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For the first time ever in the US, Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach will host the Formula 18 World Championships, which will begin Tuesday September 11th, and run through September 15th. Fifeteen countries are represented, and over 120 boats are registered to race. Several World Champions, National Champions, Olympic Medalists, and an America’s Cup skipper (Darren Bundock) for Oracle Team USA are scheduled to attend. Check out the live tracker. And once there are races recorded, replays can be found here.
The Formula 18 is a strict one-design class catamaran, meaning that it must adhere to certain design constraints. The hulls are 18 feet long, and boat weight, crew weight, sail size, and hull size, as well as materials and appendages are strictly regulated. Each boat must be weighed and measured by class certified measurers before being allowed to to compete. The highly maneuverable F18s can reach speeds approaching 30 knots, which makes for exciting racing. Because of its Formula designation, the class is open to multiple manufactures, as long as their boat fits into the Formula rule.
Darren Bundock
Today's practice racing was held in wind less than 5 knots along the course, after blowing in the upper teens for almost 2 weeks straight. Hopefully, we'll get some breeze tomorrow!
A whole lotta love! We'll be posting updates every day to the GLOBALTECH F18 Worlds FB Page.
James' report from the Spinnaker Cup reminded us that we've got the very first Sail Rev giveaway currently underway and the reports are flowing in! The way that it works is:
1) Submit your first hand, current regatta report, and friend Sail Revolution on FB.
2) Vote for your favorite report, by clicking on the rating stars on the upper right of the report.
3) The report with the most stars, and liked by us the most, gets a brand new Velocitek Prostart.
4) The deadline for entry is June 15, 2012 (extended from June 1). Void where prohibited.