Panama City Set to Host A-Cat North American Championship
Announces Grant to Promote North American Championship Regatta May 18 – 22, 2015
With an expected 50+ high performance A-class catamarans (A-Cats), Olympic and America’s Cup-caliber skippers and a packed social calendar, Panama City and St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club plan to show the world this May that their premier sailing and tourist destination is ready for prime time.
Thanks to support from a tourism grant from Panama City, the A-Cat North American Championships (A-Cat NAs), will offer surround-sound coverage for fans to follow the exciting racing action of the fastest single-handed racing catamaran in the world, and enjoy the social activities throughout the city known as the "beautiful town on the bay."
St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club is proud to announce it confirmed a top-notch media team, comprised of professional sailing photographer Walter Cooper, videographer Nicholas Bowers, and public relations pro Laura Muma, who will provide pictures, video and commentary to capture the thrills and spills of the A-Cat racing, tell the behind-the-scenes stories about the competitors, camaraderie and the incredible A-Cat technology, and introduce fans and future visitors to all that Panama City has to offer.
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"St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club is thrilled to host this prestigious regatta and we are grateful for the City's assistance in leveraging this North American championship to promote Panama City as an incredible sailing and tourist destination," - said Richard Dodd, St ABYC Commodore. "We look forward to introducing our beautiful town on the bay to top sailors from all over the United States and Canada." |
"A few of us have raced in Panama City in the past and been so impressed by the natural beauty, easy style of the area, and great hospitality of St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club," - said Bailey White, president of the United States A-Class Catamaran Association. "Last year, when we thought about where we wanted to have our North Americans in 2015, St Andrews Bay Yacht Club came to mind immediately."
Currently 46 boats are registered for the event, many of which will arrive early for a weekend Coaching Clinic, hosted by Olympic silver medalist Randy Smyth on May 16-17. A practice race is scheduled for May 18, and up to three races a day are planned for May 19 – 22.
To follow the event Website: www.acatnorthamericans.com (daily recaps, images and videos)
About the A-Class Catamaran
The A-Cat is the fastest single-handed small catamaran in the world and enjoys unparalleled camaraderie in this open development class. Sailors range from 17 years old to over 70.
The A-Cat is a highly responsive lightweight boat (165 pounds), and the powerful rig means that even the heaviest sailors are on the trapeze upwind in six knots of breeze and flying a hull downwind (wild thing). The top sailors have now mastered the art of trapezing downwind and foiling downwind, making the boat even faster and more exciting, for the sailor and spectators alike. The boat is very easy for an experienced sailor to sail, but very difficult to sail really fast.
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