Ormas going to Hobart

It would appear that Team Australia and Vodafone have decided to organise their own exhibition race starting 2 hours behind the Hobart fleet.
Bring it on !

http://www.multihullcentral.com/orma-60-trimaran-to-race-sydney-to-hobart/

 

Man, I hope it really happens!

 

This is definitely going to happen. It's a shame we couldn't negotiate with them successfully to arrange a start for the other multis that we had who were interested. I can understand Sean's concern about capsizes and retirements etc even if I think they are unfounded. Category 1 multis are not thick on the ground in Australia even though some of them are close to meeting the requirements. Pittwater to Coffs race might be a valid first step and I know some guys who are looking at entering into that race if multis are included in the NoR. It's also good that Team Australia are going to compete in the Auckland to Bluff Race next year and that they are supporting Team Vodafone Sailing by visiting New Zealand.

 

What's the problem. It's an unofficial race is it not. So as you say you have other interested Multis that want to race. Just front the Start line one hour before SEANS Lot and one hour after the Mono start, so long as they have life rafts and E.P.I.R.B.S. and are experienced To announce there are Multis that want to race. They can pull the plug if the long range forecast looks shitty.


Go to It. And you never know what would develop the following year. Something bigger.

 

I cannot access videos from the PC I'm currently working on.

So I cannot hear the interview and understand the purpose of this exhibition.

 

A rebel event on top of a rebel event seems a bit silly. I think as a group we want to allow Sean of Team Australia and Simon of Team Vodafone Sailing to make their point and to crash their event would be disrespectful.

Daiquiri the core of the issue is that the CYCA which runs the Sydney to Hobart is reticent to allow multihulls to race in their event even those equipped to the highest internationally accepted safety regulations to race as a division. It's a fairly strange stance when multihulls have been included in RORC ocean racing events for many years.

To me it's not a big deal it is their race and they do have the right to exclude certain types of boats in their NoR even if the decision does appear out of step with international conventions. I'd rather that the multihulls set up their own race along a similar course (maybe Pittwater to Hobart) but to many people it's symbolic of a wider acceptance for ocean racing multihulls in Australia.

 

And the point being? Start 2 hours late, overtake the front runners of the mono fleet, preferably in close proximity to a camera, then greet the fleet in Hobart after a few hours kip and refreshed and party clothes on I like it...

 

How about Newcastle to Hobart or N2H or Race Diazenylium as an abbreviation?....
Basically the multi racing world needs more competitors, that's the tough part! Just find more people with plenty of money with the desire..........
Jeff.

 

Are you saying to sail say 30 minutes after the start of the multihulls would be disrespectful to SEAN and his Mob. If you believe that then it is disrespectful of Sean and Vodafone to crash the Mono hulls race.

Talk about sitting on the fence.

If you want International coverage TV ect you would have to start with in 30 mins of the MONO HUllS. TV coverage in most places internationally live coverage only lasts for 90 mins at most and between 30 mins and 60 mins depending on which time zone is broadcasting.

Sounds like there aren't any others prepared to race with their own handicap system to create a challenge.

What about your statement the 70's are in trouble because there is no races for them. and Prince De brent 80 footer, but I suppose they would beat the pants of TEAM AUSTRALIA AND TEAM VODAFONE and even create more interest and a better following plus times.

There is no better way to force the CYCA to reconsider their decision than to storm in with enteries and if they don't then it justifies a official race status.

 

I'm not sitting on the fence I'm a realist, offshore multihull races in Australia will become viable when more people in the general geographic area want to Ocean race multihulls. The Brisbane to Gladstone multihull race does quite well because that's where most of the multis are concentrated. It's something that has to happen organically and cant be forced. Private owners will make up their own minds whether they want to race or not.

The MOD70's will sort themselves out in time as a class. The only multihulls that are vaguely likely to get any TV coverage are the ORMA's and it certainly wont be shown during the race start where even the bulk of the monohull owners who are racing are pissed off because they get no screen time. Most of the time the camera rests on Wild Oats XI and doesn't show anything else.

 

Thats not true of the coverage we view on Race Day.
They do spend some time on the leaders but the cameras show quite a lot of the rest of the fleet. So Disagree. They are doing a rebel race are they not. The coverage we see views usually lasts untill the first boat around the heads bouy is established and the next couple. Thats usually takes approx 90 mins. They can't spend 90 mins just showing Wild oats or the leader. All a multihull has to do is catch the leader sail close and do a Dennis Conner and sand bag.

