RECENT COVERAGE : May 19, 2008
 This article also appeared on the North Sails website.

John Kwitek, owner of the Gunboat 62, Lickity Split 2 collected silver and champagne at Stanford Antigua Sailing Week.  Kwitek, his wife, Sue, purchased a performance cruising Gunboat 48 and quickly stepped up to a 62 foot catamaran.  Gunboat owners, who are addicted to technology cloaked in comfort, have taken a liking to racing.  This year half a dozen boats competed in the Heineken Regatta and ASW as part of the first annual Caribbean Gunboat Shootout. 

Lickity Split 2 had a tough time with the heavy winds in St. Maarten and went into ASW a few points behind Safari and tied with Looking for Elvis, other Gunboat 62’s.  Kwitek, who is taking lessons from South African America’s Cup skipper, Mark Sadler, of North’s Cape Town, SA loft, made great strides at the helm during a week of lighter winds in Antigua.  Kwitek’s crew, which included Sadler’s J/22 world champion teammates, Paul Willcox and Alan Mathews, honed their crew work and won three of the six races at ASW. 

Lickity’s full North inventory included  3DL/Kevlar/Carbon Main, a Cuban Masthead Maxi Screecher, a Cuban Fractional Screecher, a Jib and a .75 Asymetric.  While the boats come equipped with roller furling sails for cruising and short handed sailing, many of the owners have added large Asymmetric Spinnakers to their quivers, putting a premium on crew work.  North built the large Asymetirics for Lickity and Looking for Elvis, another 62, for ASW, enabling the boats to carry the sail at 140-150 degrees apparent wind rather than a low of 120 degrees with their Masthead Screechers.

North’s Mark Sadler was pleasantly surprised with the Gunboat.  “I expected it to be a cruising catamaran, but it sails really well upwind and it is a lot of fun downwind.  The Gunboats truly are performance oriented cruising boats and we’re keen to offer the best sail package that we can.  The owners are interested in learning and the level of sailing really improved from the Heineken to ASW,” said Sadler.

Next year, Kwitek will be steering a ’62, but sometime in the near future he’ll be at the helm of a Gunboat ’66.  When Marstrom’s Torbjorn Linderson started to discuss mast design and sail configurations for the ’66 with Kwitek, the winning helmsman said, “talk to Mark.  He’s my man on this project.” 

Mark’s comments on Kwitek’s plans for the next Lickity Split, “it will be more performance oriented – stylish, but fast with a big rig.  I’m looking forward to sailing the Chicago-Mac this summer and even the Transpac, if they let the boat in.  Once again, North instilled confidence in an owner and his program. 

Lickity Split photo by Billy Black.