Multihull mistake forces ISAF Olympic Sailing overhaul

6:38 PM Wed 12 May 2010 GMT

'Olympic Rings'

Sometimes a major tragedy is needed to prompt a major change. The death of five sailors in the 1998 Sydney Hobart race prompted major changes in offshore racing safety regulations. The removal of the fastest and most exciting boat, the Tornado multihull, for the 2012 London Olympics may in the long term be the trigger that changes the face of sailing world-wide over the coming decades. The widely criticised decision for the multihull removal was made at the 2007 ISAF Annual Conference in Estoril, Portugal. Faced with a major backlash and at the same time threats to the place of ...

Click here for full story.

by Rob Kothe & the Sail-World Team