Sydney to Hobart veteran Sean Langman says race organisers need to move with the times and include a multihull division in the famed Australian bluewater classic.
Sean Langman, sailing the ultra-fast 32-foot foiling catamaran Team Australia in the Extreme series on Sydney Harbour over the past four days, said the famous race needs to be opened to other craft than just monohull yachts between 30 and 100 foot long.
Langman’s proposal has repeatedly been rejected by sailing officials in the past but interest in multihull sailing, especially foiling craft, has since increased dramatically.
In 2013 Langman and his crew set a new passage record from Sydney to Hobart in his 60-foot trimaran Team Australia of 29 hours 52 minutes and 23 seconds.
But Langman admits there must be limitations. “You can’t let your every day sailor do it. It would have to be restricted to a certain type of sailor with a proficiency. And I’d love the stop and go gate, where you race to Eden, stop, and then if the weather is okay (in Bass Strait) you’d take it from there.”
Langman notes how other races have changed their rules. “We’re the only major ocean race in the world restricted to monohulls. Races like the Fastnet, Newport to Bermuda and Trans-Atlantic have all changed.”
Source The Daily Telegraph