Macy Nelson and Peter Alarie (right).
Peter is one of the great crews, racing in multiple classes. He seems to do everything except steer; he judges sail trim by how the boat feels from the wire, and calls tactics. Some of his skippers have reported that the skipper is not allowed to look around, only to check the leech tension from time to time.
Peter won the '93 and '94 505 North American Championships with Macy Nelson, and was second in the NAs earlier with a different skipper. He won the '96 East Coast Championship and was 2nd twice in the East Coast Championship. He has won the 505 Midwinters 3 times with 3 diferent skippers, and been second 3 more times with 3 other skippers.
He is also in demand in the J24, and Melges 24 - but the 505 is by far his favorite. Peter also races Vanguard 15 with Kara and team races. His team, "Pablo Picasso", won the Hinmann Trophy - US Sailing's National Team Racing Championship - in '96. Peter was V-15 National Champ in 1995, and finished 2nd in both 1993 and 1994. Peter recently swore off lead mines entirely, "I just will not go out racing on a keelboat", are his exact words. Peter is currently racing with top New England racer Mike Zani. They have extensively rebuilt 7318, a "high-mileage" 1981 Lindsay 505, and are one of the top East Coast 5o5 teams.
Peter is a boatbuilder in Rhode Island.
Henry Amthor with daughter Keaton
Henry started racing in Erie PA, and was a long time Fireball racer - he still has a bare Fireball hull which he may fix up again some day - and is a past Fireball North American and US National Champion. Henry moved to Hampton VA and got into 505s during the 80s, racing out of Hampton Yacht Club. He has been 505 Regional (Chesapeake Bay) Champion twice. He is much in demand as a J24 and other leadmine helsman or tactician, and has participated in several World Championships in the US, Canada and Australia, in the 505 (preferred), Fireball, Shark 24 and J24, but has cut back to focus on the 505 in recent years. He also won Key West Race Week Division C as tactician/helmsman, on "Defiance" in 1989. Henry raced 505s with girlfriend - and later wife - Barb Moss Amthor, but now normally races with his brother Doug. The Amthor's are renowned for their light and medium air speed, especially downwind. The stranger seabreeze and tide get, the better they do. Henry is racing the North American Championship with ace 505 crew, John Fry. Henry is the Star Wars - the Chesapeake Bay Champion of Champions for both 1996 and 1997, racing with a 505 sailors as crew. Henry is a construction executive.
John relaxing in
the boat while sailing in after a '95 pre-worlds race. John was a crew in the 1982 Worlds, and a crew in the 1995 Worlds, and many 505 worlds in between. Many of those 505 World Championships were with Macy Nelson. John has also raced with Ali Meller, Tom Kivney and others. Once upon a time he sailed Solings with Stu Walker. John sailed Snipes with his wife for awhile, his son Matthew is still a little young - 3 years old - for the 505. John is racing the 505 North American Championships with Chesapeake Bay ace, Henry Amthor. John is a Wall Street trader, and lives outside New York City.
Mike Martin and Howard Hamlin (head in boat) preparing Spaceman Spiff.
After years of surfing and believing that sailboats were slow and boring, Howard was given a ride in a 505, and discovered how wrong his earlier beliefs were. Despite no prior sailing experience, Howard immediately decided that racing 505s was for him, and he quickly became one of the best crews on the West Coast. Howard then decided to build a better 505, and he built a set of tooling and started building the very innovative Hamlin 505 (after Howard stopped building boats, Waterat began building boats from the same tooling). After several years of crewing with John Andron, and some narrow misses at the 505 World Championship, Howard started steering. He raced with Jay Glaser on the wire for several years, with numerous top finishes. More recently, Howard has been racing with Don Smith, Cam Lewis, and Mike Martin. Howard and Cam won the heavy air pre-worlds event in '92 and were favorites to win the Worlds
until Cam was injured and forced out of the regatta. Howard and Mike Martin narrowly missed winning the '94 European Championship, and the '95 North American championship. Howard and Cam Lewis narrowly missed winning the 1996 International 505 World Championship in Townsville Australia. Later, Howard and Mike won the 1996 5o5 North American Championship, the third time Howard won the NAs. After several years of boatbuilding - his Hamlin tooling is still used to build the Waterat 505 - Howard decided not to be poor, and now is in real estate.
