Welcome to this new column devoted to the less well known world of the Big Cat Cup. The Big Cat Cup is a smaller and less well known cup than the Flying Tako Cup or the recent vast Flying Fizz World Cup each of which have legions of participants. Each series of the Big Cat Cup is limited to ten skippers who race in an eight week league. The number of racers is the only thing small about big cat racing though. These 40 foot beasts have twice the number of hulls and travel at twice the speed in twice the amount of wind. As such it is probably a good thing that the races take part in the less crowded waters of Sailors Cove where there is less scope for serious carnage! Despite the differences in the boat the similarities to other classes (Tako, Fizz, ACC, big boats, etc) are clear. In particular the skill and commitment of the racers is without question. The latest series was the spring 2008 series was no exception and was the most hotly contested series yet. Skill Apart from having a graphics card which updates fairly rapidly the other characteristic that big cat skippers have is skill. Hefting these flying machines around the race course as speed is not as easy as flicking a Tako about. Not only do they cross the sims more quickly but they have a larger turning circle (i.e. taking about 6 or 7 seconds to go about as opposed to 4) and so require a lot more forward thinking if you are not going to get pronged on a buoy or an opponent. Add to this the fairly unique aspect that, just like in real life, cat skippers do not have sail angle information displayed on their HUD (even gestures is a dirty word as far as some of the cat skippers are concerned) and the skill required to sail them quickly is increased further.

The series was an opportunity for the veteran skippers (most notably Bea Woodget and Skipper Nikolaidis) to continue to improve their skills. In doing so Bea set a new lowest ever score of zero points for the series (an improvement on her already stunning winter 2008 score of just seven points) and Skipper improved upon his own record as the only person to win a medal in every series. But it was not just the experienced sailors that displayed their skill in the series. The fresh faces of Alain Gloster and Johnnie Snook made their presence felt. Johnnie was dogged by connection troubles but still managed to take fourth in the series but it was Alain that was to make the veterans sit up and take notice. Even from day one of the series Alain was showing his potential as a force to be reckoned with as he beat the old hands in race after race, much to his amazement! Hans Zinnemann: How come you are beating the veterans Alain?Alain Gloster shouts: no idea!

Even the rough weather conditions that arrived on day two of the series along with Havoc 4 did little to cramp the style of the racers. Skipper and Bea were inseparable on the downwind leg as they passed the line with Alain and Ella Larson so hot on their heels that only five seconds separating all four racers. Even after rounding all the islands and returning upwind to the finish only ten seconds separated Bea, Alain and Skipper.

These skippers are putting in times that I can only dream of achieving… in my own boat!

Commitment

The skill of these racers has come about by their commitment to the class. For some time it has been obvious that Skipper is one of the most committed cat skippers. In the course of the last eleven months he has clocked up 19,000 kilometres in his cat. That is the equivalent of him sailing his cat continuously for more than two weeks without a single break.

The first race of the series coincided with a sticky week when Daylight Saving Time caused clocks in the US to go forwards at a different time from the clocks going forwards in Europe. This caught out a few of the European skippers off guard as they turned up fashionably late. If the clocks changing is inconvenient for most of us let’s spare a thought for our southern hemisphere cousins. Not only does the start of the summer in the Northern hemisphere mean that clocks at the top of the world go forwards but it also means the end of their long days and so they put their clocks back. This means a double-whammy for the likes of Australian Alain. Racing in the winter series would have been difficult with a start time of 7am (before he rushes off to his office) but because of the clock changes he gets up at 5am! With commitment like that it is little wonder that his times were so consistent and that he took second place in the series. He is not the only racer who is prepared to get up in the dark to race the cat. Grant Coen and Ahjep Kattun will also be racing in the summer series. Grant is from Australia but Ahjep is from Malaysia!

Their commitment to the cup is to be commended but take a moment to consider Johnnie. He takes a break at the pizza restaurant he runs to race in the cup and so has taken on an extra member of staff just for the Thursday races!

The Summer Series

The summer series starts at noon on Thursday the 19th of June in Plum Gut. Traditionally the Big Cat Cup has been won by a woman but with so many good racers taking part in the latest instalment this one can be won by either a man or a woman. And with one place still available1 who knows, it could be you!

Number of place available is correct at time of writing. Number of racers can go up as well as down. Your cat will not be repossessed if you do not attend races.