REA

DER

S' S

TORI

ES

NATIVE, my love

The study for NATIVE, (no. 37 in the architect's list of plans) was signed on11th September 1977; it prefigured a 42-foot development (CREATIVE)which saw the light of day in August 1980. This design by Dick Newick, thewizard of Maine, is breathtakingly elegant; the brilliant intuition of the sculp-tor of a new shape of multihull (a ‘wing’) had here come to maturity and allo-wed him to free up sufficient interior volume. Combined with the dynamicefficiency of the hulls, it gave credibility to the cruiser – racer definition of

these models. In 1977, the design of future winner of the 1980 Ostar(Moxie) was 15 years ahead of its time; 35 years later, NATIVE is still avant-garde! The patronymic suggests the idea of a 'natural' gestation: not at all!Only the reserve, Newick’s ‘understatement’, transforms the perseveranceand demands of a constant creative effort into sham artistic spontaneity.NAGA is the chimera in a serpent's body from Hindu mythology; Vishnourests on him between the end of one world and the appearance of another.This trimaran was built in 1979 by Jack and the team at Bill Cooper's

Text: Philippe ECHELLE - Chrissi SERINI and Jack PETITH

The 11.5 m trimaran whose story we'regoing to recount is a living legend! A sin-gle-handed racing boat from the 1980s, itis now being used by its builder – ownerand his partner as a cruising – expeditionsupport around the world, a permanentresidence and the headquarters of thecouple's professional activities. Who saidthat Newick's multihulls were spartanand fragile?

The incrediblesaga

of Naga...

44

Jack Petith, from Ste Croix to south-east Asia, from the biggest oceanraces to blue water cruising, always with the same passion for his boat…

Aboard her monohull, Chrissi fell firstly for the superb trimaran whichwas overtaking her, before then falling for its skipper…

44-49 NAGA_MMHS6-US_Mise en page 1 21/06/12 10:30 Page44

boat yard in Woods Hole(Massachusetts), then assembledon the beach. The story hadbegun…

Laurels in the Rhum

As soon as it was launched, NAGAshone in the events in this difficultoceanic region. It smashed theNewport – Bermuda record, pre-viously held by ROGUE WAVE (alsoa Newick, but 60 feet long andbelonging to Phil Weld !), by 22hours, and took seven first placesin the eight events it entered (inclu-ding two trade wind races)! JackPetith lived at Saint Croix(American Virgin Islands, whichDick Newick left for Martha'sVineyard) and took part in the deve-lopment of nautical activities andcharter. He even became one of

the associates of the local GoldCoast Yacht boat yard. He knew thestory of Mike Birch's victory in the1978 Route du Rhum, and thisevent probably played a role in thedecision to start building NATIVE. Itwas Michel Etevenon, the founderof the race, who helped Jack to beat the start of the Rhum, by propo-sing his candidature to M.Boisseaux (owner of Patriarchewines and the Kriter brand), forwhom he was also the advertisingadviser. In 1982, the mixing of ama-teurs and professionals was still inoperation. The recent la Rochelle –New Orleans had established theFrenchmen, Fountaine-Follenfantand the diabolical Joubert-designedboat inspired by a Californian speedcatamaran: CHARENTE MARI-TIME. The conditions in the 1982Rhum were difficult, to windward

as far as the Azores; despite every-thing, Marc Pajot, aboard ELFAQUITAINE I, only had a120-milelead over the little NATIVE after aweek at sea! Many boats abando-ned, and a lot of the big namesthrew in the towel: Chay Blyth(BRITTANY FERRY), Eric Tabarly(PAUL RICARD), Rob James (COLTCARS), Daniel Gilard (BRITTANYFERRY BAI). Olivier Moussy pickedup Ian Johnson who had capsizedhis Crowther trimaran (RENNIE ex-TWIGGY) for the second time inthe season! Eric Loizeau’s GAU-LOISES IV led for a moment, andfinally three leaders crossed the

line in 18 days (M. Pajot, B. Peyronand M. Birch). Jack had a fantasticrace and finished sixth, ahead of Michel Malinowski’s huge, 22-metre ULDB (KRITER VIII)!

