Cascade (Milgram 38)

Cascade in her favoured reaching conditions

Cascade was radical cat-rigged ketch designed in 1972 by Professor Jerry Milgram (of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), which challenged the current status quo of yacht design in terms of both the yacht itself and its rig, and is of some interest as a result. The 38-footer featured a stepped deck profile with high topsides for’ard with a sharply raked stem that together had a somewhat ungainly appearance, described at the time as “the ugliest ocean racer in sailing memory”, and despite fears at the time, she fortunately had no future influence on yacht design.

Cascade sported two stayed cat rigs, with masts of 50 and 52 feet height, with the for’ard mast positioned quite close to the bow with little room for headsail. The use of a dual cat rig set up was a canny way of side-stepping some of the complex sail area measurements applicable under the then Mark II version of the IOR. While she was able to present up to 800m2 of sail area by flying an assortment of staysails between the two masts, her rated sail area was just 325m2 (for comparison, the S&S yacht Lightnin’ had a rated sail area of 550m2 and rated 27.2ft). This was combined with other advantages in the Engine and Propellor Factor of the rule, along with rating contrivances around the bow and stern profiles and a displacement of some 17,000lbs and a 52% ballast ratio. The overall result was that Cascade rated a very low 22ft, little more than a Half Tonner.

The aesthetically challenging profile view of Cascade

Cascade nearly swept the New York Yacht Club cruise (a series of races) in the late summer of 1972, winning two races, finishing second twice, before losing one of her masts. Milgram then took her to the SORC regatta in January 1973. However, by that stage the Offshore Racing Council (ORC) of the then International Yacht Racing Union which administered the IOR had taken note of the radical newcomer. The ORC was empowered under Rule 101 of the IOR to “deal with any peculiarity of design and to give such rating as they consider equitable” where a boat was deemed to be exploiting a rules loophole. On the recommendation of its International Technical Committee (ITC), the ORC summarily raised Cascade’s rating by 10%, to 24.2ft. Milgram was able to have this reduced to 22.8ft in time for the 1973 SORC by shortening the rig and making a few other smaller adjustments.

Cascade in her original configuration

Milgram was reported at the time to say that while Cascade's rating should possibly be higher, the sail area was not as effective as a sloop’s big spinnaker or big-boy genoa which work better on a reach and run than Cascade’s staysails. He was somewhat bitter towards the ITC: “They cite the first sentence of [Rule 101] which allows the IYRU to invoke a penalty in exceptional cases so as to cover any radical departures, but I cite the last rule, 866E, which specifically prescribes how to rate cat-rigged ketches”. Rule 866E was:

"A cat‐rig may not carry a spinnaker unless accepting this as a basis for foretriangle measurement, in which classification and measurement would be as for a sloop or cutter. Conversely, a schooner, yawl or ketch which carries neither head, sails nor spinnaker may be rated without fore‐triangle measurement by following normal procedures outlined in the foregoing but using zero for, the fore‐triangle rated area".

Cascade seen here prior to a start in the 1975 SORC (photo Facebook)

At the start of the 1973 SORC it seemed the issue was something of a storm in a teacup. Cascade did not do very well in the opening St Petersburg-Venice Race and then, although finishing strongly in the St Petersburg-Fort Lauderdale Race, she missed a course marker and was penalised just over 3 hours. With four races to go, she lay 27th in a fleet of 125 boats. Conditions had been in Cascade’s favour, as she was very quick on a reach, but less impressive upwind or dead downwind. With reaching legs prevalent, Milgram could afford to take a very conservative approach to the starts, and then proceed to reel in his competitors.

Cascade seen here at the 1983 SORC (Yachting magazine)

In this fashion Cascade went on to win the Miami-Lucaya Race, and then the Lipton Cup off Miami. For the 176-mile Miami-Nassau Race, the SORC’s premier event, Cascade meandered off the startline last as usual, but as her staysail was hoisted and filled with a south-easterly on her beam she leapt ahead. Within 10 minutes she had Lightnin’ abeam in her own Class E and was fast catching up with Munequita which had started a full 15 minutes earlier in Class D and went on to cruise across the Gulf Stream and went on to take overall honours. But by then, Cascade’s crew knew there were not enough points available in the last race, the Nassau Cup, to overcome the Fort Lauderdale error.

Cascade competing in the 1983 SORC and now sporting a headsail, of sorts

The final epic contest in the Nassau Cup between Munequita, Lightnin’ and Robin for the top honours did not distract the ocean racing community for long from their preoccupation with Cascade, which had a poor showing in the final race to finish fifth overall. At its April 1973 meeting the ITC subsequently closed the measurement loophole exploited by Milgram on the basis of the newly issued Mark III version of the IOR. This version dropped the provisions of Rule 866E and Cascade’s rating shot up to 27.2ft.

Cascade during the 1983 SORC, note the backstay bumpkin, and the mizzen staysail being tacked to the weather rail - the tack of the mizzen also appears to be fixed to the bottom of the mast (photo Phil Uhl | Facebook)

Comments from a former Class E competitor in a ‘Scuttlebutt’ article about Milgrim (following his passing in December 2021) and Cascade is instructive, noting that upwind, Cascade was about as fast as a Half-Tonner, but when reaching, Cascade made good use of mizzen staysails and was about as fast as the One Tonners, which were about her same length overall but Cascade probably had an extra foot or so waterline length. As far as ‘design break-through’, the boat was considered a big step backwards. Although no genoas or spinnakers meant much less work for crew, her speed was considered poor to average for a 38-footer and the boat’s success was primarily due to its low rating. Others have described Cascade as a 38-footer that sailed like a 33-footer but rated like a 30-footer, and could not be described as a good boat. It is understood that Cascade also lost the US Half Ton championship around this time against a Scampi 30, due to damaged rigging in one race, and being beaten in light airs in another.

Cascade on an upwind leg during the 1983 SORC, with an unusually full shape to the lower part of the mizzen (photo Phil Uhl)

Ten years on, Cascade reappeared for the 1983 SORC, on charter to Russell Long, with changes that had reduced her rating to 24.0ft, the minimum allowed for the series. This was further reduced to 23.3ft through the age allowance factor used for the SORC regatta. Cascade's new set up included a headsail with a LP measurement of just 3.5ft, and it appeared to have a larger mizzen that necessitated the addition of a bumpkin to support the backstay. She remained able to sail much faster than her rating on reaching courses, but in the first and third races with their high proportion of windward work, she suffered badly. After a tenth place in Class F in the opening Boca Grande Race, she revelled in the heavy downwind conditions of the St Petersburg - Ft Lauderdale Race and won the race overall by nearly two hours on corrected time, from Locura. She went on to finish 16th (Lipton Cup) and 2nd (Ocean Triangle) but did not finish the Miami-Nassau Race and was unable to start the Nassau Cup finale, so finished up ninth in class and 55th overall.

Another view of Cascade sailing upwind during the 1983 SORC (photo Phil Uhl)

Later in 1983 the SORC administrators announced the removal of its specific age allowance and moved to limit the minimum rating for future entries to 24.5ft (Three-Quarter Ton size). This effectively disqualified Cascade from the series, although no doubt she could have been altered to reach this new rating limit.

Cascade being craned prior to relaunch as a cruiser (photo Facebook)

It is understood that Cascade later ended up at Even Keel in Yarmouth, Maine after being resurrected as a cruiser circa 1991. From there she was taken to the Caribbean and may have ended up in the Rio Dulce.