AruAruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta 2008
On the second day of the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta 2008, the fleet of 41 teams had to deal with tricky sailing conditions on the Caribbean Sea. From time to time, big clouds brought rain showers and gusts. That resulted in a shifty and variable breeze, which made it an interesting competition. Dutchmen Booth and Nieuwenhuis are still in the lead by one point, with Xander Pols and Frank de Waard (NED) in second position. Last year’s winners Eduard Zanen and Mischa Heemskerk (NED) climbed to a third place. Henk-Johan Hankart and the Grijpma brothers are first overall in the fleet of slower catamarans. Today’s weather required a lot more trimming and smart racing. The winning strategy was about getting the shifts and pressure right. Sunburned legs and arms had a rest, as it was mostly clouded. The morning breeze was about 8 knots strong, but in the afternoon it picked up to 16 knots and more. During lunchtime on the Aruba beach, the competitors could share their experiences and reconsider their tactics. Or simply enjoy the Aruba hospitality. Late afternoon, they decided to have their happy hour in sea, as the rain was pouring down in a tropical shower.




may be an aft sleeping cabin as well, reached from the pilothouse. The smallest pilothouse sailboat is probably the Fisher 25, but there is also a larger model. Fishers are aptly named, as they resemble fishing boats with a tall pilothouse , and a very shallow keel – they do not sail well to windward, but can be motored or motor sailed in bad weathers.

Moody produced a pilothouse version of its 32 and 38 footers called Eclipses, and these are more like ordinary yachts than many pilothouse sailboats. They have either fin or twin bilge keels.

Another interesting range of pilothouse are the Southerlys – 110, 115 and 135 -these are 35 feet, 37 feet and 45 feet LOA with a shallow pilothouse. They are remarkable for their swing keels which provide shoal draft for exploring rivers, yet have a deep keel when sailing. The 115 has a draft of 2 feet 4 in (0.71 m) with the keel up, and 8 feet 2 in (2.48 m) with it down; the figures for the 135 are 2 feet 9 in (0.84 m)and 9 ft 9 in (2.56 m). These pilothouse are beautifully equipped but have a fairly low ballast ratio.

Pilothouse – they are sometimes called motor sailers – include:

Designs by Ted Brewer and Bruce Roberts Colvic 33 and 35 Cooper pilothouse 41 Corbin 39 Cromarty 36 Fisher Gulf 32 Moody Eclipse 32 and 38 Nauticat 515, etc Pacific Seacraft 32 Pilothouse Roamer Motorsailer 38 Southerly Vancouver 36 pilothouse Voyager 35 Westerly Konsort Duo (29)