Olympics: Tornado for 2016, by Roland Gaebler

T Class President Roland Gaebler analyze latest isaf politic rumble generated by the governing body Olympic comission’s recomendation lead by Phil Jones-
He also compares other classes stregnhts and weak points against the Tornado and he invites everyone to sail a T-
Although I still have serious concerns on local fleets creation I’m all for the Tornado back in Rio 2016.
Photo: Jorge Cousillas/elojonautico.com – Esteban Blando (owner) and I, on one of the 3 Marstrom available in Arg, among several other old Sailcrafts from Canada and UK.
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Full text at www.tornado-class.org
On the Wire with Roland Gaebler

Yes, it looks good for an Olympic Multihull comeback. A complete turnaround since 2008. The ISAF Committees are in favor for Multihull action again. ISAF President Goran Petersson was very positive about the inclusion of multihull in his opening speech of the ISAF Council meeting in Balaton. I believe this says it all.

The Olympic Commission made a presentation on how Olympic Sailing must look into the future to stay strong in the Olympic Program. They showed us real facts and a mix of information from both IOC and ISAF with a clear visible strategy on how to reach that goal. There are many points Olympic Sailing must work on to fulfill the criteria of the future Olympic Standards: More Action and Speed. More Media. More Spectators. More Ticket Sales. More Nations.

And here we go: The US Sailing Federation wants 5 Men and 5 Women disciplines. It sounds logical and fair especially in Multihull sailing where we have the most mixed teams in sports. If the IOC and ISAF want a real spectacle for the media and public they have to establish Olympic Multihull for Women and Men. They have it in their own hands. We just need to present them with the right tools to create the ultimate sailing action for the Olympics.
About Phil Jones interview on the Daily Sail (25th May) where he states that Olympic sailing material must be inexpensive, widely available around the world, have youth appeal and allow us to deal with a range of weights, sizes and different sailing skills

I totally agree with the statements the Olympic Commission made. If you read carefully, you can see what IOC wants for our sport. Phil Jones and his team made it visible. Now we must do our homework.

Inexpensive: I have competed in 5 Olympics and I can say exactly what is going on. I was Head coach of the German Sailing Federation for many years and I know the budgets the MNAs have to spend on Olympic Sailing. And there are some hot stories inside this.

If we look into a 4-year campaign the Tornado budget sits somewhere in the middle amongst the existing Olympic classes’ budgets. Due to the fact that we have such high quality, one boat can be used for the whole campaign and after that, you can still get a very good price on the second hand boat market. With the new and stricter One Design Rules we managed to reduce the cost massively. On top of this we will have supplied One Design Sails at the Olympics if we get our Olympic status back. This way the teams will only need one set of sails per season. No more expensive sails and mast testing.

One boat, one mast and four set of sails in a 4-year Olympic Campaign. We calculate a financial investment of 5.000 € per year in a 4-year Olympic Campaign on materials. This way every nation and every sailing team can afford an Olympic Campaign.

Widely available: We have boat builders with exceptional quality around the globe. Just order a boat and rock the races. We have strict and proven One Design Rules which guarantee us boats with the highest possible quality and with excellent One Design measurements and certificates. Builders need one week to build a boat and it is ready to be sent to any nation in the world. Ready to sail out of the box.

Youth appeal: We deliver the most action for the audience. Together with the Skiffs we attract the youth at the Olympic Games with a very spectacular style. We show sailing in its most action loaded way. Our presence at TV and media values is at the top of small boat sailing. All this motivates the youth to start sailing.

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First of all we have to get our Multihull discipline in again. This is the main challenge. And we want to do it together with all our Multihull friends worldwide. We are very open to discuss the issue with other classes and manufacturers. After that we can discuss which Multihull class should be Olympic again. You all know that the Tornado Class is highly motivated and well prepared to offer ISAF and IOC the best One Design Quality for Olympic Multihull Sailing.

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Our advantage x disadvantages against other Multihulls
Tornado was specially made for the Olympics. This boat was born for the Medal Race. But first we have to look into this question on a more technical way to avoid high costs and technical problems. At the moment I do not see any other boat that has the quality to handle the hard Olympic sailing schedule. Many manufacturers have no idea how tough Olympic sailing is. We are talking about 200+ days of ultra hard sailing each year. For example: the stiffness and the quality of a Marstrom Tornado are exceptional. Marstrom uses a high temp/pressure autoclave to produce the hulls in the highest quality technique possible worldwide. These hulls are not getting softer with time. We have boats sailing in the top which are older than 10 years. And other Tornado boat builders have made brilliant quality boats as well.

