Fastest dinghy?

Simon,

I never look at websites, especially those with "chat" or "forum" pages as they seem to be full of too much blah, blah and the same can be said for the 15 pages I have just scanned through on the Yachts & Yachting pages that you directed me to.

This will be my first and last comments about your stories with your chat mates - you can post my comments if you wish - but only in its entirety.

I have been sailing catamarans at international regattas since 1982 (12 years old). I have won 10 Australian Championships (from 11 attempts), 4 European Championships (from 6 attempts) and 6 World Championships (from 17 attempts, only twice outside the top 6 places) in the Olympic Tornado. I have also been to 3 Olympic Games and won a Bronze, a Silver and recently came 6th in Athens.

I have been the proud owner of a Hobie 3.5 (11 foot), Nacra 5.0, 5.2, 5.5, 5.8, 18sqm, Tornado (old rig and new rig), a Nacra 36 and now own a Marstrom M-20 and an M-18.

I am from Sydney and was around when the C Class, Tornado with spinnaker and 18 foot skiffs raced on Sydney Harbour. It was not a race, it was a disgrace. The C Class won by miles, the Tornado (with old rig, small diameter beams and a dodgy modified Skiff kite) beat the best 18 foot skiffs. The guy who skippered the Tornado was a very good helmsman by Australian standards at that time, but adding to the attraction was that he was disabled (paralysed) from the waist down. The skiffs have never wanted to race catamarans since that day, although nearly every year we throw around words in jest of having another race.... but it never eventuates.

Whilst the 18 foot skiffs are going faster these days, the Tornado is going MUCH faster. Even since 2001 the Tornado is going MUCH faster now due to the huge amount of development gone in to the flying shapes of kites, the launch and retrieval systems and the self tacking jib.

If someone can put a "Challenge" together with some decent prize money for the race of all races with a variety of courses including triangle, windward leeward, P or Z courses as well as straight line one-way speed tracks it would be worth attending and I am sure could attract a great amount of media attention. It would also end the speculation that exists in the sailing world about "who is faster".

One must also be careful to compare apples with apples in such on-going debates. I read that in Australia a Taipan 4.9 and F-18 give the current Tornado National Champion a run for his money around the course. That is true, but with no discredit to his National title, Bundy and I were beating the same Tornado by a full 1.2Nm leg at the prior National Championship. We have not sailed in Australia on a Tornado for the past 2 years so it was not us who was being given a run from the others.!!

It is true the 18 foot skiffs are fast downwind in nearly all conditions, but the Tornado is still faster. Upwind there is no contest, a cat will kill a mono any day. We have gone out on our Tornado and watched the 18 foot skiffs racing on Sydney Harbour. We can watch the start of their race and then cruise upwind and beat them to the top mark, watch half the fleet go around and then zoom down the bottom and watch them round the leeward mark. If that's not faster than a skiff, I don't know what is.

The San Fran Bridge to Bridge would be a good race between a sailboard, an 18 foot skiff and a Tornado - but only because it is one way. If it was there and back, the cat would win by half an hour or more.

I was in Quiberon when ISAF assembled the best catamarans and the best catamaran sailors together and tested all the Cats (and some monohulls) put up for evaluation for the 2004 Olympic class selections. Upwind the standard old rig Tornado romped over all boats at the event with the exception of the Marstrom M-20. Downwind the new Tornado and M-20 are just totally untouchable.

A skiff (12, 14, 16, 18 49er) or a Cherub (??) or any monohull may be faster at one point in a certain wind speed on a certain day against a certain sailor on a certain sailing angle, but around the bouys or on an even upwind/downwind/reaching track an off-the-beach catamaran is still the best boat to sail. End of story. No more questions asked.

It was just a shame (an ignorant shame though) that the initial question asked was "what is the best/fastest dinghy that I should buy?". Hopefully some education to the person who asked the question may sway them into buy a "fun" boat (a catamaran).

I have now retired from Tornado sailing and will no longer be in the "Olympic Arena" and intend on spending my leisure on my sail boat of choice - the Marstrom M-20. Like a Tornado but 60kg lighter. Like an A Class on steriods and with a spinnaker.

Regards,

John Forbes