Destination Saint Croix

Jack really wanted to race in the1984 Transat; he knew that this edi-tion would be the last in which thisfamily of multihulls could shine.Despite Phil Weld's splendid vic-tory in 1980, no help was forthco-ming from the USA! He was ready,NAGA was itching to go – alas,there was no budget at all. Underthe influence of the Norwegian

Designed by Newick, NAGA was built byJack on a beach in Massachusetts…

45

At the start of the 1984 English Transat; NAGA is a racing trimaran sai-led skilfully by its skipper/owner/builder… (photo Christian Février)

Today, the pretty trimaran is cruising around the world…quickly! Here, being scrubbed off in the Vanuatus.

This little trimaran at anchor is a real ocean racing legend…

44-49 NAGA_MMHS6-US_Mise en page 1 21/06/12 10:30 Page45

Vice Consul, a friend, all the NAGA fans cametogether under the banner DESTINATION SAINTCROIX. Despite the excitement created by thisspontaneous cooperative sponsorship, Jack andDoug Van Zandt set off in haste on the afternoonof 9th May; only 18 days remained to reachPlymouth without a penalty! DESTINATION

SAINT CROIX left the port at 18 kn; it would haveto keep up an average of 222 miles per day toreach the line. Its speed during this delivery tripwas staggering for a small multihull; on certaindays it covered 350 miles! ‘The man whose boatflew' had the rare talent of knowing how to pusha trimaran of less than 40 feet to the limit, whilst

remaining the right way up! The discovery ofcracks in the hull the day before the departurewas just an epiphenomenon which waspromptly sorted by Van Zandt under the instruc-tions of Walter Greene. The 1984 Ostar was fullof incidents: Philippe Jeantot capsized in CREDITAGRICOLE (picked up by Yvon Fauconnier),Poupon was leading, yet UMUPRO JARDIN wasdeclared the winner after the committee deduc-ted the time taken for rescuing Jeantot. Yves leCornec came close to success with hisCreativeIDENEK, but broke his daggerboardcase 40 miles from the Ile Sable. Pajot, Tabarly,Philips, Gilard, Moussy, Peyron, Boucher, Luhrs,Levy, Martin and Gliksman came between the

leading duo and DESTINATION SAINT CROIX,which finished 14th after having been in the lea-ding group before heading south to avoid thethreat of icebergs: "when I saw them I sailed duesouth ; my NATIVE is also my home!" A fewweeks later Jack returned to Saint Croix afterhaving completed a 10,000-mile Atlantic circuit,racing against the clock!

The night the boats flew.

Sunday, 18 September 1989, 9 PM: Jack andNAGA were caught out by hurricane Hugo, a realkiller! The first class five in history caused 11deaths in the Caribbean, devastating the WestIndian arc and annihilating Guadeloupe. The cli-matic monster vented its anger on Saint Croix;the last gusts measured before the airport instru-ments exploded reached 185 kn! NAGA had

46

A few weeks later, Jack re-turned to Saint Croix afterhaving completed an Atlan-tic circuit, racing against theclock!

NAGA giving a demonstration off the Saints shortly after the finish of the 1982 Routedu Rhum, in which it finished in an incredible sixth place. (photo Ralph Davis)

Welcome aboard the fastest sail loft on the planet!

NAGA in the Vanuatus (photo takenaboard another Native, NINTHCHARM, by Fran Slingerland!)

44-49 NAGA_MMHS6-US_Mise en page 1 21/06/12 10:30 Page46

found a refuge in the mangrove up the Salt River;immobilised by a tangle of mooring lines, tuckedaway in the farthest corner of the best hurricanehole in the region. In the middle of the night, theatmospheric bomb methodically broke up theknown world; after an assault lasting severalhours, it attacked the last survivors who had notbroken their mooring lines. EXIT, Terry’s littleNewick, somersaulted four times end over end!The cabin of VAROA KANE, an 18 m charter boat,was ripped off in a colossal gust; Tom and Stanewere swept away, injured, over 100 m; their cata-

maran capsized. At two in the morning, NAGApivoted on its starboard float, flew about 15 mand landed upside down in the mud. VAROAKANE (60’) flew in its turn, and fell on EXIT’sfloat. Terry, Stane and Tom, Jack’s friends, shelte-ring in the central hull, nearly received 13 tonnesof catamaran on their heads… it missed them by3 metres! Jack had a spinal injury, but succee-ded in righting his NATIVE and rebuilding it.The name HUGO has been removed from thelists used to name hurricanes.

