In the final day of racing, Robbie Daniel (Clearwater, FL ) and Hunter Stunzi (Marblehead, MA) have won the 2006 U.S. Multihull Championship for the Hobie Alter Cup.  Representing the Olympic class, the team fought vigorously for its win.  Second place finisher, Nigel Pitt (Harwell, GA) and crew, Alex Shafer (Eustis, FL) had been in contention for the top spot from the beginning of the regatta.  Last year's winners and defending champions, Greg Thomas and Jacques Bernier were third. 

The new champions Robbie Daniel and Hunter Stunzi, showed conclusively that consistency is the key to getting to the podium.

“We were careful not to be tricked into going for the big gains when we found ourselves behind,” said Daniel, who has been competing in the Tornado Class for the last three quadrennials.  “The key was to go for the small gains to avoid the risk of big losses.”

Both men enjoyed sailing the Nacra 20, a powerful jib, main and spinnaker platform they felt was similar to the Tornado in many respects.  Like the rest of the fleet, they also expressed an appreciation for the rotation format that has been developed to self-seed the competitors from heat to heat.  This modified round-robin keeps the top sailors sailing head to head as they rotate through each one of the provided boats.

 The U.S. Multihull Championship concluded after 18 heats in widely varying conditions.  From a 20-knot winter blast to a balmy 10-knot, flat-water summer-like day, the invitational fleet was able to sail the manufacturer-provided Nacra 20 catamarans in just about every condition imaginable.  Combine the superb sailing conditions with with top-shelf race management and warm southern hospitality at the Pensacola Beach Yacht Club, and you've got a recipe for one heck of an event.

Next year’s event will be hosted by the Melbourne Yacht Club in Melbourne, Florida, and will be competed on the Blade 16, a two-up, high-tech, light-weight platform that also features jib, main and spinnaker.  The Blade is manufactured by Vectorworks Marine Industries of Titusville, Florida.