This prao was designed by Daniel Charles at the request of Alain Gliksman. Originally rigged as a schooner, but fitted with masts that were too heavy, it was modified by Christian Augé, and later by Marc Lombard. This prao provided its crews with extraordinary thrills (but also some headaches). Among them were Halvard Mabire, Vincent Lévy, Christine Capdevielle and Denis Gliksman.
The ‘duo’ of Jack Petith and Naga raced extensively together, winning numerous races open to multihulls in the Caribbean. In 1981, they broke the Newport–Bermuda record, but it was above all by winning the Route du Rhum and the 1984 OSTAR in Class III that they made a lasting impression. In September 1990, Naga was damaged in Sainte Croix by Hurricane Hugo. Following this maritime misfortune, Jack restored Naga to working order and wrote a book, ‘The Night the Boats Flew’.
In 1976, Gulfstreamer set sail from Florida to reach the start of the OSTAR. During the crossing, in difficult conditions (wind force 8 to 9), a single 12-metre wave caused the boat to capsize. The crew spent four and a half days on the upturned hull before being rescued by a Russian cargo ship in the North Atlantic…
This boat is the result of a tremendous rapport between Dick Newick, the designer, and Phil Weld, the skipper.
Phil came to see Dick and said: “Design me a boat to win the OSTAR!” The two men knew and appreciated each other so well that it was “simple” for Dick to design — almost as if for his own use — a custom-built boat, perfectly suited to the future winner.
This boat was built in a barn in Easton Gordano. The presence of a flock of geese made access to the building site difficult, hence the name Gordano Goose! Converted into a Formula 40, it is undoubtedly one of the first trimarans to attempt to stand upright on a float. In 2002, it capsized whilst being transported. Righted, it remains a wreck in Menorca. Gordano Goose was found thanks to Bruno Fehrenbach’s search on Google Earth! It was just in time; the bulldozer tasked with clearing the wasteland where it was stored was 20 metres from the boat.