Its not rocket science.

OC

 

I hope they start a bit sooner than 2 hours late, so at least the passing of Wild Oats XI is caught on camera... just sit beside them for a while out the heads, then turn the mast sheet in and SEEEEYAAAA.... at least the general public, who may not be into sailing, would realize that there are other faster yachts around besides the super maxis...

 

The whole rebel thing has been done before by Ian Johnston and Cathy Hawkins on the trimaran Verbatim. They were basically ignored by the media outlets and no real video was shown of them in action. With TA and TVS doing the race they have some media clout so I've no doubt we will see something of their exploits on TV (probably on the ABC).

I've come to the opinion that it's better to work within the existing yacht club framework and more of them are opening their doors to multihulls these days. It will provide better results in the long run and let the CYCA have their events and run them as they see fit. I'd far prefer we have our own race running to our own rules and serving our own sailors interests than be a small division within the existing Sydney to Hobart structure.

 

Its pretty obvious why they dont have a multihull division tho - they dont want the multis stealing the lime light by taking line honors away from the super maxis...

Imagine the shift in sponsorship, if the multis were taking line honors, and by some 12 hours or so - as TA already shown them. There would be outrage amongst the lead miners, "how dare they steal our show"... So the powers that be, and the sponsors of the super maxis, and the race with their connection to monos, have considerable influence over keeping the status quo.

Personally, i dont think its relevant. There *should* be no problem running a multi class... different boat, different trophy... Unfortunately, thanks to media coverage of the event being generally only interested in the fastest boat, the sponsorships associated with the race have vested interests.

I bet they would run a multihull class, if they were confident the monos would still take line honors and lead the race... id bet my house on it...

 

Thanks for the measured tone. To put the CYCA's "fairly strange" decision into context, multis are not permitted into the Bermuda (the other of the "big 3" 600 mile classics) and many other major events. And of course, monos are not allowed in events like the Route de Princes or Ronde Om Texel. So not allowing multis is certainly not out of step with international conventions.

Even with the Euro pro boats sometimes racing, the multi fleets form about003% to 3% of the fleets in the big UK races, with no real sign of growth as far as I can see (the RTI multi fleet is now smaller than it was in the '60s). As you note, we'd only have a tiny multi fleet in the Hobart and it's hard to see how it could be worth the hassles.

I interviewed the Fastnet race staff some time ago about the state of their race. They pointed out that (1) there are pro multis in Europe that form the bulk of the multis in the Fastnet. We have no such multis, nor the critical mass for such a fleet.

(2) the Fastnet is similar in many ways to the Hobart but very different in others. It has a much lower public profile (the Hobart already gets amazing publicity) and many, many more divisions and sub divisions. There are 18 fully-crewed mono divisions where the Hobart has never had more than 5 IIRC. There are also trophies for the best sailing school boat, the best Irish boat, the best Swan, the best corporate boat, the best boat from various individual clubs, the best S&S, etc etc. People will race hard for the privilege of winning these trophies.

The Hobart is very, very much about the overall corrected time win (for the racers) and the overall line honours (for the public). The multis would probably take line honours and taking away a top prize from those who have been supporting the event for years would not be seen as a just reward for them, in the same way as allowing a full team to take out a Rugby 7s tournament would not be fair.

Australian racing tends to have many more boats (in sheer numbers and/or as a % of the fleet) in each division than other places, so the chances of getting what would be considered a reasonable size division are pretty much nil. As someone who no longer races the Hobart because of the impact of the 100 foot canters I (and many others) are also concerned about the way allowing even faster boats would harm the social side and the closeness of the fleet. It's crap to finish and get a trophy but find the main presentation has already been completed.

The last boat I raced offshore on was a shorthanded tri. IMHO the presence of the two multis completely distorted the event as they had either a vast advantage or a vast disadvantage. It's similar to when you race a windsurfer against dinghies in strong winds - I don't want to do that again because it is completely unfair to the dinghies and that stuffs their racing.

Personally I still think that multis should be in the Hobart when racing cars are allowed in motorbike events, when top billing at punk gigs is given to string quartets, when photography prizes are opened up to oil painters and when kiteboards and windsurfers are welcomed to the Texel cat race, but the measured tone of guys like you and Sean is great.