Morris International, with sponsorship from R. J. Reynolds Tobacco USA, founded the Salem ProSail Series, a nationwide professional sailboat racing series. America's Cup skipper, Tom Blackaller, wins a half million dollars as the ProSail Champion. Visit
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The Prosail Formula 40 Cats
ProSail Formula 40 one-design catamarans were hailed as the new wave in sports in 1989. These high-tech carbon fiber 40-foot catamarans attracted some of the nation's top racers to the Salem Prosail Series, a nationwide professional sailboat racing circuit that also featured Hobie 21 catamarans. In their first year of competition, the ProSail 40 regattas were featured in three ESPN sports television programs.
Privately owned and operated by Morris International, of Davidson, NC, NASCAR marketing guru, Sid Morris designed ProSail to be the "perfect" sports property. Morris made history in April 1988 by organizing the first professional sailboat race in the United States, where the Hobie Sunglasses Team, skippered by Hobie Alter, Jr., racing in Hobie 21s, defeated a field of 20 competitors to win the first regional qualifier in Tampa, FL. Over $3,000,000 was awarded to ProSail teams from 1988 through 2000!
"The World's Fastest Closed Course Sailboats" were created by America's top multihull designers, the Californian team of Morrelli and Melvin, and built Rhode Island to high one-design standards by Merrifield - Roberts. The powerful ProSail 40s raced at venues that included Detriot, San Franciso, Miami, Wrightsville Beach, Annapolis, Newport, New Bern and Mackinac Island, drawing rave reviews from racers and spectators alike. With spinnakers, the 2,000 pound cats fly 1,600 square feet of sail from their 67-foot masts, providing an awesome sail to displacement ratio.
The ProSail series attracted top-gun sailors like Tom Blackhaller, Randy Smyth, Ed Baird, Ken Read, Cam Lewis and Hobie Alter, Jr. plus spectators and television viewers from coast to coast. Well-known sponsors that made the circuit included AC Delco, DuPont, SuperLube, RJ Reynolds, Duraflame and USA Today. Modified, with racks and trapezes, two ProSail 40s were featured in some spectacular sailing sequences on the general release movie, The Thomas Crown Affair. Learn more about ProSail Series