Barney Harris after narrowly missing a capsize.
Barney Harris raced intercollegiate at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY. While he was there, they were in the top 3 nationally, winning nationals twice. After graduating he raced Albacores for years in he Washington DC area, he still races the Albacore. He won the '94, '95, and '96 Albacore US Nationals, and was second at the '96 Canadian Nationals. He has several top five finishes at Albacore World Championsips. He has also raced Snipes, Thistles, Highlander, Laser, J22, J24, Melges 24, Etchells, Sheilds, Ensign, El Torro and - he claims - anything else that floats. Barney borrowed a 505 a couple of times over the past two years, and bought a used 505 in 1995. A few weeks later he was racing it for the first time at CORK. Barney bought a new Waterat 505 in the spring of 1997 and is campaigning it with local crew, ex IMS leadmine sailor and current Interclub frosbite ace, Jesse Falsone. Barney is an engineer with a consulting company in the DC area. He lives in northern Virginia., and sails out of West River Sailing Club, in Galesville MD.
Will started sailing in the UK at age 4, graduated through Cadets to Merlin Rockets, International 14's, Fireballs and FD's to 505's in 1973 with Phil Milanes. Raced '75 and '77 Worlds with Phil, then teamed up with Peter White to sail Denmark (78), the Far Eastern Champs in Hong Kong and The World's in Durban (79). Will sailed every UK Nationals from '74 to '80, best result was in 77 with a 2nd by half a point to -who else -Peter Colclough.
His most notable and satisfying result was to beat 91 French, Italians, Swiss and Germans to win La Rochelle Week in '78 while trapezing with his ankle heavily strapped as a result of a severe sprain the day before they traveled.
Will switched to the back seat in '79 when he purchased Malcolm Goodwin's all wood boat. Will comments, "Fortunately, as I did not have the requisite lobotomy when I reverted to being a skipper in 79, I am able to go back to crewing again........ "
A combination of a new family and a career move to Phoenix AZ cut short his sailing plans in the early 80's. Since
then he has been flying planes and racing formula cars.. there's not a lot of sailing in the desert!
After racing Lasers and teaching sailing in Seattle, Allan Johnson (crewing in photograph) moved the the East Coast and got into 505s. His first 505 regatta was the very windy 1992 pre-Worlds in Santa Cruz. Allan has been racing with Ali Meller for the past several years. Allan's 505 wins include the 1996 and 1997 505 East Coast Championship (2nd in 1995), the 1993 and 1995 Midwinter Championship, and third at the 1994 and 1996 505 North American Championship. Allan sells advertising for the National Association of Insurance Underwriters. He and his wife live in northern Virginia. Allan sails out of West River Sailing Club in Galesville MD.
Todd first sailed a 505 as Mike Loeb’s crew in 1971, bought Sandy VanZandt’s #4237 in 1973 (Tom’s brother Gerard was Todd’s regular crew) and sold it to Steve Taylor (Steve’s first 505) in 1976. In 1977 Todd and Stan Bartlett (both then in Chicago) bought Bill Pevear’s #5190 and sailed in the Waukegan fleet for several years before donating the boat to the Univ. of Wisconsin Hoofers sailing club in 1982. Todd then went the way of all sin, sailing many different boats including...(oh for shame) lots of offshore lead mines....until 1994 when old friend Barry Kuehl, at the prompting of Tom Kivney (with whom Todd had been sailing for spring practice), talked him into a 5-oh regatta in Marblehead. It was all uphill from there, once again, for Todd....who immediately recognized he had wasted a number of years of his life sailing other boats.
Todd steered the American UFO one-design (a 28’ 505 look-alike with a keel) at the Centomeglia regatta on Lake Garda, Italy in September of 1996. Finished 5th of 19 in the Centomeglia race and 2nd for the week. He has nearly 150,000 offshore racing miles under his belt (for whatever that’s worth), sails occasionally in the International 210 Class in the Boston area, and coordinated the Finn Class carbon mast and sail development program for USOYC prior to the 1996 Olympic Games.
