022

Last call for NAASA F18 League’s 2022 Scholarship Boat Applications

Applications are due January 31st for our two F18s. Apply as a team or individual crew.

December 6, 2021

NAASA F18 League’s 2022 Scholarship Boat Applications are Open!

Don’t miss a chance to step into high-performance sailing and competition. Photo: Matias Capizzano at Wickford Regatta 2021

November 19, 2021

NAASA Awards 2021

On November 7, 2021, sailors from the NAASA fleet and the Board gathered at the Midtown Oyster Bar for an Annual Meeting to discuss the future of the organization and award the sailors on a successful 2021 Season.

July 21, 2021

Upcoming Racing

Upcoming news and latest standings

July 20, 2021

Mid Season Update!

Photo: Rodrigo Fernandez/Sail Newport 2021..... An update from Chris Bulger on the status of the season.

August 17, 2020

When a memorial event hits the mark!

A note from the family of Sandra Tartaglino to the competitors and organizers of this year's event.

Race Blog from RC

The updates from the Yacht Scoring page from the Race Committee.

August 6, 2020

Getting to Know: David White’s Nacra Inter 20

What I like the most about multihull sailing is the community, friendships and sailing competitions. Of course the speed and boat performance also make these boats enjoyable.

July 30, 2020

Getting to Know: FellowShip

Kacey Dutton is grabbing the carbon tiller of their Hobie 16, FellowShip, and coming out for the first time to honor Sandra in this year's New England 100.

July 20, 2020

Getting To Know: Jenny III

Sandra taught me how to rig & sail F18s. They are of course super technical boats and I had no formal sailing instruction. Without Sandra and the rest of the fleet I would not be F18 sailing.

July 13, 2020

Getting to Know: Joe Valante’s Nacra Carbon 20

The sailing is fast and very involved physically and mentally with the boat.

July 3, 2020

Getting To Know: On The Verge

For us it's always been the speed and effortless movement over the ocean ... a beach cat can really cruise through varied sea states

June 15, 2020

Ability and Drive

Photo: Lindsey Duca // Sandra Tartaglino was a woman whose passion and love for sailing impacted many and remains timeless.

June 3, 2020

Inspiration

Originally posted on Sailing Anarchy, organizers are still planning to run the 2020 race at this time.

REQUIRED SAFETY EQUIPMENT

Weekend of fun and racing

FRIDAY August 19

1600 - 1900: Registration & Inspections @Sail Newport

SATURDAY August 20

0800-0900: Registration & Inspections @Sail Newport

0900: Competitor's Meeting

1100: First Warning

After Racing: Competitor Party

SUNDAY August 21

1000: First Warning

After Racing: Awards

until the first gun

One distance race is scheduled per day with a goal of completing 100 miles for the weekend.

HONORING SANDRA

Like all “extreme” sailing events, the 100 has risks and suffered its first fatality last year when event Chairperson and Rockstar cat sailor Sandra Tartaglino was killed by powerboater.  Sandra, at 60, had been sailing the 100 for all 30 years and she was still at the top of her game having won BBR the week before the accident.  The 100 is a highlight for all who sail it, but Sandra loved the event so much that she was the key organizer and even recruited her parents to cook what has become a famous stuffie and chowder dinner every year.

This year we will honor her memory by turning up to sail and stuffing our faces faces at the cookout. Memorial donations may be made to the Sandra Tartaglino Memorial Fund c/o P.O. Box 491, Tiverton RI 02878

The goal is to competitive racing using all of Narragansett Bay to cover 100 miles in two days.

Courses each day will be between 10-50 miles depending on forecast conditions. Different courses may be specified for different classes depending on boat type/Portsmouth D-PN.

Courses will consist of rounding various islands and government or Race Committee (RC) marks & will require a waterproof chart of Narragansett Bay, upper Mt.Hope Bay, Sakonnet River & the ocean off Aquidneck Is.

