Supplied image.
by Janine Robinson
In 1988 Dennis Conner infamously said, “One of us was sailing a cat – the other a dog”. He was of course referring to the 1988 America’s Cup challenge in which he successfully challenged New Zealand’s KZ1, a 90 foot sloop with a 60 foot wing-sailed catamaran, crossing the finish line minutes ahead and possibly igniting the first ever public debate over the virtues of multihulls over the monohull.
Now, twelve years later, it seems the cat has come back with the recent announcement that the 2013 America’s Cup will be sailed in 22 metre catamarans.
CEO of BMW-Oracle Russell Coutts stated recently, that monohulls are for the ‘Flintsone’ generation and that Multihulls are for the ‘Facebooks’ and believes racing the America’s Cup in multihulls will make the event more exciting, gain media attention, and attract new sponsorship for the event.
The popularity of multihulls has risen within the NZ racing scene. Matthew Flynn of the NZMYC tells us that the club numbers are steadily increasing with an average of 15 boats competing regularly in harbour racing events, which includes a fleet of both 8.5m Club and open multihulls.
To qualify for membership for the 8.5m Club each boat must fit within a ‘box rule’. Simply put, as long as your boat fits within an 8.5m length, 6.6m beam max, and 12.6m airdraft (the measurement from waterline to top of mast), then you’re in for consideration.
The class has grown in popularity, particularly amongst younger boat owners, as it’s seen as having affordable entry into fast, exciting, class racing, due to the availability of boats such as GBE’s and Farriers which are easily modified into competitive 8.5m Class racers.
There are, of course, new boats being designed and built to the rule, such as Lucifer (pictured) and Borderline, both of which are providing thrills and excitement on the water for their crews and spectators alike.
Annually the HSBC Premier Coastal Classic is run by the NZMYC and multihull numbers are expected to exceed 20 entries this year. The inaugural Coastal Classic yacht race held in 1982 was won on line by a forty foot Crowther designed trimaran Krisis, the first monohull, Hawkeye a Farr 38, following some fifty minutes later, according to the Coastal Classic website.
Another boat of note in the history of the Coastal Classic, is the veteran racer, Split Enz, designed by Ron Given in 1984. Split Enz won the multihull division six times before she was sold and sailed to Noumea – rumour has it, she was sailed with an inflatable dinghy strapped to the deck for a life raft. She is currently back in New Zealand and will again be lining up at the start, Labour Weekend.
Another regular Coastal Classic competitor throughout the nineties was the Tennant designed catamaran, Afterburner, who won the race numerous times, once famously flipping after Kawau, catapulting her crew into the sea, and also onto the front page the Saturday edition of the NZ Herald. She is currently based in California where she is extensively campaigned by her current owner, Bill Gibbs.
Currently making news headlines is TeamVodafoneSailing, a sixty foot trimaran, owned by Simon Hull. Capable of speeds of up to forty knots, she is one to watch this year, as she is hunting to break the current race record, held by Alfa Romeo, of 6 hours, 43 minutes and 32 seconds, set in 2009.
Grant Dalton expressed his opinion on completing some training on A-class and F18 catamarans in a recent NZ Herald article:
"Our intention is to be in the America's Cup and after [the Louis Vuitton Trophy in] Dubai we won't be back in a mono hull for the foreseeable future," said Dalton. "We need to sail other boats as ...well - A-class cats, extreme 40s, F-18s, other boats that have relevance to transferring the skills across." With the future of the Cup in large multihulls this means that potential challengers will be looking to develop their crew roster and recruit future talent from the multihull fraternity. It is predicted that a number of sailors will be making the switch from mono hull sailing to the high speed multihulls. One of the most popular trailer able multihulls world wide is the Formula F18 (F18). Fleet racing in Auckland is based out of the Royal Akarana Yacht Club (RAYC), who run a diverse programme of around the buoys racing as well as a Harbour Blast series.
So with the passing of the crystal ball from Dennis to Russell, it’s seems the future development of multihull technology is firmly cemented. No doubt that same technology with one day filter to grass roots level and the technology once only affordable to professional sailors will be common place amongst multihulls in our own waters and beyond.
Royal Akarana Yacht Club
