Skippered by Matt Baker (Plymouth Skipper in the Clipper Round the World Race 2000), crewed by his brother Simon Baker (a member of Saltash Sailing Club and Multimarine Project Manager), and fellow Clipper skipper and multihull race virgin Ed Green, Paradox managed to beat much bigger boats to take class honours.

The start of the race was delayed for an hour due to lack of wind, but once they were off they had a good start, crossing gybes with the smaller multihulls off Lymington, before B&Q passed them off Yarmouth in 6 knots of wind. Having got a lead over the smaller multis the wind died, leaving them to watch B&Q and two of the bigger trimarans up ahead. When the wind came up again it was on the nose, but they still managed to be 4th multihull round the Needles, and were just behind a large monohull when it hit the ground at Goose Rock.

Once past the Needles they lost a few places at Sandown Bay, beating close to shore to keep out of the tide and picking up a lobster pot for their trouble. After disentangling themselves from that they promptly picked up another. By the time they were free of that one they had dropped back away from the pack and had lost ¾ of a mile.

The wind picked up at St Catherine’s Point and they started pulling back places so they were running second among the small multis. A fetch took them down to Bembridge Ledge where they put the spinnaker up for a final run down to the finish line, maintaining position and crossing as 5th multihull over the line, giving them a win on handicap in their Grand Prix class.

It was especially gratifying for Dazcat designer Darren Newton, who won the race in 1989 in the first boat he ever built, an F28. That year he set a record time that remained unbroken for four years, so to have another Dazcat do so well in 2005 is something to relish.