UPDATE 3:30pm Tuesday | Not long after the bubbly bottles were broken and the tropical percussion faded on Saturday, John Sangmeister set sail for the first time in his virgin vessel, which he aims to use to raise awareness of the city’s rich sailing history.
Sangmeister, proprietor of Gladstone’s and chair of the Downtown Long Beach Associates, calls the sleek racing vessel “Hydrogen II.” Check out the video above to catch a glimpse of the boat’s exciting first sail.
Hydrogen II is a Pro Sail 40 catamaran designed by Gino Morrelli of Morrelli & Melvin. The Pro Sail 40 is a predecessor to the America’s Cup 45, which will be sailed in the events leading up to the 2013 America’s Cup on San Francisco Bay.
Hydrogen II is named after Sangmeister’s father’s C-Class Catamaran “Hydrogen,” which his father entered in the Little America’s Cup Trials around 1960. Besides bearing the Gladstone’s logo, Hydrogen II also represents The Hotel Maya and Atlantis WeatherGear.
Sangmeister and his partner, Jay Steinbeck, bought the boat to honor the new America’s Cup in catamarans, and to promote Long Beach as an AC World Series or Junior America’s Cup venue.
On hand for Saturday’s event were Morrelli (co-author of the America’s Cup 72 Class Rule); Tom Ehman, managing director of communications for Oracle Racing and the winner of the 33rd America’s Cup; sailing Olympians Jay and Pease Glaser; and Commodores John Busch of the Long Beach Yacht Club, and Dave Cort and Al Garnier of the Transpac Yacht Club.
9:37am | Steel drums played and champagne bottles were smashed as John Sangmeister, owner of Gladstone’s and chair of the Downtown Long Beach Associates, christened his new racing vessel in Rainbow Harbor over the weekend. The catamaran, named Hydrogen II, will be sailed with the intention of drawing attention to Long Beach as a racing destination, Sagmeister said. Check out the video above and stay tuned for more information coming soon.