The UKCRAs view on the RYAs submission to ISAF

The RYA has made two submissions against catamarans for the forthcoming ISAF meeting, which is due to take place on 1st – 11th November. There was no multihull representative on the RYA committee and UKCRA was not consulted nor even informed of these submissions, which we believe are misguided.

Firstly, Submission 129-07 seeks to replace the Open Multihull Class with yet another dinghy class effective from the 2009 Event in the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships.

This undermines the position of the Olympic catamaran class by denying it a junior trainer. There is a natural progression from junior dinghy classes to Olympic dinghy classes, so how can the RYA expect the highest level of performance to be generated by Olympic competitors in cats?

Secondly, Submission 103-07 lists the events it proposes for the 2012 Olympic Regatta. These include two windsurfing classes and six dinghy classes but no keelboat or catamaran classes. They are relegated to an eviction vote, where only two of four candidates will survive.

This runs counter to the objective of the Olympics to be as inclusive as possible. The differences among dinghies are much less than between dinghies, windsurfers, keelboats and catamarans. The Open Doublehanded Multihull class is the only sailing class that is open to both sexes. There are a large number of catamarans that are actively raced by both sexes. This Open class can equally be made Mixed Sex, like tennis doubles, if that is preferred.

If the secondary Olympic objective is spectator excitement, the Tornado is unequalled. That is not just our view, but also that of the RYA’s peer, US Sailing, who say “Renowned for its strict one-design racing, superb balance and ability to be raced at great speeds in open water, the Tornado has long been acknowledged as "an almost perfect boat." There is no boat of its size that can match a Tornado going to windward in extreme wave conditions.”

If the secondary objective is accessibility, there are thousands of Darts, Hobies and Formula 18 and hundreds of thousands of Hobie 16 worldwide. If it is cost, then let it be noted that equipment is only a small part of the total expense of an Olympic campaign. If there is a combination of secondary objectives, the Hobie Tiger (Formula 18) is one-design, two-sexed, exciting and reasonably priced.

This is not to argue in favour of any one type of catamaran in preference to any other, but simply to state that whatever the objectives there is a catamaran to meet the requirements while making the range of Olympic classes as inclusive as possible. It is just as possible to change the type of catamaran as has been done among windsurfers.

What is the motive of the RYA? If it is not this Olympic ideal, is it cynical gold-digging on the basis that the greater the haul of medals the greater the funding for its staff and operations? If so, let it be noted also that the UK has a record gold medal run unparalleled in recent international youth sailing events. The British youth catamaran teams have won more gold medals than any other British class in the last four ISAF Youth World Championships. Our prospects for multihull Olympic medals are therefore good, even if the RYA has been unusually unsuccessful in the past.

Whatever its real motives, the reasons stated by John Derbyshire’s RYA Committee lack conviction.

1. “A natural progression for sailors” - Surely the Olympics are not about feeder classes, but about excellence.
2. “Exciting high speed racing” - There is no dinghy faster than an Olympic Tornado or indeed several other catamaran classes.
3. “Sailing in supplied equipment” – Have they spoken to Hobie who have a long history of arranging World Championships on that basis?
4. “A major percentage of dinghy activity taking place throughout the world” – Please supply comparative statistics to support that assertion, which many international catamaran racers would dispute.
5. “Equal opportunity for men and women” – Why then exclude the only sailing event open to both men and women?
6. “Symmetry of events makes the sport easier to understand for the public” – What do they mean?

Assuming there are good motives for letting catamaran racers down by disenfranchising their sport from the Olympics, would it not have been courteous to let us down gently, by explaining their plans publicly rather than burying them somewhere in the depths of the ISAF website. After all our members account for a significant proportion of sailing community they represent. Is the RYA bureaucracy so far removed from the frontline that it does not know we exist? Do they think that catamarans do not count? That is certainly how it appears.

If it is a matter of counting, may we suggest that Mr. Derbyshire count the number of signatures on the e-petition, "Against the RYA's recent submissions to ISAF", at www.ipetitions.com/petition/CatamaranSubmission/?e, where he can also read their comments on why they think his committee has got it wrong. He has upset 800 sailors already in the first two days, and many still do not know about his plans.

At this stage the RYA position seems to be a minority view in ISAF. Our analysis of the submissions shows that only Great Britain and a former British colony specifically submit that catamarans be excluded, while those in favour include the two most successful Olympic nations in the world, Russia and the United States. However the question has been raised, so cat fans need to lobby their national sailing authorities. We therefore call on the RYA to demonstrate that it does not have an anti-catamaran bias, not just by explaining itself but also by amending its submissions.