Sailing Report U20

[Drew]

My friend Garett and and I spent the afternoon sailing the Ultimate
20, UFO with owner Trent Watkins and his pal and fellow U20 owner, Tom
Hughes. Another 4 Ultimates joined the action. A small course was
setup just outside Richmond Yacht Club and we ran 5 quick races. A LOT
of fun and a great way to get initiated to the boat. Trent was
gracious and spent the day coaching Tom and us on how to sail a U20
fast. Start, beat 1/4 mile to weather, round a mark, set the
asymmetrical kite and blaze downwind to the finish. Tom put a small
video camera on board and hopefully some of the footage will come out.
I'll post it if it does.

Prior to the race Trent's routine is to put the boat into a hard crash
so everyone sees how easy it is to recover. Well, he's right, we laid
the boat over, keel out and she popped right back up. Amazingly he's
spun 360° turns with the kite up, on purpose! Certainly a solid
testimony to this great boat.

This is the BIGGEST 20 footer I've ever sailed. Felt much more like 24
feet. You can even sleep in the interior if that's your thing. Lots of
storage and I looked hard and found no telltale stress cracks. Mind
you, this is a 13 year old boat that's sailed hundreds of races, HARD.
Very well built, as is typical of California built boats. Deck layout
is great, no winches! Everything is pretty simple, though certainly a
good workout.

The U20 Class Organization ( http://www.u20class.org ) is a fun group
of people. There's a real camaraderie among the owners. The best thing
is that this boat is now back in production after a couple of years
hiatus. Spinnaker will be selling these boats at the Pacific Sail Boat
Show ( http://www.strictlysail.com/shows/pacific.asp?show=pa ) April
16-20 and there will be U20 demos, Fri, Sat & Sun.