Struble/Kletke Team win US Sailing's U.S.Multihull Championship.

by Penny Piva Rego on 2 May 2001 The Multihull team of Matt Struble/ Mike Kletke (Bay City, MI/Portage, MI) closely beat out nineteen other teams of the best catamaran sailors in the country during US SAILING’s U.S. Multihull Championship for the Alter Cup at the Pensacola Yacht Club, April 22-26.

Known unofficially as the championship of multihull champions, this year’s
event attracted the deepest talent in the event's history; over
three-quarters of this year's competitors had at least one National
Championship title.

The event was sailed in Inter 20s, called “water-borne
rockets” by one event race official. Rolex sponsored the event, as it does
all of US SAILING's Adult Championships.

Struble/Kletke finished with 32 points, as did second place finishers Nigel
Pitt/ Alex Shafer (Hartwell, GA/Eustis, FL). Third place was taken by
Brandon Wallace/ James Gumpel (San Diego, CA) with 32.5 points.

Light to moderate winds and shifty conditions marked Monday, 23 April, the
Alter Cup’s first day. Regatta PRO Vince Cooke had ambitiously scheduled 8
races and his RC successfully started and completed 7 of these without a
single protest. This put the committee ahead of the scheduled requirement of
16 races in the first three days.

The second day of racing got started-or not started-under a postpone
pennant, due to a lack of sufficient breeze at 10:00. But once the breeze
kicked in, “the second day of the Alter Cup was everything the event was
billed to be,” according to Roger Jenkins in his daily report. “Top
competition in really great winds.” The Alter Cup includes the ten Area
champions plus 10 teams invited from across the US spectrum of various
catamaran champions to compete for this overall championship. Wind shifts
still plagued the course, as they had during day one racing, although not as
dramatically. “The winds were much more consistent and built up during the
day to about 12 knots or so in the last race of the day. It was excellent
conditions for the championship being held on Inter 20 Catamarans,” reported
Jenkins.

Strong wind, shifting with each puff, started day three, the last three
races of the 16-race elimination round. “There would be waves of winds and
holes. So the racing went on in very trying conditions,” according to
Jenkins. “This threw off some of the sailors and there were some
spectacular thrills and spills.” Former Inter 20 National Champion, Matt
Struble took his third bullet thus far in the series in the first race. “He
talked about what a ball he was having, claiming this was the fastest he had
ever gone downwind.” Florida's two-time silver medallist Randy Smyth stayed
just ahead of Struble and matched his three first place finishes. In third
place after three days, Californian Brandon Wallace took a first to stay in
the hunt. Wallace spoke about finding channels of wind and getting hooked up
in them. The current Inter 20 National Champs, Pitt/Shafer were tied with
East Coast skipper Mike Ingham.

Alter Cup Finalists faced a bright, sunny Florida day with winds even
stronger than the sailors had been working with all week. Thirty-degree
shifts with velocity changes of from 5 to 18 knots were common place, and
the tricky conditions made the competition tighter and tighter. Going into
the final race, the championship was still between four teams. The positions
in the last race changed over and over as the fleet of Inter 20 Catamaran
Sailboats fought current and changing winds. Hopes and dreams were built up
and dashed over and over as there were dramatic changes at every mark.
Struble/Kletke would finally snatch the title, but not before breaking a tie
for the championship with Pitt/Shafer. Both teams have been Inter 20
National Champions and their expertise was needed as a guide through varying
winds. The top five teams were all within three points of one another and
the sailors hit the beach worn out more mentally than physically, according
to Jenkins.

Jamie Diamond is the new Alter Cup Chairman, replacing Steve Leo, and Chip
MacMillan served as Regatta Chair. The Race Committee was composed of
members of Pensacola Yacht Club, and Navy Yacht Club, Pensacola.

The Multihull Council conceived the Multihull Championship in the spring of
1985 as a service to the Multihull racing members. It is intended to
determine a U.S. national Multihull champion and is sailed annually in
various types of Multihull at various venues. Originally based on open Area
eliminations, the committee decided to reinvigorate the championship by
allocating spots to the major Multihull classes in addition to the Area
entries. The Alter Cup, presented in 1986 as a perpetual trophy, honors
Hobie Alter, Sr. for his extraordinary promotion of one-design Multihull
sailing and racing programs. Randy Smyth has won four times, while Carlton
Tucker was a three-time winner.

Participants in the US SAILING U.S. Multihull Championship are chosen in
qualifiers in each of the ten US SAILING Areas. Current National Champions
in the top catamaran classes and several spots used for petition round out
the competition.

Full results of the Alter Cup can be found at
http://www.ussailing.org/Alter/news01.htm. Pictures are available on the web
at http://www.ussailing.org/Alter/pics01.htm. Race Committee notes are also
available at http://www.ussailing.org/Alter/rc%20notes.htm.

For more information about this or other US SAILING national championship
events, contact Linda Christofersen at (401) 683-0800. The series’ schedule,
Notice of Race, Entry Form and contact information can be found by calling
the toll-free InfoFax line at 888-US SAIL-6 or on the US SAILING website at
www.ussailing.com/championships.

The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing
body for the sport of sailing. The mission of this volunteer organization is
to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing and racing in
the United States. More information about US SAILING, which is headquartered
in Portsmouth, RI, is available at www.ussailing.org.