Team Guck close strong for Multihull title

Rhode Island local Lars Guck sailed a consistent event to claim his second U.S Multihull Championship title held August 25-28 in Newport, RI.  Nineteen teams raced in Formula 18 (F18) catamarans on Narragansett Bay.

The trophy was established in 1986 and named the Alter Trophy in honor of Hobie Alter, Sr. and his extraordinary promotion of one-design multihull sailing and racing programs. It is intended to determine a U.S. national multihull champion and is sailed annually in various types of multihulls.

Sailing with his son Olin, Guck went into the last day in second, but won all three races to claim the Hobie Alter Cup for the first time since 2014. Lars is a former U.S. Multihull Champion when the event used the A Cat class.

“We worked hard to keep focused on the right things; and trying to improve our F18 sailing as we went,” said Guck. “We’ve learned, particularly with multihull sailing, it’s not over until you cross the finish line.”

“Sailing with my dad is pretty awesome, since we already have that relationship and trust,” said Olin Guck. “We’ve been working on finding our mode, which we were really able to string it together this weekend.”

Competitors sailed 14 total races with two drops in which Thursday and Saturday saw light and variable breeze, while Friday and Sunday featured a beautiful Newport seabreeze. Three days were sailed in Narraganset Bay, with one day sailed in the ocean off of Brenton Point. 

Stephen Stroebel and Steve Leuck (San Diego, CA) led the fleet at the beginning of the regatta, but were unable to snag the title, coming in second with 35 points. Charles Froeb and Matthieu Marfaing (San Francisco, CA) battled it out in the top three throughout the event, claiming third overall with 37 points.

“The Multihull championship was a successful event with a variety of conditions,” said Matt Hill, Principal Race Officer. “It’s nice to be here working with the amazing volunteers at Sail Newport who know how to run good, efficient racing. I hope everyone had a fun time – everyone looked happy when they came in!”

Race details – Results – Photos