Who's Spirit?
The life of a boat begins long before it sets sail. Its inception is typically sparked by some form of inspiration to create something unique. Ultimately, it all starts in the mind of a creative individual or someone we commonly refer to as a "doer" – those who do. The new Spirit was brought to life by the well-known doer and designer, Chris White, best known for his Atlantic range of performance catamarans. Similar to the Atlantic catamarans, the Hammerhead trimarans have proven themselves over nearly 30 years, sailing the world's oceans and completing numerous circumnavigations. Chris designed her, but it was Bill Shuman who brought her to life, launching her in Wells, Maine in 1995. The exact start date of her construction is not entirely known, but according to the article below, she was launched on October 9th, 1995, or possibly 1996. At the time of her launch, she was named "Hammerhead" and spent her initial years as Bill's personal boat, extensively sailing between Florida, The Bahamas, and the northeastern United States. After "Hammerhead," I believe she was known as "Shimoda." This name was used from the early 2000s until around 2007, when we believe she was sold and renamed "Hecla." She retained the name "Hecla" until approximately 2010 when she was purchased and renamed "Avalanche." In her later years, she was heavily cruised under the name "Shimoda" and raced intensively with two singlehanded trans-Pacific crossings as "Hecla." The fourth owner didn't spare her, subjecting her to high-latitude sailing and numerous ocean passages. It's evident that this big Spirit possesses a solid foundation and comes from a reputable designer. However, she is tired and has endured neglect in recent years. We have found a considerable amount of work that needs to be done to restore her to her former glory, but nothing appears to be structural or a show stopper. The task only requires time, effort, and $$. There’s no fooling ourselves by how much work is involved but we know that over time and with some good people helping us along the way it’s something that can be done and at the same time it’ll be rewarding above measure to breath some new life into this beautiful boat. She has so much potential to become something truly amazing, she already is but with some minor mods to her sail plan and structure she’ll reach another level and we’re super excited to share her evolution. Below, you will find some pictures of her launch that we were fortunate to receive from an old friend of Bill's. There's also a video of her sailing in her early days shortly after her launch, with Bill at the helm and Chris White behind the camera. I believe that's a close friend of Bill's Joan sitting there calmly as they sit on 18-19 knots, reaching out to Nantucket. Enjoy and best wishes to all from Clo and I. Design details. Chris White - Hammerhead 54 LOA : 54ft BOA : 34ft Disp : 17,000lbs - 7.8t Board down - 9ft Board up - 3ft Rudder up - 2ft Shaft driven Yanmar 4JH 52HP Dual capacity : 370lts Water capacity: 530lts Sail area : 180sqm Rig height : 64ft above water https://youtu.be/TOWM1lJyoqE?si=Qv0j_gwz8jE1IbN4
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