We will attempt to make possible courses available no later than August 5, 2022. Additional course options may be added based on weather conditions or other factors. Final courses will be posted each morning of the event.

Each boat is required to pass an onsite Safety Equipment Verification prior to racing.

A boat may be inspected at any time during the regatta for compliance with these requirements.

On Each Sailor

• 1 life jacket
• Note: It is strongly recommended that each person carry a submersible VHF on his/her person.

On Each Boat

• Waterproof charts(s) of the entire race area
• 1 waterproof flashlight (separate from a cell phone)
• Compass and/or GPS
• VHF or cell phone (waterproof or in waterproof case)

All competitors on F18’s and other trapeze cats, will be required to wear the provided high-vis rash guards while racing.

Safety Boats

We will have a number of safety boats on the water throughout the regatta to assist with sailors and traffic as needed.

Race Organizers

Event Co-Chairman: Michael Easton 781 929 4249 | [email protected]

Event Co-Chairman: Todd Riccardi 203 915 9915 | [email protected]

Sail Newport: 401-846-1983 | U.S. Coast Guard: VHF Channel 16

Logistics Support

Chris Bulger

[email protected]

Media Inquiries

Kate Wilson Somers

risingT, Media and Marketing

2022 All-Catamaran Rendezvous Event

• 3 x Meals & our signature Hooligan Juice Cocktail
• Event sun shirt and cap
• Event bag & sponsored goodies
• Event Burgee
• Prizes for Rumbrella races, Dinghy races, Sailing Regatta etc.
• More details to come…but based on previous years, the prizes and goodies from our sponsors will be awesome!
• Boat Price: $250
• Price Per Person: $150

RENDEZVOUS ITINERARY

• What: “PINK WELCOME PARTY” sponsored by Bail Catamarans
• When:  Sunday May 15, 2022, 4:00 pm
• Where: Hopetown Inn and Anchorage
• What: “RUMBRELLA RACE DAY & GAMES” sponsored by Lagoon Catamarans
• When:  Monday May 16, 2022, 11am
• Where:  Tahiti Beach Anchorage
• What: “RENDEZVOUS REGATTA” sponsored by North Sails
• When: Tuesday May 17, 2022, 10 am
• Where: Race from Elbow Cay to No Name Cay (Pig Island)
• What: “SEMINARS AND FAREWELL PARTY” sponsored by Catamaran Guru
• When: Wednesday May 18, 2022, 12 noon
• Where: Tranquil Turtle Beach Bar, Green Turtle Cay

Don’t Have a Boat? Charter with Cruise Abaco!

Moments from previous rendezvous, register here.

Lauren Zerweck

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1 thought on “2022 All-Catamaran Rendezvous Event”

I have not included our two crew members. If they are included let me know. I may add one or two people and will know soon and let you know.

We intend to depart on the 16th or early in the AM on the 17th.

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Worrell 1000 Race - Coming again in 2026

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"The Spark that Lit The Flame"

~Join us again in 2026~

The 2024 event came to an amazing close May 24th, 2024 in VA Beach, with all the remaining 11 teams finishing within minutes of each other! Please see our Facebook Page for recorded videos of not only ALL of the finishes for each leg, but the Awards Banquet (in its entirety!) held Saturday, May 25th, 2024.

We already miss everyone involved, including our online community!!!!!! But don't fret - we've already begun planning the 2026 event.....Stay Tuned....

If it wasn't for that liquid-courage-fuelled bar bet between the Worrell brothers, the race would not be in existence. And although the first organized race wasn't until 1976, it was that fateful trip between Mike and Chris Worrell in October of 1974 that really lit a fire in Michael Worrell to make this race a world-wide sensation.

