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INSURANCE
AND OMR - have they killed multihull racing? I think there
are a number of factors at work including the traditionally laid-back
attitude of multihullers, the trend to cruising cats unsuited to racing
against anything but themselves and the expense of even entering a race
in terms of safety gear, training, entry fees, etc. I should qualify my comments here and indicate that I have insured my boat for the same sum for the past 4 years with racing cover. My premium has risen just over 90% in this time and my excess by 350% with no claims. My current premium, after 'ringing around' is 2.5% of the sum insured and includes $5,000,000 public liability. I know this is a very competitive premium but it has risen very sharply. I also know
a lot of multihullers who will not race purely because of insurance costs.
My anecdotal evidence suggests that we could double the numbers of racers
if we could overcome the insurance handicap. I note that owners of larger
and more expensive boats do not pay anywhere near 2.5% of the sum insured
although they still part with rather large sums of money. The other major factor is the OMR rule that we so often race under. I know it is designed to even out the machinery and let good sailors win - and it is almost always the case that good sailors do win - but is it fair in application to such a wide variety of craft? I have written before about my misgivings of the OMR as we apply it (the French penalise modern trimarans 3% compared to us) and I do not intend to repeat my feelings here. However, I think that the ascendency of OMR is actually putting off would-be racers and is producing far too predictable results in that normal sailors-for-pleasure have no chance with their own boats while the 'elite' racers make hay. Ask yourself when you next enter a Regatta or a race who you think will win and, more importantly, what are your chances? Some will argue that Performance Handicaps allow for this - and they do for known boat/crew combinations that are regularly raced. There will always be blow-ins and 'bandits' but these can be allowed for with an adaptable scoring system or program or, if necessary some human intervention of the subjective kind. I see what appears to be blind acceptance of the computer program even if it flies in the face of common sense. Coupled with
serious Performance Handicap attention is the acknowledgement of PHF in
Regattas and its elevation from being scorned by the 'elite' to equal
or better billing and credence so that PHF can attract novices, cruisers,
new designs and hot-shots alike. At the moment novices, cruisers and new
designs are all missing and the number of entries bears testimony to that. Multihull racing, a bit like modern life has got too predictable; it needs an element of luck or unpredictability to invigorate it to the point where any entrant has a remote chance to occasionally place in a race or event. Otherwise only the racing 'elite' will enter and the numbers will not be enough to ensure the survival of events that are currently run. I do not
wish to be seen as a carping critic - I still support local events as
much as I can and will continue to do so even if nothing changes. I do
think some timely changes could be made immediately. I would be happy
to hear from anyone who agrees or disagrees with my opinion and I can
be contacted by email at
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