Sarasota Bay Multihull Regatta - 2019

Pitchpole and Recovery

2019 Sarasota Multihull Regatta 
THIRD TRI 2 – pitchpole and recovery

While racing in the Sarasota Bay Multihull Regatta this Saturday, we had a pitchpole aboard Third Tri 2 – our Sprint 750 MK2. All crew are OK, and the boat is in great shape, but we wanted to share some details.

We were racing downwind under main, jib and spin at the time in about 13 knots of wind. The main and spin sheets were in our hands, and we were not sailing hot. A gust hit and we simply went over stern over bow. WE blow both the main and spin, but never had a chance to save her. The water was shallow, so she stopped when the mast hit the bottom. The crew got launched onto the sail, and I held on in the cockpit for them to clear and then jumped down.

We had PFD’s and there was a safety boat that picked us up right away. Fortunately, the water was WARM and it was a nice Florida day. The spin was still flying in the breeze and the boat dragged downwind for a while before coming to rest near the leeward gate.

We were very concerned about getting under the boat as we thought it might fall, so we called Boat US who said that they would get back to us after calculating their fee, as this was not covered! While waiting for them to get back to us, we came up with a plan. We opened the hatches on the port float so it would flood (btw, the covers don’t float). We then stretched a line between two boats upwind of Third Tri, and as we drifted down, we snagged the stbd float at both the bow and stern. We then took both ends of the lines to the stern of a power boat, and started to pull slowly. Sure enough, the port float dug in, the mast started to come up and after lots of cheering, praying and screaming, the boat popped up!

We quickly got aboard, got the sails down and pumped out the float while we were towed back. We were swarmed with help from other crews, and within an hour had her cleaned up, had the engine running and we were at the bar having a beer!

The only damage was some rips in the spin, the Windex and a lost winch handle. We were out racing the next day!

THANK YOU to everyone who helped us – the community sailing these boats and the people at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron are just awesome.

The key lessons:

1. Wear PFD’s - stuff happens fast.
2. Keep car keys and phones where you can’t lose them (we got really luck with this)
3. Do not get under an unstable boat.
4. Take time to think before starting to recover.

Larry
Brian 
Joe

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Send us the best story you have from an event in the past 2 years
that provided a learning experience that other multihull owners will value for sailing safely.

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The 30 Year Timeline of Corsair Marine

1984
Corsair Marine was established through a partnership between John Walton (son of Sam Walton, Founder of  Walmart) who offered to finance the production of the uniquely designed F boat and Ian Farrier, the designer who patented and built the original prototype in Australia back in 1974. With the production facility located in San Diego, California together they produced and marketed the world's first trailerable and very fast, trimarans. This initial partnership thus set the stage for a boat, then little known, to take the monohull and multihull world by storm!

Since 1984
Corsair Marine International is a lightweight composite sailboat builder that specializes in building trailerable trimarans. Originally located in San Diego, California, (Chula Vista) the company was founded in 1984 by John Walton (son of Sam Walton, founder of the retail giant, Walmart) to build and market the Corsair F-27 trailerable trimaran designed by Ian Farrier. Almost immediately, this new design was a huge success. The sailing public loved the versatility of this new trimaran with its patented folding mechanism allowing the Corsairs to be easily folded to a width that enabled it to be trailered behind a family car or fit a regular marina berth. Once extended to its full width for sailing, this new design proved itself as an awesome performance sailboat. Over the next decade, new designs were added and the company expanded to offer a full range of folding trimarans from 24ft through to 37ft. The popularity of these amazing designs continued to grow – both in the United States and beyond with Dealers appointed worldwide. In 2006, the company relocated its headquarters and production facilities from San Diego, California to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. Chosen for its central location, political stability, a booming economy and a large pool of talented labor, a number of key staff relocated to Vietnam from California to facilitate the migration of the business and the setting up and running of the factory.

Seawind Catamaran Holdings Pty. Ltd acquires Corsair Marine International

In October 2010, the company was purchased by Seawind Catamarans, Australia’s most prolific and successful designer and builder of performance cruising sail catamarans.  Seawind is a world leader in performance cruising sailing cats and exports its designs all over the globe. With over 30 years of experience manufacturing and designing multihulls, the company has grown from strength to strength since its inception in 1982 when owner and Managing Director, Richard Ward started building ‘off the beach’ catamarans.   As an experienced yachtsman and ocean racer, Richard built Seawind Catamarans up from grassroots but always with a philosophy of building safe, strong and great performing sailing boats ideal for bay or serious “blue water” sailing. When Corsair Marine was acquired in 2010 the new owner commented,  “This is a marriage made in heaven. Both companies have products and manufacturing processes that strongly complement each other; For Corsair and Seawind this signals new growth opportunities in the manufacturing and sales distribution areas and our loyal Seawind customers will benefit in technology transfers as well as cost benefits of a larger overall manufacturing base and the integration of some common componentry while our Corsair customers will gain benefits from strong management and greater financial strength.  It’s an incredibly good fit for both companies allowing us to expand and remain competitive in a global market. Both brand products benefit from each other’s special expertise with a significant transfer of ideas, systems, and personnel.”Throughout the history of Corsair Marine, our dedicated team of dealers continues to represent and service Corsair Marine’s trimarans in 6 regions of the USA and 20 further locations around the world including Europe, Australia, and the Asia-Pacific region. Throughout North America where large fleets are found in most States, ask a Corsair dealer to show you first hand why the Corsairs are the most versatile trailerable trimarans existing today.

The company has impressively sold more than 2,000 trimarans through its global dealership network and continues to be innovative with new designs and construction methods. All Corsair trimarans are manufactured by hand using high tech composite construction and vacuum resin techniques in which it is a world leader. The Corsair Group continues its policy of constant improvement to increase its high standards of quality and design for which the Corsair Marine trimarans have always been associated.