  “The Worrell 1000 Race” is an offshore long-distance beach catamaran sailboat race to be held in May 2024 in the Atlantic waters between Florida and Virginia Beach, VA. The race will cover approximately 1000 miles with overnight stops at multiple locations along the East Coast of the United States. The Organizing Authority (OA) for the 2022 Worrell 1000 Race will be “Worrell 1000 Race Reunion Race, Inc.”, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, (dba “Worrell 1000 Race”).

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St. Pete To Shine Again

• By Dave Reed
• February 14, 2024

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club and the western shore of Florida’s Tampa Bay will be the epicenter of sailboat racing this weekend when more than 240 teams across 13 one-design classes and five handicap-racing fleets get races started for the first event of the national Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in St. Petersburg . Now well into its third decade, the regatta will also mark 10 years with its title sponsor.

The Sunshine City’s motto is that St. Pete is “Always in Season,” and that is certainly the enticement for many teams traveling in from colder climes with the promise of warm breezes, stiff competition and a nightlife that’s never been more vibrant.

One such northerner is David Mierzwa, of Lake Placid, New York, who on Tuesday was behind the wheel and racing to get south of a big storm burying the mid-Atlantic and Northeast in snow and ice. Behind him was bitter cold, but ahead of him was warmth and the anticipation of his first Melges 24 Midwinter Championship at the regatta.

As a newbie to the demanding Melges 24, Mierzwa says his primary goal is to “stay out of everybody’s way,” but ultimately, he and his teammates are on a mission to learn the nuances of this high-performance keelboat from his peers.

“We’re going so we can hunt for tips, tricks and whatever makes us better,” Mierzwa says. “It’s about having the opportunity to do an event of this caliber with likeminded people, because while sailing is the goal, being surrounded by others that do the same sport is sometimes better than the sport itself.”

As the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta in St. Petersburg will be his team’s first major event, he recognizes they don’t have a high enough racing pedigree to vie for the Midwinter Championship title—yet. “The only way we can get to that point is to go out there and race,” he says.

And race they will, from early Friday morning through late Sunday, alongside several other one-design classes that are the regulars of this February classic, including the S2 7.9s and the Hobie 33s , both of which will also be vying for their midwinter championship titles. 

The S2s have the returning champions of Tom and Mary Bryant’s “Team Matros” from Holland, Michigan, which won seven of eight races in 2023 to earn their berth at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Caribbean Championship last October. At each of the series’ five events one team is selected to compete in the British Virgin Islands for the overall season title.

The Hobie 33s also have their champions returning to defend— Craig and Deborah Wilusz’s “Hoof Hearted”—but this year there’s a new and unknown challenger from Waxhaw, North Carolina, and it’s a boat with a nefarious name: “Bad Bunny.” Its new owner, Sean Rhone, says he’s looking forward to meeting and racing with other Hobie 33 owners for the first time and “taking a peek under their hoods.”

Rhone has been primarily racing his Hobie 33 in singlehanded events and low-key races on North Carolina’s Lake Norman, and like Mierzwa, he’s not sure how well he’ll fare, especially with a five-person team that’s been assembled by way of social media message boards, and whom he’s never met.

“It’s cold in Charlotte,” Rhone says, “and I’m getting tired of the cold weather, so when I saw that the fleet was having its midwinters in St. Petersburg, I thought it would be nice to go and race against some other Hobie 33s for once.”

Mierzwa and Rhone may pass each other on an interstate somewhere on the way to St. Pete, along with a sizable Canadian contingent of Contender dinghy sailors making their annual pilgrimage from across the northern border. The 16-foot Contender, which its loyalists claim to be “The Sexiest Singlehander in the World ” was introduced in 1969 and continues to be popular internationally, as well as in Tampa thanks to local sailmaker Ethan Bixby. Bixby, a champion of many classes, continues to rally the troops to the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta and the fleet has doubled for this year’s gathering. Bixby, who won all races last year, will of course be among the 11 trapezing sailors.