A Phœnix’s round the world trip

In January 2001, Chrissi Serini and Jack set offfrom Saint Croix to sail round the world, off the

beaten tracks and with no timetable. They firstvisited the south of the West Indian arc, exploredthe Orinoco and the River Macareo, before a sto-pover at Carthage, in Colombia, and a return toTrinidad to equip NAGA for the big voyage. A tripto Europe (by air) allowed Jack to see his brother(who lived in Barcelona) again, then to head for StAntonin Nobleval, the residence of his friend andgastronomic Sherpa, Daniel Charles. This break onthe 'old continent' was a springboard from whichJack and Chrissi gained the impetus for their wan-dering life together. In April 2004, they went

through the Panama Canal, headed directly for theMarquesas (4000 miles in 25 days) and fell underthe charm of the region…within the limits of thethree month visa granted by the French (Ua Huka,Nuku Huva and Uapou). Chrissi was hypnotisedby the volcanic landscapes and the sailing replicasof traditional catamarans and dugouts. In theTuamotus, NAGA met François Forestier andCharlie Capelle’s ex-LEJABY RASUREL, thenTRUMPETER, Phil Weld’s first trimaran. Chrissibecame infatuated with the Suvarov atoll (TomNeale / Moitessier); Jack sensed the ‘danger’, anddecided to set off to collect some urgent mes-sages in Pago Pago! The American Samoas didn'tdetain them; NAGA headed towards the Vava’U

group (Tonga Islands) and then New Zealand forthe hurricane season. They stayed in Opua Bay,where they made many friends. But after spen-ding decades in the tropics, Jack and Chrissi wereimpatient to get back to the warmth and set acourse for the Fijis. In the Vanuatus, they met atravelling couple aboard another Native, NINTHCHARM, with which John and Fran were roamingthe Pacific (sandwich version with a rotatingmast). The annual scrub off took place on anantique slipway. "In the Vanuatus, no money, noproblems, no crime," Chrissi noted. After NewCaledonia, NAGA discovered Australia with a sto-pover at Bundaberg on the Burnett River. Here thecouple met up with some very creative multihullenthusiasts, then went to Brisbane from wherethe cycle tours started which would later becomethe mainstay of their land-based activities. To learnabout the huge Indonesia, they took part in the2006 Sail Indonesia Rally, which brought togethera hundred boats at the departure from Darwin!The NAGA sail loft was working flat-out to supplycushions, covers, and lots of sail repairs. On theisland of Sulawesi, NAGA raced with theSandecks (ultra-lightweight, over-canvassed trima-rans), taking the victory to the amazement of thelocal specialists were never thought it possiblethat a modern boat could be so fast. The crewsuccumbed to the charms of Guli Air (a smallisland close to Bali), visited the Malay rivers andfinally Langkawi after 3000 miles of intense disco-very. Since 2007, NAGA has been exploringThailand and Malaysia alternately, with long cycletours in the whole of South-East Asia.

47

'The night the boats flew’, NAGA pivoted on its starboardfloat, flew about 15 m, and landed upside down in the mud

NAGA in Telaga Marina(Langkawi): there reallyis a possible life afterracing for these boats,which had us all drea-ming…

Sailing with Jack is like poetry...

