5-race Weekend Series Is A Soverel Showcase
December 12, 1985 - By Craig Davis, Staff Writer - SunSentinal.comThe handicapping rules that enable sailboats of different types to compete on equal terms are like bindings to a yacht designer's creative urges.
Because of the International Offshore Rules restrictions, grand prix yachts, such as those that compete here in the Southern Ocean Racing Conference in February, aren't necessarily the fastest or most enjoyable to sail.
Stuart yacht designer Mark Soverel earned his reputation producing IOR champions. However, his favorite, the Soverel 33, was fashioned without regard to any rating rule. He built it for fun, and it is shaping up as his most profitable creation.
"Performance. Absolute top performance was the No. 1 consideration," said Bill Soverel, Mark's father and founder of Soverel Marine in Palm Beach Gardens. "This is a boat for people who like to go fast. It's more of a Hobie Cat type of boat, except it's a monohull. It`s an exciting boat to sail."
Soverel Marine has built 67 Soverel 33s during the past three years. Twelve of them will be sparring off Palm Beach in the second annual Soverel 33 Nationals, beginning Friday. Five races are scheduled around an Olympic triangle course - two on Friday and Saturday, the finale on Sunday. Racing starts each day at 10:30 a.m.
Joe Blubaugh of West Palm Beach will defend his title with Fortune Hunter. Although limited in number, the fleet contains entries from New York, California and the Midwest. Other top contenders from South Florida include Peter Grimm Jr. with Totally Awesome and Mark Soverel - third last year - with a new boat yet to be named.
This sort of regatta is the ideal showcase for the Soverel 33, which was tailored for one-design and performance-class racing. It is a racing man's racing boat, sort of a Porsche with sails. It is up to the crews to shift the right gears and unleash the potential.
"When it's all over, there are no excuses. If you don't win, then you aren't as good or your sails aren't as good or your boat isn't as well maintained," Bill Soverel said. "It`s a very sophisticated boat. The more knowledgeable and capable the sailor, the faster the boat goes. It is responsive to the skill of the skipper because it is a very sophisticated boat. It's just as sophisticated as an Admiral`s Cup boat."
Soverel Leads Regatta
Two Boats Damaged - December 15, 1985 - SunSentinal.comStuart's Mark Soverel not only designs and builds fast boats, he is adept at racing them, too.
Soverel maintained the lead after three races of the Soverel 33 Nationals, despite finishing third Saturday aboard Coyote. Defending champion Joe Blubaugh, of West Palm Beach, won aboard Fortune Hunter and trails by less than a point in the standings.
Saturday's second race was canceled due to a strong northwest wind blowing 25-35 mph. The blustery conditions crippled two boats. Totally Awesome, from Fort Lauderdale, was dismasted after leading the opening leg of the race. Hellacious, from Virginia Beach, was forced to drop out with a torn mainsail.
Blubaugh outmaneuvered Coyote and Reggie Willcocks' Defiant on the final leg to win for the second time in three races. Defiant, from Roslin, N.Y., split away from the other two and managed to slip across the finish line ahead of Coyote for second place.
"It was a real good last leg. (Blubaugh) did a great job. He couldn't cover both of us, so he pushed us back far enough so Defiant beat us over the line," Soverel said.
Carolyn Nelson, the only female skipper in the regatta, finished fourth on Mischief, from Newport Beach, Calif. Logan Farrar, of Colorado Springs, was fifth with Sleigh Ride.
The regatta concludes today with one race beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Leaders after 3 races
(finishes -- points)
1. Coyote, Mark Soverel, Stuart (2-1-3 -- 5.75 points);
2. Fortune Hunter, Joe Blubaugh, West Palm Beach (1-5-1 -- 6.5);
3. Defiant, Reggie Willcocks, Roslin, N.Y. (4-2-2 -- 8);
4. Mischief, Carolyn Nelson, Newport Beach, Calif. (3-4-4 -- 11);
5. Sleigh Ride, Logan Farrar, Colorado Springs (5-6-5 -- 16);
6-12 Totally Awesome; Hellacious; No Red Ribbons; + 4 more.
Sailing Challenges Are Rarely A Breeze Soverel Tests Captain Against Captain
December 16, 1985 By Craig Davis, Outdoors Write - SunSentinal.com
"Amazing, isn't it? We throw some rags up and our boat comes alive," Roger Higgins chortled as the Soverel 33 No Red Ribbons bucked over the swells at the mouth of Lake Worth Inlet.
Leave it to a former mountain climber from London to undress sailing to its bare bones. Tongue in cheek, of course. The consummate wry Brit, Higgins might also characterize mountaineering as a jolly good stroll up a steep hill.
He knows better on both counts, having gone toe-to-toe and face-to-face with some of the mightiest peaks on three continents before shifting his sporting focus to sea level. Higgins calls sailing "the rock climber`s heaven." The danger factor isn't as omnipresent, but it is a similar challenge in manipulating lines and pulleys to get to the top.
Sailing, as practiced by the crews in the Soverel 33 Nationals this past weekend, is considerably more involved than running cloth up the mast and casting fate to the wind. It is a sophisticated technical exercise in exploiting the wind to best advantage. There is always a puzzle to contemplate: how can we make this boat go faster? Or, why is that boat going faster than we are? It comes down to a matter of pulling the right strings that control the sails.
That's what was going on in the Soverel offshore rock climb, a contest to determine the best marionette. The boats were all shaped from the same mold. Sail quality varies, and other subtle differences in equipment and set-up can provide an advantage here or there, but one-design racing is ultimately a test of skipper and crew.
"I prefer it (to handicap racing)," said Joe Blubaugh, skipper of the triumphant Fortune Hunter. "To me it's more a test of ability. You know everybody has the same boat and you don't have to worry about how the weather is going to affect you relative to other boats."
In the three years that Soverel Marine in Palm Beach Gardens has been producing the 33-foot Soverel high-performance racer, Blubaugh has been the premier marionette of the class. In addition to winning the Soverel 33 Nationals both times it has been contested, the West Palm Beach developer has mined an impressive cache of silverware in competition up and down the Gold Coast. Whenever Fortune Hunter sets sail, it is regarded as the boat to beat.