Above: a genuine ‘super’ yacht. This is the same boat – Allegra – shown on the previous page starting to gently lift a hull. An upwind VMG of 8.5kt in 15kt of wind and tacking through respectable angles, then hitting the high 20kt off the wind with little fuss to disturb those onboard. These restaurateurs (below) must have been eavesdropping while the great Dick Newick explained multihull design
margin. The interior and exterior areas are closer to those of a monohull twice Allegra’s length. Guests can relax at anchor and enjoy a peaceful lunch, with no aware- ness of passing motor yachts and their wakes, while similar-sized monohulls are rolling wildly. Once lunch is over Allegra can be sailing at 15kt still with wine on the table, quickly accelerating to 25kt as the sea breeze kicks in. Meanwhile, non-sailors can read their books in total comfort. ‘We’re all now looking forward to putting the boat through her paces for the first time on the racecourse at the Multihull Cup in Mallorca in September (
MultihullCup.com), and then racing across the Atlantic at the end of the season. True sailing performance and genuine comfort are the most challenging of com- promises to resolve in any sailing yacht but we think we’re finally pretty much there.’ Even if only a handful of what Allegra’s builder Green Marine calls ‘Premium Catamarans’ get built and if they can meet up just once or twice a year for some racing (either in the Caribbean or the Med or both) then that would be great. In fact, too many events could be counterproduc- tive in a fleet that is intended to be com- posed of cruising boats.
The racing programme could benefit from what has been learnt in the Gunboat fleet over the years. Indeed, there is no obvious reason why a new multihull initia- tive could not attract participation from owners of both Gunboats (who usually compete in their own class) as well as other emergent performance catamarans – such as the Morrelli and Melvin ‘HH’ series. As primarily cruising boats, contenders will not be anything like as fast as those MOD 70s but some of them might be able
38 SEAHORSE
to stay in touch with an average fleet of performance monohulls of similar size. Inevitably the biggest challenge will lie
in establishing a workable rating system. Many have tried and most have failed. A quick sounding among interested parties suggests a preference for empirical ratings that are preferably devised behind closed doors by a blindingly undemocratic and obfuscated process (sounds silly, but it can work better than you’d think).
Ratings and TCFs would be evolved largely on the basis of accumulated on- the-water performance, although those responsible for rating would also need to be empowered to unilaterally update a yacht’s rating at will for whatever reason they feel is justified. There may also be a case for revising TCFs according to condi- tions on the day of the race; but let’s not try to run before we can walk.
However this is handled it is vital that the boats that join this circuit should have been designed primarily with viable cruising in mind – albeit fast cruising. If owners and designers stray from this theme and start a speed arms race in boats that couldn’t really be said to be ‘cruise-able’ then the majority of the established fleet will simply lose interest and the project will have failed. Attempts to design to take advantage of
weaknesses in a mathematically devised rule would probably spell disaster to the development of a nascent fleet. But it’s important to add one vital caveat to this whole speculation: although boats like these can be safely sailed in cruising mode with a single experienced skipper onboard the situation changes dramatically if catamarans are raced hard (and how else can you race?). It will there- fore be essential (and so mandatory) for each entry to have at least two or three additional
multihull professionals – or
accredited amateurs – onboard to make sure things don’t get out of hand in all the excitement.
If conditions are deemed to be extreme then a good skipper might decide to take precautions to protect the safety of ‘non- combatant’ crew by, for example, asking them to take refuge in the cabins within the hulls… which is a very much safer place to be than in the central accommodation if capsize becomes even a remote possibility. In a world in which yacht racing has become more and more the domain of pro- fessional sailors can there be a place for this kind of owner-and-friends event alongside the largely pro-crewed monohull circuits? The answer to this and to many other issues raised in this piece will need to be deter- mined through some lengthy debate in the coming months.
One thing for sure, though, is that to maximise the fun for owners and their friends out sailing it is essential that the management of the racing must be entrusted to the care and control of the most highly professional team available, who are entrusted to deliver excellent racing that is also fair racing. Even the lowliest cruiser grows horns once on the racecourse.
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