Smyth wins U.S. Multihull Championship

Fort Walton Beach, FL (April 22, 2018) – Legendary multihull sailor, Randy Smyth (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.), won his record-setting fifth career Hobie Alter Trophy for the U.S. Multihull Championship.

The 2018 U.S. Multihull Championship was hosted by the Fort Walton Yacht Club in conjunction with the WetaFest.

Held April 19-22, Smyth earned the title following three days of racing on Choctawhatchee Bay in the Weta trimaran, with the fourth and final day of racing canceled due to incoming storm fronts.

Smyth won by one-point over Mike Krantz (Flowery Branch, Ga.).

“It was a learning experience for us all as we were learning the Weta, and we were learning from each other all week. We had all the players on the same playing field at the same time,” said Smyth. “We had so many conditions as well – smooth water, choppy water, high wind, medium wind, light wind – it was really quite a test.”

“There was a lot of enthusiasm here this week with new faces and world class caliber sailors,” he added.

Smyth, a National Sailing Hall of Famer, is one of the most prolific multihull sailors of all time. He is a Two-time Olympic silver medalist (1992, 1984) in the Tornado. He is also a two-time Tornado World Champion (1981-82) and seven-time National Champion (1980-86). He won the America’s Cup as helmsman for Stars & Stripes in 1988. Smyth last won the U.S. Multihull Championship in 1999.

Background:
Racing was held April 19-22 on Choctawhatchee Bay. Sailors competed in the Weta trimaran as either singlehanded or doublehanded teams for the US Sailing title.

The perpetual trophy was presented and named the Alter Trophy in 1986 in honor of Hobie Alter, Sr. and his extraordinary promotion of one-design multihull sailing and racing programs. The Championship rotates in discipline each year to showcase the depth of classes in multihull racing in the United States.

Final Results (Top 10 of 34; 10 races, 1 discard)
1. 437, Randy Smyth[WETA SINGLE], 2-3-3-3-1-4-1-[5]-2-1- ; 20
2. 1193, Mike Krantz[WETA SINGLE], 1-2-1-4-[20]-1-7-2-1-2- ; 21
3. 1003, Robert Hodges[WETA SINGLE], 3-4-2-5-4-[14]-2-4-3-10- ; 37
4. 1190, Jonathan Weston[WETA SINGLE], 7-5-4-2-2-[10]-9-3-5-4- ; 41
5. 254, Keith Rice[WETA SINGLE], 5-6-7-6-3-2-6-[8]-6-3- ; 44
6. 1199, David Berntsen[WETA SINGLE], 10-1-5-1-12-21-[23]-1-4-9- ; 64
7. 622, Carey Jones[WETA SINGLE], 4-[15]-10-12-13-7-3-9-10-7- ; 75
8. 362, Richard Stephens[WETA SINGLE], 8-12-6-10-[18]-3-8-14-14-6- ; 81
9. 1197, David Bacci[WETA SINGLE], 9-10-8-7-24-13-[26]-11-7-5- ; 94
10. 007, Cam Farrah[WETA SINGLE], 14-19-[20]-16-7-11.5/TIE-4-10-8-8- ; 97.5

Event details – Results – Previous winners and results

Source: US Sailing