Little Americas Cup
The International Catamaran Challenge Trophy is the formal name for the match racing series between two catamarans familiarly known the Little Americas Cup. While a championship series sailed between C Class catamarans does still exist, it is no longer known as the Little America's Cup.
Loosely modelled on the Americas Cup series for yachts, it started in 1961 after UK catamaran designer Rod McAlpine-Downey became aware of a challenge from America that claimed they had "the fastest sailboat". Rod answered the challenge and simple rules were agreed. The challenge had to come from a recognized yacht club and consequently was taken up by John Fisk on behalf of the Chapman Sands Yacht Club of which he was Commodore and friend of Rod. The challenge was successful and the trophy went to the UK where it stayed for 8 years.
The simple design rules were formalised, overall length of 25 feet (7.6 m), beam of 14 feet (4.3 m) and total sail area of 300 square feet (28 m2) to be sailed by a two-man crew. These formed the basis of the rules for the International C-Class Catamaran.
The story of the races goes back to 1959 when the American periodical "Yachting" sponsored a 'One of a Kind' regatta. The most successful catamaran in this event was "Tigercat" designed by Bob Harris of New York, which was considered by many to be the best in the world. In Great Britain, John Fisk, together with Rod MacAlpine-Downey, had won the R.Y.A. 'One of a Kind' series with their Thai Mk IV. Downey and Fisk considered their boat superior to the upstart Americans, and thought that, as far as catamaran design was concerned, "the old world could still show the new world a thing or two". A friendly challenge was issued, and the format's similarity to the America's Cup resulted in the competition's unofficial nickname: the 'Little America's Cup'.
The early years saw major participation from amateur designers including Rodney March, who went on to design the Tornado which was adopted as an Olympic class for competition. His most radical contribution at that time was a wing mast/soft sail combination una-rig which was untouchable particularly in light airs. The superior wing-sails subsequently became a major design focus of the class, and the C Class has been one of the only proving grounds for wing-sail development and racing.
In 1963,the Australian Catamaran Association which represented some 8 catamaran classes in that country challenged through the Sandringham YC in Melbourne. Five C Class cats were built and trials were held in May at the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron on Melbourne's southern Phillip Bay.
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