The No-Show

THE MYSTERY OF THE UNKNOWN CLIENT.

- Michael Peters

I started working in Italy with the aluminum race boat builder CUV (Cantieri Uniti Viareggio) in 1987, just as offshore powerboat racing in Europe was reaching its peak. A Class 1 race start would have 30 boats of all types and manufacturers in those days; for me, it was a thrilling competition to be involved in as a young designer. CUV had won several UIM Class 1 championships with

Don Shead-designed monohulls by the time I met them, but they were losing against the new catamaran hulls built by Cougar Marine of England. I was hired to design a series of racing catamarans that would help them become competitive again. CUV was headed by Umberto Bergamini and the famous former Italian offshore racer, Commander Attilio Petroni. Together, we built more than 30 catamarans over the next 10 years, and won several American and European races, including the 1991 UIM World Championship.