Olympics 2016, Evaluation Trial: March 2012, Santander, España
From ISAF website:
The evaluation will be held from 17 to 25 March 2012 at Prince Felipe High Performance Sailing Centre, Santander, Spain.
+ Women’s Two Person Skiff
+ Mixed Multihull
——
Start your engines, this is going to be fun, all builders pushing to be selected, but I already know who is going to take the spot. Bernie Benitez , F18 Spain Pres, will be there for sure telling us the story.
Image above: The Gaeblers will be there.
The biggest doubt will be if the selected boat will create new fleets Worldwide.
The Tornado there is about ford T vs space tech.
I know i know you will tell me the tornado class bla bla bla….
What are the different boats being tested for the cats?
The new boat MUST create new fleets Worldwide, if not it's a complete failure and the Multihull will be out again.
But I do agree that it is a doubt, MNAs don't have money to spend on new boats, especially when they've lost the Star and Match Racing recently after buying expensive boats.
There will be probably the following boats.
Nacra:
– F16
– F18 Infusion
BCM:
– Cirrus Q F16
– Cirrus R F18
Hobie Cat:
– Hobie 16
– Hobie Tiger
– Hobie Wild Cat
Tornado:
– Tornado Sport "actual version"
– Tornado Sport " Cheap version"
SAIL INNOVATION:
– Flying Phantom
ACM:
– AC18
AHPC:
– Viper F16
– C2 F18
and probably more…
From the above boats that apply, which will receive an invite from ISAF?
Funny thing is that the last Tornado boat to win a gold medal (Beijing 2008) is stored exactly there (CAR, Santander). It was never used again (just one race, and it won it).
It would be cool if the owners and winners of last gold medal (Echavarri/Paz) who sail now Stars and 49ers respectively, join forces again and show everybody that a Tornado beats the hell out of any other catamaran.
Easy
oh bloody hell more Tornado chest thumping..get over it.
i hear a lot of people, who have sailed the tornado, say that it is an excellent cat that is still unbeatable.
it is a pity that it really looks 'vintage' which is not a good thing.
Tornado unbeatable? Maybe 10 years ago!
Please don't pick an f18!!! Let our beloved class remain fun and open 🙂 rarely in any sport you see such a good vibe and mix of world class pros and amateurs. the "T" is a great boat but ask Loday, Boulogne, or Fischer to design a modern 21ft cat with this width and weight and it'll probably be easier to sail and hence much faster than the T.
or why not just buy a Nacra F20c? the best 20 footer on the market
The Tornado is out of time and the heavy F18's are also not far from beeing not state of the art anymore with their 180 Kilos. *eg*
It’s obvious that what the Olympic committee wants is a 16’ HP size Catamaran. Read the spec! I still see people trying to push the Tornado and it’s not that it’s out date but its too big and costly guys. Get Real. For any mfg to enter anything other than a 16’ is not being realistic. While the F18 class has a great following I cannot see this as the perfect coed boat. Come on!
The F16 class is relative new and doesn’t have the popularity yet but that will change with the coed criteria. I applaud the Olympic committee for a coed foresight.
I think it should be an open F16 and not a specific mft. It should be interesting but what will develop is a whole new field of women sailors in a catamaran.
I am a past Olympian sailor myself. I would love to race this with either my daughter or wife and this is what intrigues me to get back into a cat which I will if it’s the right size catamaran. Anything larger than a 16’ will not meet that requirement.
As for boats, the Hobie 16 w/spin has a largest potential to fit the bill. It’s not that it’s an out of date design. It’s available to sailor around to world at a reasonable cost and it’s not a development class.
Can anyone tell me where they want to find all these women necessary for the mixed crews?
Hard enough to build up a male crew that works and lasts.
hobie 16 with spin? rubbish. the f18 is the right size. might not be the best for the class but f18 is far and away the biggest class so they will look at the class size for sure
OK, reality check. Brazil the host country in 2016 is putting a lot of support into their sailing teams. Look at the Pan Am results in 2011. Bernardo Arndt from Brazil is one of the best Hobie 16 sailors around. It is affordable and easily of accessible. It's not an F16 but it doesn't cost 20k either and while a 16'is the right size for a mixed crew. Politics will play and the Caribbean and S. American will all support a Hobie 16.