Howard Hamlin and Mike Martin

Howard Hamlin & Mike Martin

1999 Sailing Resume

505

1st 505 World Championship

Quiberon, France

5 to 15 knot breeze

scores 2,2,2,1,dns

Largest 505 worlds ever with 157 boats. To show the caliber of the fleet, 3rd place was Jorgen Schonherr, 2 time FD World Champion. 4th place was Wolfgang Hunger, 2 time 470 World Champion. and 5th was Krister Bergstrom 4 time 505 World Champion. The series was sailed in light air.

1st 505 North American Championship

Corpus Christi Texas

20 to 25 knot breeze

Scores 1,1,2,1,1,1,2

1st 505 Pacific Coast Championship

Santa Cruz, California

5 to 10 knot breeze

1st 505 California State Championships

Marina Del Ray, California

5 to 25 knot breeze

1st 505 West Coast Midwinters

Alamitos Bay, California

5 to 15 knot breeze

1st Heat 2

JJ Giltinan International Series (18 Foot Skiff World Championship)

Sydney , Australia

First Americans to win a heat of the 18 foot skiff worlds in 30 years. Howard and Mike have competed in the 18-Foot Skiff World Championships for the past three years and are the only Americans who have been invited to participate with full boat sponsorship arranged by the Australian 18 footers league. This past January, they won a heat in the J.J.Gilitnan Regatta (the 18ft skiff worlds), which was only the second time in the 60-year history of the regatta that an American team has won a race (see, Sailing World, May 1999, p.65).

Fact Sheet For Howard Hamlin And Michael Martin

Howard Hamlin and Mike Martin have been a team since 1995 and during that period have accumulated an outstanding record of championship sailing, boat design, and advancement of the sport. Moreover, they have accomplished all these things as true amateurs. Neither is a professional sailor. Howard works full time as a land Broker and Mike works full time as a Mechanical Engineer for Canon Business Machines.

The team's Total Development Program (see, Sailing World, September, 1999, p.11) includes working proactively with their sailmaker, boat manufacturer, hardware and other providers. The sails that Howard and Mike have developed with Jay Glasier now with Ullman Sails have finished 1st and 2nd in the past two Worlds championships. Over twenty years ago, Howard built the mold for the 505 that he and Mike sailed in the worlds. The mold is now used by Larry Tuttle of Waterat Boats who manufactured the boats that won both first and second places in 1999. Yet Howard and Mike still seek to refine the design. Their rudder and centerboard designs have been evolving since 1996. The first, second and third boats at Quiberon were using versions of their high-ration blades (see Mike's article in March 1999 Sailing World, p.46).

Advancement of the Sport

Howard is a past president of the international 505 fleet. Mike is immediate past president of the national 505 fleet. Both are long-standing members of US SAILING. Both team members have worked hard at growing the fleet and are renowned for both their good sportsmanship and willingness to help others improve their sailing skills. In the August, 1999 Hard on the Wind, the publication of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Ben Benjamin, Jr., part of the team that trained with Howard and Mike and came in second in the worlds, wrote, "We would also like to thank Howard and Mike for their support as well. They have supported us and given us the confidence we needed to succeed and were critical to our performance. Howard and Mike have again demonstrated tremendous sportsmanship as well as amazing yacht racing skills."

Personal Data: Howard Hamlin

Howard Hamlin is a native southern Californian whose appreciation for water sports were launched on the surfing beaches of Southern California. In 1974, at the age of 21 he began sailing 505's. Dissatisfied with the quality of manufacture of the 505 he tooled a new mold in 1979 and produced 18 505's. Howard sailed in his first 505 Worlds in 1978 and has sailed in 20 since. He has won 4 North American championships and eight top 4 finishes in the Worlds. He and Mike Martin have been sailing Australian 18 foot skiffs for the past five years in the 505 off season. Howard has been in the real estate development business since 1981."

Personal Data: Michael Martin

A native of Alexandria, Virginia, Mike began to sail in local competition at an early age. He attributes much of his love of the sport to mentoring he received from Thistle skipper Brent Barbrihan, with whom he captured the Thistle national championships in 1982 and 1984. Mike raced Lasers while in high school and collage and won the North American Laser championship in 1985. Coached by Gary Bodie and K.C. Fulmer, he was an All-American Laser sailor and Intercollegiate single-handed National champion at Old Dominion University. During college, he began sailing the Olympic Finn and participated in both the 1988 And 1992 Olympic trials. Mike Moved to the west coast in 1990 and has sailed 505s and 18 foot skiffs with Howard Hamlin since 1995. Mike currently lives in Seal Beach, California and works as a Research & Development engineer for Canon Business Machines in Costa Mesa, CA