2015 Maersk Line Paper Tiger Catamaran International Championships

by Rowdy Leatham on 31 Mar 2015 Now that the Cricket World Cup is over the focus can turn to the most important trans-Tasman battle of the year.

Over Easter, the Kurnell Catamaran Club on the southern shores of Sydney’s Botany Bay is hosting the 2015 Maersk Line Paper Tiger Catamaran International Championships.

The International Championships are the pinnacle event of the Paper Tiger Class and this year is looking like one of the tightest regattas since the event was first held in 1975.

46 Paper Tigers will line up for nine races over four days to determine the Champion Team and also the new International Champion.

The Australian Kangaroo Team (10 boats) will contest the International Teams Championship against the New Zealand Kiwi Team; these teams were selected at the relative national championship regattas earlier in the year. An additional 16 Australian boats (Team Wombat) and 10 additional New Zealand boats (Team Tui) will complete the fleet.

The Kiwi team is, arguably, the strongest NZ team ever assembled in Australia in an attempt to win the Teams Trophy for the first time ever on foreign waters.

Leading the charge is Mark Orams, and for those who don't know, Marko is a 4 x Laser radial Masters World Champion, raced around the world with Sir Peter Blake in Steinlager 2 in the 1989/90 Whitbread and has been involved with past Team NZ Americas Cup campaigns.

The current International champ, Dave Shaw will be defending his title who since finishing 2nd at the PT Nationals went on to win both the NZ Tornado and A Class Nationals!

However, the Kiwi strength doesn’t end there, with the team also including 6-time National Champion Bob Preston, 2-time International Junior Champion Dylan Taylor and a number of consistent top 10 performers.

The Aussie team is also very strong consisting of the current and 8 times National Champion Bryan Anderson, 4 past National Champions and 5 past International Champions including Peter Anderson and Ben Deed who have 4 International titles each to their names!

It's shaping up to be a great contest and great fun!

Regular updates will feature on the New Zealand Paper Tiger Owners Association facebook page. Or full details of the regatta, including entry lists and results (when they become available) can be found on the regatta website at http://internationals2015.papertigercatamaran.org/

The full International Championship Teams are:
Australian Kangaroo Team
Ben Deed
Bryan Anderson
Sean Keady
Alex Craig
Bruce Rose
Peter Anderson
Greg Williams
Rob Cracknell
Mark Wiggins
Luke Stout

New Zealand Kiwi Team
Dylan Taylor (New Plymouth)
Gareth Moore (Auckland)
Stuart Taylor (New Plymouth)
Hayden Percy (Napier)
Dave Shaw (Nelson)
Stuart Morrish (Napier)
Mike Hood (Wellington)
Bob Preston (Nelson)
Scott Pedersen (Napier)
Mark Orams (Auckland)

The Paper Tiger is a catamaran designed by Ron Given of New Zealand in 1968. It is widely sailed in New Zealand and Australia.
Paper Tiger Overall Dimensions
Length: 14 ft (4.3m)
Width: 7ft (2.2m)
Minimum Weight: 110 lbs (50kg)
Sail Area: 100 sq ft (9.2 m2)