44-49 NAGA_MMHS6-US_Mise en page 1 21/06/12 10:30 Page47

NAGA and me, byChrissi…

I was making the passage from theBritish Virgin Islands to St.Martinon my 34' Melody sloop. It was anuncomfortable beat to windwardwith no spray dodger and no autopilot, and every other wave wasslapping me in the face. I looked toport and saw a white trimaran hea-ding the same direction as me,effortlessly flying over the wavesand making 3 times my speed. Ipointed out this miracle of sailingto my seasick girlfriend and sheagreed- what a beautiful boat. Ididn’t know it then, but Jack waslooking at us thru his binocularssaying to himself “ooh, girls!” Thisencounter on the waves was thebeginning of an amazing relations-hip between both me and Jack,and me and Naga. 7 years later Isold my little sloop, and Jack and Iembarked on a round the worldadventure that has been a dreamcome true.His sailing is like poetry, I canwatch him for hours as he looks upto the sails, eases a sheet line,trims the main. It’s as if his boatwere a part of him. He sits quietlyfor a few moments watching it all,then tweeks a sheet again or someother small adjustment, alwaysfeeling the boat and how she is per-forming. He does the navigating,the weather planning, and all thosetedious jobs that keep Naga safeand seaworthy. When the weathergets rough he is out there fightingit, and he is on deck for all sailchanges. He is never in a hurry toadd more sail, and never in a hurryto reef down. I love sailing with himbecause he makes me feel safe,

and he can make Naga fly.My role aboard is a comfortableone. I do the cooking and cleaning,I stand my watches and do most ofthe foredeck work. Until I injuredmy back I was the anchor windlass,but now that too is Jack’s job. Hegave me the aft cabin to use as mywork space, and in port it serves asa canvas and sail loft. Jack is ama-zingly understanding about thethread and fabric remnantsconstantly clogging the drain holes,the stacks of cushions taking upvaluable living space, the piles ofsails blocking access to the cockpit.Usually he is removed from thischaos, his work space is in the fore-peak where he sits at his compu-ter, undisturbed until I run the foamsaw on the deck over his head orstart pounding grommets. When I first came aboard Naga,she was very spartan, much likewhen Jack raced the boat with aminimum of comforts. Now she isdecorated in colorful silks, embroi-deries and textiles from around theglobe, she has beautiful deck can-vas and comfortable cockpit cus-hions, and she even has a pantrynow in space never utilized before.It was difficult to make thesechanges to Naga, adding theweight of even the spice rack sentJack into fits. But now the boat isvery much a home as well as a sail-boat.We live and work here aboardNaga, but the transformation fromhome and work space into incredi-ble sailing machine is an easy one.I feel honored and proud to sailaboard Naga, she is often the pret-tiest boat in the anchorage, and onpassages she eats all the otherboats sailing our way. Although a

lot heavier now than in her racingdays, Naga still sails with the sligh-test breeze and still dances effor-tlessly over the waves. To me, Naga is a dreamboat withmy hero at the helm, taking me toexotic places and wonderful adven-tures, and making my dreamscome true.

My happy golden oldiehome, by JackI suppose it could be consideredmy longest and most successfullove affair, over 31 years now withNAGA. She’s my trimaran homeand I write this and repose herequite happily in her silk-clad warmlyglowing wood bosom, quietly

anchored in this Malaysian bay nearThailand. She’s been home allthese many years, almost full-time,and the times have been gracedwith innumerable adventures andno let downs or betrayals. 31years? That’s a lot better than myrecord in affairs of the inter-perso-nal kind! NAGA has always beenreliable and trustworthy, a reasona-ble home, a sailor endowed withqualities that sometimes seemalmost spiritual. She’s been“mamaison de course,” as I used to callher, and a champ. So Naga hasproven to be a real Golden Oldie’sGolden Oldie! NAGA is the fastest little sail loftafloat these days but she’s also

48

Chrissi and Jack: the same passion, for NAGA and for the voyage…Start of the 1984 Ostar, by DougVan Zant, crew for the passagefrom St Croix to Plymouth. Thisphoto, which has always beenaboard NAGA, has been touchedup by a professional in Phuket,on Jack's request, for the requi-rements of this article…

Press cuttings at the finish of theOstar: when we tell you that thistrimaran is a legend…

44-49 NAGA_MMHS6-US_Mise en page 1 21/06/12 10:30 Page48

been a winner of the Route du Rhum and theOSTAR as Kriter X and Destination St. Croix res-pectively. She’s a record breaker in the Newport- Bermuda race by a huge margin and she wasthe scene of sheer terror when she flew in thescreaming black night of Hurricane Hugo’s morethan 200 knot gusts- in St. Croix, Virgin Islands in1989. (Much of this figures in my book La nuitou les bateaux volaient. Edition No Un - out ofprint.)We’ve had some good press from some ofthese racing adventures, but by far the biggestexposure was a bit of an embarrassment back in‘85 when it resulted from a starting line brawl inwhich NAGA was hit by the 85 foot FleuryMichon VII when the big cat was dashing for theline at 18 knots! Naga, surprisingly, came outthe better of the two in this incident, going on totake many honors along with substantial prizemoney in the Grand Prix de la Martinique, withFleury Michon having to retire from the races. Naga had come to some prominence in “the provinces” when she took all honors in the

