A Class Cat Champions gather at the RYA Dinghy Show
by Gordon Upton 3 Mar 2013 06:38 GMT
Stand B3, 2-3 March 2013
‘A’ Class Cat National Champion Phil Neal, European Champion Chris Field and World Champion Misha Heemskerk at the RYA Dinghy Show © Gordon Upton
We are the champions!
A rare photo opportunity was had when 'A' class National Champion Phil Neal, European Champion Chris Field and World Champion Misha Heemskerk appeared on the British 'A' Class Catamaran stand at this year's RYA Dinghy Show.
On the stand was Chris' as yet un-sailed Vision from catamaranparts.nl. This is the first production model, following the prototype that Chris sailed successfully over the last two years to become the top European on Garda when he finished second just behind Aussie Andrew Landenberger in 2012.
The long awaited production Vision in its new two-tone paint scheme is built intentionally to 72kg allowing for owner preferences to bring the boat up to the class minimum of 75kg. Its partial non-slip paintwork on the decks also alleviates the need for additional tape being applied for that extra grip. In many instances the Vision follows current A Class design trends, curved dagger boards providing lift and rudder blade winglets providing additional stability when downwind are standard options but looking deeper into the hull design the Vision has successfully bucked the trends followed by other manufacturers. Catamaranparts have intentionally adhered to the CEB bow shape as opposed to the wave-piercing trend followed by many other current manufacturers. This gives the platform a somewhat retro appearance but non-the-less does not detract from its lightning performance. The boat shown had the latest all carbon Saarberg mast and the Carbon Kevlar Maxx sail from the A-Cat specialist Hammer Sails.
With more than 6 new 'A' class designs appearing within 12 months, this most elegant of cat classes continues to attract the top talent both in terms of cutting edge designers and many of the world's top sailors.
In the UK, the class, organized by the BACCA, is seeing healthy growth amongst sailors who want something a little special and offers close, high-speed competition. With good older, yet competitive club level boats available from about £4000 on the used market, sailors can experience some of the exciting and silent speed of these single-handed greyhounds.