Whitehurst wins US Multihull Champs

Tom Whitehurst (Pensacola, FL) won the 2021 U.S. Multihull Championship, held from November 2-5 in Corpus Christi, TX. Sailed in Formula Wave Class boats, the fleet of 77 competitors was the largest U.S. Multihull Championship in recent history, with sailors representing 28 states and three countries.

Race organizers created four fleets for the preliminary races, which happened over the event’s first two days. After six races, sailors were split into gold and silver fleets for the final two days of racing. Whitehurst dominated the finals with a 1-3-1-1-1 to secure the Hobie Alter Trophy, with Tyler Myers (Marmora, NJ) four points back in second while Jim West (Celina, OH) rounding out the top three, 17 points off the lead.

“Over the series, we had all kinds of conditions, from light wind to heavy air,” says Becky Ashburn, Deputy Race Officer for the event.

The first day of racing saw a light air start to the day, though moderate conditions filled in. The wind had filled in slightly by day two, but a front that blew through that night brought consistently sporty conditions above 15 knots on day three. Conditions lightened again for the final day of racing, with 9-10 knots early in the day slowly fading to the end of racing time.

“We were able to get two races in before the wind started dying out, and we didn’t feel like it was fair racing anymore,” said Mark Foster, Principal Race Officer for the Championship. “But they got a throw-out in the championship series because of the five [completed] races.”

“The most challenging part for me was the light air stuff,” says Myers. “I’m much more comfortable in the heavier air on these boats, so today, when it got light and shifty, it was a bit more challenging for me.”

“The competition was great,” continued Myer. “It’s some of the top guys in the country. You can’t get a better crowd to race against and test your skills. From the events we had off the water to the racing on the water, everything was great. This is not an event I’m going to forget.”

Tom Sinnickson (Carpinteria, CA) topped the silver fleet, followed by Gustavo Pinto (Greensboro, NC) and Roger Taha (Des Moines, IA). “This regatta had really good, and really tough, competition,” said Taha. “Yesterday, when it was windy, was the most challenging but also the most fun.”

Event information – Entry list – Results

Final Results (Top 10 of 77; 5 races, 1 discard)
1. Tom Whitehurst, 1-3-1-1-1- ; 4
2. Tyler Myers, 2-1-2-3-9- ; 8
3. Jim West, 3-5-15-8-5- ; 21
4. Michael Siau, 4-2-3-14-38- ; 23
5. Mike Pedersen, 7-8-6-11-6- ; 27
6. Michael Mcneir, 9-6-5-12-14- ; 32
7. Francisco Figueroa, 5-4-16-10-41/RET- ; 35
8. Jane Sherrod, 12-7-7-17-23- ; 43
9. Doug Seib, 41/RET-14-4-21-7- ; 46T
10. Jim Glanden, 21-11-10-7-18- ; 46T

Left to right: CCYC Rear Commodore Scott Meares, 2021 U.S. Multihull Champion Tom Whitehurst, CCYC Vice Commodore Josh Richline. Photo by Mason Sheen / US Sailing.

Founded in 1985, the U.S. Multihull Championships has become one of the nation’s major sailing championships, counting world champions from numerous classes, Olympic medalists, and several national champions from the multihull ranks as past and present competitors. The perpetual trophy is named the Alter Trophy in 1986 in honor of Hobie Alter, Sr. and his extraordinary promotion of one-design multihull sailing and racing programs.