There are other classes around who became softer after a year of wild sailing. Now imagine the complaints a manufacturer will get, if the boats cannot handle the Olympic sailing stress. It can be a nightmare and ruin a cat manufacturer easily. Only the very best boat builders can be challenged to present a boat for the Olympics.

I think every class has its own advantages and disadvantages, its own sailing highlights but for Olympic Multihull I believe the One Design Tornado offers the best package.

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On the Tornado, the carbon mast and the new One Design sails guarantee a team-weight range from 135 to 165 kg. This allows people from all weights and sizes to sail on a Tornado.
Can the F18 Class or other single models out of the F18 range be a bigger challenger than the Tornado for the Olympic Multihull spot?

We welcome any Class to challenge us. Why? We have a very good friendly relationship with the F18 and other classes too. We have big harmony in the Multihull scene. Why should we destroy that? And you can see that many Tornado sailors sail F18 too. They have big fleets and it is a real good market. The F18 is a great class for thousands of weekend sailors and some Pros. This is the type of boat for the big mass and it is strongly powered and promoted commercially by many manufacturers on each continent. But it has an open design rule. This way it makes it impossible to make the F18 class an Olympic one. Only single F18 manufacturers can come with their One Design models. But they should think about it before they make a bit for the Olympics. There is no big profit to be an Olympic Class. I think the Olympic status can destroy the F18 class, because more Olympic professionals will get very serious and the weekenders will disappear soon. Also if single F18 manufacturers came up, it can create the same disaster in the class. Instead I hope we get support from the F18 class for our Olympic comeback.

We welcome any F18 or F16 sailor and sailors from Hobie, Nacra, AHPC and other classes and brands with Olympic ambitions. Before they talk about Olympics, they should sail a Tornado. She/he will get full support from the ITA to establish a professional Olympic Campaign. We will offer our best coaching legends to bring new talents to the Olympics. We want a good relationship with all the other classes. They brought us great talents in the past and we hope we get new talents for the Olympic Multihull future.

Critics around and against the Tornado?
Some criticized our Tornado hull design due to some new designs that came up with Wavepiercer hulls and curved/lifting centerboards. But also if we look deeply in the F18 Class from the technical side, they are also at their Boxrule limit. Dr. Martin Fischer (designer of the Capricorn and the Wild Cat) said it. And the F18 is still sailing with Aluminum Mast and straight centerboards. This is also not the latest design update. The only class who is up to date in Hull and Foil Design is the A Class. But they have no Gennacker and you sail alone.

We can discuss endlessly which design is the best for an Olympic Multihull. There are no secrets around. If we want to go with the completely latest design in the next Olympic century, we need curved centerboards/foils, Wavepiercer hulls, carbon mast, ultra light weight combined with maximum sail area to allow all sailors and weights to sail. If the overall boat is not light enough, curved/lifting foils makes no sense. All this is a real technical challenge and only some boat builders can manage this. The latest advanced techniques do not always fit with the Olympic Spirit. Also if there is only one little technical problem, it can end in a disaster for a Cat manufacturer at the Olympics. We have the experience and can handle all the Olympic challenges.

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But before we discuss the newest designs’ aspects for a new Olympic Multihull, we should have a look at the bigger picture. Why destroy the Tornado Class with an established worldwide structure and develop a new class from the bottom? And what will this new class deliver? More speed and action than the Tornado? For sure not. I hope ISAF will see this, before we get an Olympic Multihull Selection event. I wish we get the support from the whole Multihull Scene for the Olympic comeback of the Tornado straight away. And I hope ISAF Committees will vote straight away for the Tornado for 2016 Olympics.
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But there are many other points to discuss how to reduce costs, before we calculate every cent on Olympic Multihull materials.
ITA plans to get there (Olympic)
We will sell our strength. 40 years of history has created a class which is sailing on each continent. We have a worldwide acting class association and many races on each continent. And we have strict and proven One Design Rules. Also I see many women in Tornado too as Crew and Helm.

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Why do you love Tornados?
Speed. Speed. Speed. Just fly and sail. This boat creates a great feeling every day. Pure enjoyment to sail. It is purebred racing at its best. Since we have the double trapeze and the big Gennaker we fly the hull from 3 knots on. Every day of Tornado sailing is a great day in life and I am very very happy I have done it for the last 20 years. I can say this because I have been sailing mono- and multihulls from 14 to 140 foot as a professional for 30 years.

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Just enjoy every day of sailing! What else is better than flying around with the gennacker and on double trapeze? Do not take racing too serious. Get the wind and ride the waves. High speeding on a Tornado is the ultimate sailing experience. Invite your friends and kids to sail with you. Show them how much fun it is to sail a Tornado. Just Sail & Fly and enjoy the life!
By Roland Gaebler – ITA President
Full text at www.tornado-class.org