ST. THOMAS, USVI (March 26, 2004)-- Rain squalls seemingly disrupted paradise today as hundreds of sailors on 91 boats started their three-day competition at the International Rolex Regatta 2004. In actuality, however, the dramatic changes in weather merely tested the preparedness of participants and race committee members, and both groups were pleased with results at the end of the day. Hosted by the St. Thomas Yacht Club in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the International Rolex Regatta is celebrating its 31st consecutive year and is one of the islands' oldest and most popular regattas, attracting sailors from the Caribbean, the United States and Europe.

Clearly the boat to beat in the Beach Cat class, Enrique Figueroa's MoviStar/Suzuki/Red Bull blasted to the lead in today's first race and finished second in race two despite capsizing--an unusual mishap to have befallen this 2004 Puerto Rican Olympic Sailing Team member. "You had to make a decision whether to follow the rain. That was where the wind was, but I paid the price when I flipped."

International Rolex Regatta Promises Keen Competition,31st Annual Event to Start Today

ST. THOMAS, US Virgin Islands (March 26, 2004)-- Personalities at the 31st annual International Rolex Regatta in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, are proving to be as colorful as rainbow spinnakers against an azure blue sky. With racing at the three-day event starting today, March 26, and continuing through the weekend, hundreds of sailors registered on 91 sailboats have prepared for the regatta's traditional mix of tough competition, warm Caribbean breezes and blue-water courses. Crew rosters are sprinkled with high-profile names from the America's Cup and Olympic arenas, as well as those famous in these Caribbean parts for their own notable accomplishments.

Headlining in the Beach Cat division is Puerto Rico's designated 2004 Olympic Tornado team and defending champions Enrique Figueroa and Jorge Hernandez. The duo, known as Team Movistar/Suzuki/Red Bull, decided to sail a Hobie Tiger, an 18 footer that is popular in Europe and which Figueroa, the Hobie dealer in Puerto Rico, is trying to promote in the islands. "It is very much faster than a regular Hobie 18 and more like our Olympic Tornado." Figueroa explained that a Portsmouth Handicap system will keep them honest, however, when it comes to matching up with the other catamarans in their class.

Catapalooza will start this year. The brain child of John Schwartz, Chris Scherba, Buzz Waterstreet, and Gary Friesen, it is a traveling event to appear at various catamaran sailing spots in Southern California.

The idea behind Catapalooza is to declare a date, well in advance, for a day of old fashioned beachcat sailing fun at a popular location and to have as many people show up as possible. This is an attempt to nurture the sport of beach catamaran sailing, allowing it to grow back to the popularity it once had.

We have a group of sailors who sail round trip, camping weekends to Catalina Island. Although there are many curious sailors who dream of attending, the reality is that many of them never get enough chances to sail and practice with some of the veteran So. CA catsailors. The less experienced ocean sailors need more and better chances to rig and sail together with the more tenured catsailors. By announcing a date and a place, well ahead of time, we should be able to encourage more people to take that catamaran out and actually sail it.

If you have ever browsed the catamaran pictures section of this site you know that I enjoy collecting pictures and information about obscure out of production beach catamarans. Today we will hear the story of a very unusual line of catamarans. How unusual? Well, you might think that all catamarans are constructed out of fiberglass in California, the Sizzler cats were made out of Aluminum in Cleveland, Ohio!

This information on the Sizzler Catamaran came to me after a member of this site enquired whether I had any information on Sizzler Catamarans, I didn't, but I knew who to ask. First I posted a message to the Beachcats Yahoogroup to find out if anyone knew this particular catamaran sailboat. Before long, a member had found a Sizzler 16, snapped some pictures, and uploaded them to the Beachcats Identification folder. Sizzler Catamaran Pictures.

Then, Mary Wells, the editor of Catamaran Sailor Magazine provided a wealth of detail about the boats construction and development. Mary actually worked for the company that manufactured the boat. Thank you very much Mary. If anyone has additional information about the Sizzler, or any of the former catamaran lines, please use the contact form.

The reintroduction of the Hobie 17.

I have sailed the Hobie 17 for 16 years and this is great news for the best solo catamaran that I have ever sailed. There is an opportunity for the makers and owners to make some non-performance modifications to make a great boat even better . Lets begin with things on the boat that have failed on me and the possible remedies.

Cross Beam inner gunnel securing bolt bearing plate .
Fault - It's small size and relative fore and aft alignment of the bolt hole and pop rivet securing holes causes the cross beam to crack around its underside at this point. Remedy - Make this plate " U " shaped , wider and longer to separate this hole alignment and give the bolt more support .