Sharing the same racecourse will be eight teams racing the doublehanded Windmill class, which is new to the regatta lineup, but another cult classic sparked in the 1950s. Class measurer Pat Huntley, of Erie, Pennsylvania, is now a decade into Windmill racing, and says he’s eager to enjoy some fast sailing in St. Pete and good times with his fellow Windmillers. “It’s such a fun and cool group,” Huntley says. “And the Windmill is such a bad-ass skinny and fast boat. It can handle the chop easily and is really fast.” 

Five teams racing in the 20-foot Flying Dutchman class (first built in 1951) will hail from California to Tennessee and hosted by local FD ace, Lin Robson, the 2023 class winner. The doublehanded bonanza, however, will be the Melges 15 class, which will feature an impressive 31 teams, nearly double from 2023. The new one-design class has exploded in popularity across the country since its introduction three years ago, and midwinter regattas elsewhere in Florida have maxed out at nearly 100 boats.

Among the Melges 15 ranks in St. Petersburg will be New York’s Iris Vogel, who has traditionally raced the regatta with her larger one-design keelboats over the years (a Soverel 33 and a J/88, both named “Deviation”). Vogel is now enjoying the challenge of big-fleet racing and exhilarating downwind sailing.

Racing with her partner, Tim Longo, Vogel helms and Longo handles the front of the boat, and over the past year they’ve been working their way up the scoreboard, but have a long way to go to the top. “This is a totally new thing to sail in such a big fleet,” Vogel says. “J/88 events typically get a dozen boats at best, and the racing is much slower paced. The tactics are completely different and boats are fast downwind so it’s a ton of fun, but we are still learning a different style of racing. Having the smaller fleet [at the Helly Hansen Regatta] will give us a chance to work on our boatspeed.”

While the out-of-town armada is significant, local sailors look forward to the regatta every year, especially Tampa Bay’s PHRF sailors who’ve made the event a key fixture in their Suncoast Boat of the Year Series. For these fleets, which now comprise the regatta’s largest group with 38 entries across four divisions (Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker, Racer-Cruiser and Cruising) organizers have added two days of long-course racing over the weekend. Depending on the wind strength and direction of the day, the race committee will plot a daylong course to test each team’s navigational and sailing skills, as well as their perseverance and desire to be first to the dock and first to the yacht club bar.

Local sailor Tim Landt, who has been an active sailor on the Tampa Bay waterfront for decades, is a registered competitor in the Cruising division in his new-to-him Nightwind 35, “Charisma.” He’s excited to see the regatta’s blossoming distance-race fleet and says the local growth and interest in racing older-generation yachts is good for the sport and for the Tampa Bay racing scene.

But it’s not all classic plastics in the distance fleet. In the Racer-Cruiser division will be the sparkling new Neo 43, owned by Ken Mungan of nearby Isles Yacht Club in Punta Gorda, Florida. Mungan purchased his sleek Italian-built 43-footer in 2022 with big plans to take on a few of the sport’s marque distance races, and local events like the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta offer he and his team an opportunity to learn the boat in a racing environment.

“When I turned 40 I needed a hobby and took up sailing,” Munger says. “I’m always trying new things and got into racing 2019. I did the Melges 24 for a while, but the Neo, because it’s a shallow-draft boat, allows me to do more local long-distance racing and we’re learning a lot.”

For this weekend’s regatta, Munger has more crew lined up than there are roles on the boat, but that’s fine with him. “We’re going to be overloaded, and I am anticipating a level of skill and organization that we don’t quite have yet,” he admits. “We’ll have two coaches and a new set of racing jibs that will be used for the first time, so it will be fun, and I’m looking forward to it.”

While the long-course racers are making their way around the bay, closer to shore, will be the multihulls: the high-tech A Class Catamarans , which have two divisions (Classic and Foiling) totaling 33 competitors, and the Weta Trimarans , with a smaller contingent from years past, return with nine boats, and among them is two-time defending champion and local Pete Merrifield looking for a three-peat.

