The ocean-conquering Ultim trimarans foiling their way across the Atlantic during the latest Route du Rhum owe their origins to several non-French pioneers, including a knockabout Aussie and a New Zealand-based designer. The latter is Englishman Derek Kelsall, who immigrated to NZ in the 1990s, while Australian Hedley Nicol developed several interesting designs in the 1960s.
Other pioneering international designers included Americans Arthur Piver, Dick Newick and Walter Greene and Englishman Nigel Irens.
This article was prompted by the recent deaths of Derek Kellsal (1934-Dec 11, 2022) and another trimaran pioneer, Canadian Mike Birch (1931-Oct 20, 2022). Birch single-handedly sailed his small yacht ahead