The combined entities of Corsair Marine International and Seawind Catamarans employ more than 220 incredibly skilled and dedicated staff with both brands manufactured in the continuously expanding factory headquarters of Southern Vietnam.

Learn about 180 Marine >>

Corsair 31 Circled the North Pole

In the summer of 2010 Skipper, Boerge Ousland chose to sail a relatively modest yacht, a Corsair 31 trimaran to explore the North Pole, a feat made possible by global warming and the melting of the Arctic ice cap. The lightness and the maneuverability of this multihull craft enabled the sailors to thread their way between the icebergs, to sail where other heavier and more keeled yachts (Corsair 31 has a draught of only 40 cm) couldn't go, and to draw the boat on to the ground when the need arose.

The trimaran was delivered to Ousland in August 2009. Since then, the Norwegian explorer made endless tests in the Arctic water close or not so close to his home in preparation for the voyage.

This article was first published on October 15, 2010 by Sail-World Cruising roundup. We wanted to remind people how capable and rugged the Corsair trimarans are. And they just keep getting better. This passage was remarkable!

The 'Northern Passage' left the western Norwegian port of Bergen at the end of June and was expected to arrive back there Thursday after first sailing the northern passage off Russia and then the northwestern passage off Canada.

Before 2010, the trip would have been impossible to complete so quickly due to the polar ice. Following in the wake of the Russian ship 'Peter I,' which sailed a similar route at almost the same time, the Norwegian trimaran is the second vessel to ever complete the mythical voyage in the space of a single Arctic summer.

The crew comprises two permanent Norwegian members, explorer Boerge Ousland and navigator Thorleif Thorleifsson, and a rotation of one other Norwegian, two Frenchmen, one Russian and one from Dubai.

“I am at the entrance to Dease Strait, and last night I tied up to a large piece of ice using rope and an ice axe. I managed to get a good five hours of sleep.”

— Graeme Kendall, September 1, 2010

The following was originally published on November 5, 2010, by SAIL.

Challenges like this were par for the course during Graeme Kendall’s recent transit of the Northwest Passage. On September 9, 2010, the Kiwi sailor became the first person to sail solo and nonstop through the passage, doing it in record time, even compared to crewed boats.

The Northwest Passage is usually only navigable in September, and until recently, few boats even tried completing it. Kendall first attempted the passage in 2005 but had to turn back after encountering thick pack ice. Since then the combination of improved satellite technology and warmer temperatures has made the journey more plausible. Just this summer, a Russian team circumnavigated the North Pole in the 60-foot monohull Peter I, as did two Norwegians on the Corsair 31UC trimaran Northern Passage. Kendall, in his 41-foot steel cutter, Astral Express, remains the only sailor to complete the passage single-handed.

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Q&A

SAIL: How does it feel to be the only sailor to complete the Northwest Passage solo, nonstop and in record timing?

GK: After not being able to complete it in 2005, I feel elated and relieved, especially after returning unscathed.

Read more Q&A 

Corsair Marine Teamwork

Alone you go faster, together you go further

Francois Perus and Romain Scolari both naval architects, make an incredible team bringing their modern, and innovative thinking to Corsair Marine and Seawind Catamaran multihull design.

Working together gives them the opportunity to cover any aspect of the design process. Their diverse experiences nourish their different skillsets and technical backgrounds complete each other.

They are  yachtdesigncollective.com tell them about your project and they will build the perfect team to realize your project. Made to measure.

• Sailing and powerboats with particular expertise in multihull design.

• Floating architecture and riverboats respecting all public access and safety rules.

• Interior and product design with crossover experiences.

• Engineering and naval technical studies.

Following trends, new materials, and new technologies they always thrive to be one step ahead.

To complete complex project aspects, they have access to a broad spectrum of experts to compliment them with their individual skill sets.

Project Examples

Corsair Pulse 600 - Award-winning 20 ft sailing trimaran.
The Pulse 600 is all about fun. It's versatile, easy to set up, foldable, fast, she’s the perfect daysailer for the family or to push around the buoys. Fleets are building up everywhere in the world, don’t miss the fun and check it out!

Learn more about the Corsair Pulse 600 >>

Corsair 760 - 2018 Multihull of the Year
The  Corsair 760 offers better performance than any other high-performance sport boat. Originating from the ever popular 24 and 750 range, this new model has received a radical redesign by our partners at  Yacht Design Collective. Perus and Scolari were involved with keeping the same main hull, they designed new beams and floats. They also changed the exterior look and totally refit the interior.
Learn more about the Corsair 760 >>

Seawind 1260 - Best Cruising Catamaran under 50ft.
Perus and Scolari were asked to update the famous Seawind 1250 and create an interior that boosts the company’s impact on the European market.

The Seawind 1260 is built by Seawinds most experienced shipwrights (many who have been with the company for over a decade), in a new production facility located in Vietnam - using resin infusion technology, for superior structural quality and strength - all standard on a Seawind but necessary if you are going to cruise around the world.
Learn more about the Seawind 1260 - 41' >>

180 Marine serves performance-minded sailors every week.

As a Corsair Trimaran authorized dealership. We're most active in the Western United States, Mexico, and Canada. 180 Marine strives to make sailboat ownership more exciting and enjoyable, as we expand our vital community of sailors who love adventure and sailboat racing.

For more information about the Corsair Pulse 600, Corsair 760 or the Seawind 1260, contact Richard Allen, richard@180marine.com or call 303.669.6210
As a Corsair trimaran dealer Richard has vast experience across all models.