         The iconic Lightning Class is one of the regatta’s largest one-design fleets, with 25 boats, five of which will be raced by members of the Starck family with a few world champions among them. Hall of Famer, Augie Diaz, of Miami, and Ched Proctor, of Southport, Connecticut, both world champions as well, always add to the high level of racing and camaradarie Lightning sailors enjoy all winter. The Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta in St. Petersburg is a key warm-up event for the Lightning class’s hotly-contested two-regatta Southern Circuit with March events in St. Pete and Miami.

Sharing one racing circle immediately off the city front will be the 29-boat J/70 fleet and a reemergent J/24 fleet, both of which will no doubt provide quality racing for both professional and amateur sailors. The same will be true for the ever-competitive ORC fleet, with 11 entries, which will be racing further south. Bill and Jackie Baxter’s J/111 “Fireball,” from Stamford, Connecticut, which has won all of its events this winter will return to defend its 2023 ORC title, which it earned with ease, winning seven of eight races.

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Rossinavi to premiere 43m Seawolf X at Monaco Yacht Show 2024

Related articles, superyacht directory.

Rossinavi has announced that it will be premiering its "most innovative project" to date, Seawolf X , at this year's Monaco Yacht Show . The 42.8-metre hybrid-electric catamaran was delivered in August 2024 and is now cruising the Saronic Islands in Greece, according to BOATPro .

Exterior design is by Fulvio De Simoni Yacht Design , marking the first project presented by the pair since the 49.1-metre Aurora in 2017. It also marks Rossinavi's first multihull project.

A key characteristic of the model is her three "performance scenarios". On one-day trips, Seawolf X can cruise in full-electric mode for 100 per cent of the time; on multi-day trips, she can cruise for 90 per cent; and on transatlantic trips, she can still cruise in electric mode for 80 per cent of the time. When the catamaran is moored, a "hibernation mode" activates for reduced consumption – with the energy generated able to be given back to the quay or to a private property. She can recharge at the shore in five hours and supplies enough energy to charge up an entire villa.

Rossinavi has also developed an onboard artificial intelligence system, called Rossinavi AI, to analyse the operation of the vessel, predict the needs of guests and communicate with the crew on "lower-impact behaviours" and "conscious cruising". The AI can also monitor the battery pack to keep it in a range of 20 to 80 per cent.

Her exterior is low-profiled and reminiscent of a sports car, with Fulvio De Simoni Yacht Design seeking "to liberate their minds from preconceptions" around catamaran design. The team also integrated solar panels into Seawolf X and addressed hull efficiency by developing "lightweight solutions", including an anchor installation that meets weight standards while enhancing aesthetics.

New York-based design firm Meyer Davis have created an interior that "complements the cutting-edge yacht to bring relaxed luxury and sustainable design to its forefront," the shipyard said. The decor takes inspiration from nature, in particular the sun, the sea and sand.

Leisure highlights include a convivial cockpit centred around a pool, an expansive sundeck with sunbathing and living spaces, and a bow area that features a hidden pool and convertible home theatre. Accommodation is for up to 10 guests in four cabins located in the hulls.

"After years of study and construction, it is now a source of satisfaction and pride for us to witness the launch of project Sea Cat, now Seawolf X , the first hybrid-electric multihull vessel," said Federico Rossi, COO of Rossinavi at the time. "This yacht showcases remarkable technological innovations in both power management and propulsion technologies, marking the beginning of a new chapter in next-generation vessels." 

Seawolf X also carries the BlUE label, the shipyard' "sustainable" design philosophy established in 2022. Inspired by phytoplankton, the BlUE fleet absorbs sunlight during the day and utilises photovoltaic technology to convert it into energy. This energy is stored in advanced batteries and released at night, creating a bioluminescent effect "akin to glowing plankton".

Seawolf X is available for charter with Cecil Wright from €380,000 per week.

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