I have just purchased Emma Hamilton the ex Little Americas Cup C-Class cat and was wondering are there any other C-Class cats still being sailed in the UK?

graham at the club has got one

 Sorry that was at   http://www.cs-sc.org.uk - www.cs-sc.org.uk

Emma Hamilton is at Calshot Cats http://www.calshotcats.co.uk/ - http://www.calshotcats.co.uk/

another of our club members has Ocelot the 1969 challenger which is undergoing restoration ( hurry up and finish her graham would be nice to have somebody to race )

Emma is a Hellcat derivitive known as a 3S although she would now, prob be unregognisable to the original crew as she has been constantly updated and modified through out her life she now sports a 50ft rig and carries over 1300sqft of sail originally she had 300sqft

The book catamaran sailing to win by Chris Wilson & Max Press has a lot of info on the early C-Class battles and they state that the first Hellcat was owned by one of your club members Ian Norris who sailed her in the second challenge with  Nickie Pope

The boat that John Fisk and Rod McAlpine/Downie took to New York for the first challenge was Hellcat 11 it is believed that they left the boat in the States hence Hellcat 1 being pressed into service for the return match back in the UK

below is a pic of hellcat 1

Try and find "Catamaran Racing" by Reg White and Bob Fisher for all the info on the 1960's C class racing.

And dead of night go and steal Lady Helmsman back out from Falmouth Maritime museum!

Thanks for the info, I will obtain the books. Ian Norris rings a bell. I joined Chapman Sands back in the mid 70s but don’t recall him, he must have left the club by then, I have work, live and play with catamarans in Germany for the last 15 years, but when I make my next visit to my club I will turn over a few rocks for more info.

I’m Promoting and Demonstrating the Topcat Catamaran at CSSC over the weekend of 17^th, 18th June, and free from there until 23^rd     when its possible that you guys are about in this time I like to drive down to Calshotcat sailing club for some 1^st hand info or maybe its better on my next visit Sunday 17^th July, when Ocelot is finished to see them in action.

When I had time Rupert, I would go to the Maritime Museum for a trip down memory lane, there must be some good old story’s to be told, that is the problem with today’s people, there life style and attitude  theses times should not be forgoton                     

E-mail me mailto:mr.p@lineone.net - mr.p@lineone.net nearer the time and if I am available we can sort out out a date to give you a ride out on Emma if you would like.

By the way the info on Ocelot on your club website is wrong, Ocelot was the UK boat not the Danish boat she was hastily prepared using Lady Helmsman's Wing rig after it became apparent that Lady Helmsman was structurally shot! 3 years of defending the cup had taken there toll

Ocelot was not a great success the hulls being from an older unsuccessful Reg White C-Class from a few years earlier, the hulls lacked rocker and she was extremely slow to tack. Ocelot lost the cup to the Danish boat Opus

Originally posted by johnb One of the original Hellcats from 1961/62 still in perfect condition, pictured taken with Reg White at the helm in Aug 2005.  Boat kept at Cushendall Co. Antrim N.I. Great boat to sail.

Peter Emmerson, who used to sail Tornado's in the UK, met up with Reg after the Spitfire Europeans in Cork in 2005, and travelled North to meet up with John McLaughlin and sail the Hellcat. Below is part of an article I wrote for Afloat Magazine in 2004.

In 1962, two years before the formation of the Irish Catamaran Association (As the IMA was known up to 1984), the McLaughlin family from Cushendall went to the London Boat Show and bought a Hellcat catamaran. This magnificent 25ft by 14ft catamaran, sail no. UK 3, built by Reg White, is a sistership of the C Class catamaran which won the “Little America’s Cup” for the UK in 1961. This year, John McLaughlin came out and raced the immaculate Hellcat with the latest modern catamaran designs at the Irish Multihull Association’s Northern Championship, hosted by Cushendall Sailing and Boating Club on the 29^th & 30^th May. Amazingly, 42 years later, most of the modern catamarans racing were also built by the same Reg White, of White Formula.

ive said it before, when will we have an article on Reg White in the mag

????