Bruce Arms of the Sunshine Coast has taken out both line honors and the multihull division of the 2010 Solo Trans Tasman yacht race in his 14m performance cruising Chamberlin catamaran. For much of the race Bruce looked set to take out the Trans Tasman record, averaging almost 10 knots and reaching speeds of up to 22.8 knots before being left stranded by light airs in the final stages. Bruce still managed to finish in 7 days, 6 hours and 34 minutes, more than 2 days ahead of his nearest competitor.

It is the third time Bruce has entered the Solo Trans Tasman and his second line honors victory. Sailing the 1998 race in his Mike Muir 9.5 'Skiddy Too', Bruce met fellow entrant and line honors winner Robin Chamberlin who he commissioned to design his and wife Suzanne's dream yacht. The product of this meeting (and a few years of hard work) is 'Big Wave Rider' a 14m catamaran with the speed and performance necessary for Bruce and Suzanne to compete in (and win) races across Australia and New Zealand and the comfort required of a live aboard cruising yacht. Bruce won line honors in the 2007 Solo Trans Tasman on Big Wave Rider's debut and has now become the first person to win the race twice in it's 40 year history. This result has once again highlighted the pace and excellent handling of the Chamberlin 14 which has allowed Bruce and fellow Chamberlin 14 owners to both cruise and race vast distances short handed.

Also sailing this year's race in a Chamberlin was Steven Arms in his newly launched 10.3m cat 'Nitro'. Steven came in fourth across the line and second multihull which was a remarkable effort considering the boat was launched six weeks before the start and had only sailed 1000 miles (the qualifying requirements) prior to the race. Steve suffered from teething problems for much of the race including electrical issues and the loss of his autopilot, given this and the battering the fleet endured during the race, Steve did exceptionally well and was understandably very tired upon entry to Mooloolaba. We will be following the progress of Steve and 'Nitro' in the future with great interest as she looks set to be a very quick little boat.

Congratulations to both Bruce and Steve!