Mike Martin (left) and Howard Hamlin preparing Spaceman Spiff. Mike is another great crew who can get almost any driver around the race course. He currently keeps Pete Melvin and Howard Hamlin pointed in the right direction, but has also crewed for Macy Nelson. Mike is a past intercollegiate All-American and Laser North American Champion. Mike won the 1996 International 505 North American Championship with Howard Hamlin, and was fourth, with a pick up driver, at the 1996 International 505 World Championship. As with many other crews, Mike owns the boat. Mike works as a Research and Development Engineer for Canon Business Machines in Costa Mesa, CA.
Ali Meller (driving in photograph) has been racing 505s for twenty years, first in Ottawa Canada, then in the Annapolis/Baltimore/Washington area. Ali won the 1994, '96 and '97 505 East Coast Championships, and has finishes of 2nd, 3rd, 3rd and 3rd in the last four 505 North American Championships. Ali has also won the 505 Midwinter Championship several times. Ali has been racing with Allan Johnson for most of the last four years. Ali races out of West River Sailing Club in Galesville MD. He is a computer system archetect with MCI.
Tyler Moore (right) and Ryan Cox.
Tyler Moore, intercollegiate sailor of the year 1994, bought a used 505 from Gary Bodie and raced the 1994 505 North Americans. In '95 he teamed up with Ryan Cox, 1995 college sailor of the year for a 470 Olympic campaign, continuing to race the 505 as well. Tyler and Ryan were 5th at the 1995 505 Worlds. They both subsequently bought new Waterat 505s. Tyler - with Scott Ikle crewing - was 2nd at the '96 North American Championship. Tyler won the '96 J24 East Coast Championship (as tactician), and was second (as driver) at the 1996 J24 Midwinter Championship. He very recently won Block Island Race Week in the Mumm 30 class. Tyler now races 5o5s with Scott Ikle; the Moore/Ikle team were 2nd at the recent 505 East Coast Championship..
Urs Rothacher. Urs started sailing in an Optimist, later a 420 in Switzerland. He switched to 505 in 1993, mostly as a crew, and competed in 95 and 96 World Championships. Urs is now driving and is learning how to sail with waves and real wind;
conditions seldom found in Switzerland... Urs is racing the North American Championships with Giuseppe Sgorbati.
Urs works as a Electronics Design Engineer for Rockwell Semiconductor Systems in Newport Beach, CA
Giuseppe is racing the NAs with Urs Rothacher.
Giuseppe works as a Sales Engineer for BREMBO North America. (Yes, they brake Indy- and other cars)
Nick Trotman (left) and Michael Mills.
Nick Trotman is a two time all-American. He races with sailing coach Mike Mills. They were 9th at the 1995 505 World Championship, and 3rd at the 1995 East Coast Championship. Nick and Mike bought a new Rondar 505 in 1996 and are one of the fastest New England 505 teams. Recently Nick was on the US team - Pablo Picasso - that won the UK Team Racing Championship. Nick is faster than his sister, bronze medal winner in the Europe dinghy, at the '90 Barcelona Olympics.| SAILING HONORS | |
| 1996 | US Olympic Yachting Committee "Developmental Coach of the Year" |
| 1990-1993 | ICYRA Collegiate ALL-AMERICAN |
| 1991 & 1993 | Voted Outstanding Helmsperson in New England - NEISA |
| MAJOR SAILING ACCOMPLISHMENTS | ||
| 1996 | ||
| The British America Team Racing Cup | 1st | |
| Key West Race Week: Tactician "BRIGHT STAR" | Boat of the week | |
| Ft. Lauderdale-Key West Race: Watch Captain/Driver "BRIGHT STAR" | 1st to Finish | |
| Block Island Race First IMS Watch Captain/Driver "BLUE YANKEE" | 1st IMS | |
| 505 Midwinter's | 4th | |
| Vanguard 15 Midwinter's | 4th | |
| 1995 | Hinman Trophy (US Sailing's National Team Racing Championship) | 1st |
| Vanguard 15 Nationals | 2nd | |
| US Tornado Nationals | 3rd | |
| IYRU Team Racing Worlds | 5th | |
| Manhasett Bay Fall Series: Tactician "BLUE YANKEE" | 2nd | |
| Stanford Denmark Trophy: Tactician "BLUE YANKEE" | 1st | |
| Miami Palm Beach Race: Driver/Main Trimmer "BRIGHT STAR" | 1st Overall | |