Space Rocks

Want a close encounter of the absurd kind? Then blast off with these asteroides from across the looney-verse.

As an avid 13-year-old sailor, Chris White became interested in multihulls after a day sail on a charter trimaran in St. Croix. Five years later, he built and launched the 31-foot Searunner trimaran "Shadowfax", which became home and adventure vehicle for three years of cruising the East Coast, the Bahamas, the West Indies, and parts of South America.

Returning to the U.S. with firm ideas for designing serious cruising multihulls, White worked with multihull pioneer Jim Brown to develop Constant Camber boatbuilding, culminating in the construction of the 52-foot trimaran "Juniper".

After two years of cruising "Juniper" from Maine to the West Indies with his wife, Kate, White devoted himself full-time to furthering development of cruising multihulls. He is an associate member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, has published numerous articles in boating magazines, and holds several patents for inventions pertaining to high-speed recreational sailboats.

When he can get away from his busy design business in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, Chris, Kate, and young sons Bill and Robert still sail "Juniper" at every opportunity. In "WoodenBoat" magazine, Jim Brown called White one of the " . . . few designers . . . offering extremely wholesome new cruising designs for the amateur. To me, such men appear to tiptoe down the tightrope of compromise between cruising and performance."