From October 18 to 22 the Alter Cup, the US multihull championship, was held on Viper F16's.

20 of the US best teams raced each other on 10 identical Viper F16's to finally crown the best US sailor. This year John Casey/John Williams won the event.

The Alter Cup, held in Clearwater Florida was again a success. A nice but shifty breeze set the scene for great action sailing and tactics. The battle for the first and second place went on until the final race, where Mike Easton/Tripp Burd broke their mast and had to retire. Also the third and fourth spot only got decided in the final race. John Tomko/Paige Riley (first mixed team) sailed their second bullet of the event, just enough for the third place. (results)  

During the entire event, racing was close and you just couldn't afford to make a mistake. John Casey said: "The wind was so shifty and everyone got so much faster during the week. I think we tacked what, 6 times on the last upwind leg just on shifts alone."

 Again the F16 showed it's versatility during this event. With 10 (half of the group!) female sailors and a female team with a great 13th place finish, the F16 concept shows again that it can be handled by a wide variety of sailors. All of them racing at a very competitive level.

With the global challenge to come within 2 weeks the F16 has become a fixed value in the US sailing world.

Here are some more nice pictures, taken by excellent US photographer Philip Mumm.

Photo credit:

Philip Mumm
Phone 205.870.8800
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More pictures at TheBeachCats website.