1980 and 1981 St. MaartenTradewinds Races, an 800 milehigh-speed dash in three legsaround the East Caribbean.Going on to take first place inthe Multihull Newport toBermuda Race in 1981 andbreaking the record by 22hours did not do her reputationany harm. And notice, all thiswas in a 38 foot trimaran thatwas (quite rightly) described asa cruiser/racer - not at all a racer- by her famed architect DickNewick. Then there was the startling‘82 Rhum Race victory, win-ning class 5 and taking 6th ove-rall, with the average length ofthe first ten boats being wellover 60 feet, and every boatahead of Naga being in class 1with the exception of the win-ner of class 2. Then 1984 saw

a solid win in the British singlehander theOSTAR, taking class 3 and arriving 14th overallout of 91 starters. Naga never did any serious racing after that, lar-gely due to sponsoring difficulties with theAmericans who seem so often to lag behind. Naga had simultaneously been a great cruiser allover the Caribbean and up to the States and theBahamas. Then in 2000 I met a young lady sail-maker back in St. Croix, our home port, and after

enjoying each other’s company for a while sheannounced that she had a dream. That dreamwas to sail around the world. And that sailmakerwas Chrissi, the person who now runs an ama-zing sail loft out of Naga’s relatively tiny aft cabin,doing sail repairs and every manner of lovely can-vas creations in that space! Chrissi had ownedher own 34 foot monohull for 13 years, but it wasnot the right boat for her dream. I had been allover the world as a merchant seaman and I waspretty happy just chasing women and drinkingbeer in Trinidad, so sailing around the world wasNOT my dream. In fact, upon reflection, it see-med like I didn’t have a dream. So when Chrissiasked if I would make her dream come true andsail her around the world, I told her it wasn’t mydream, but that I would sleep on it. When I wokeI had an answer: I told her I thought that even ifit wasn’t my dream, it might be a good idea tomake someone else’s dream come true. So,

yes. I would. Sail her around the world. Turns out that it’s become my dream too. Wesailed a lot in the Caribbean to new areas I hadn’tknown before - Cuba, Colombia, Panama - andfinally left Trinidad in ‘03. The vast open seas ofthe South Pacific were a profound tonic for us,and with few exceptions we’ve loved andenjoyed almost everywhere between Trini andthe Southeast Asian region we’ve been in for thelast few years - Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand.

And Naga still surprises me with the perfectionof her sailing qualities - I’m just stunned how shecan sail in so little wind in this area and how wellshe takes the crap when the crap comes. Whether racing or cruising, NAGA has alwaysbeen trustworthy and wonderfully reliable forover 31 years now. Even in terrible weather,Naga has always behaved well and predictably,almost never quitting for conditions and alwayscoming through in good form. And that is per-haps the key to why Naga has become a kind oflegend, first as a racer and now as a GoldenOldie that’s a permanent home and a permanentworld cruiser: Not only does she perform well,but she is reliable and well-behaved, with no uglysurprises in her sailing. Indeed about the onlysurprise I sometimes experience is just howbeautifully she sails. Newick really got this one right. Thanks, Dick.

Jack Petith

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE,

WE RECOMMEND :

"La nuit où les bateaux volaient" - Jack Petith Editions No1 (out ofprint, but available second-hand on the Internet.

NAGA web site: www.trimaran-naga.com

NINTH CHARM web site: http://ninthcharm.multiply.com

49

Naga, a famous racing boat has become an equally fast blue water cruising boat! (photo Christian Février)

"In the Vanuatus, no money, no problems, no crime,"Chrissi noted

44-49 NAGA_MMHS6-US_Mise en page 1 21/06/12 10:30 Page49