Statement on Mutihull Ratings and Competition
We have recently concluded the 7th annual Caribbean Multihull Challenge
In seven years of sailing the Caribbean Multihull Challenge we observed that the results were very spread out and inconsistent. Much searching was done for improvement of the rating, and it appeared to be difficult. This year the CSA brains group reviewed the multihull rule which resulted in very close racing with the leaderboard changing through the last day. These results allow us to be much more optimistic about the future of multihull sailing in the Caribbean.
There were five boats in the Racing CSA class. They all had experienced and talented sailors. There were four catamarans ranging from a 72 ft Gunboat to a 52ft ORC and a 47 ft trimaran. They sailed four races in moderate and strong conditions. Three of the boats ended up with the same number of points (one was the trimaran) in the last two races and the winner had four less points. In race three, which was a 5-hour race, the corrected times of the first four boats differed by 21 minutes. This is close racing! For the Cruisers there was a Rally Class with point-to-point sailing in company.
We are sure that these results tell us that the CSA rating system has made a big forward jump, and we have to thank the President Bastien Pouthier and Chief Measurer David Walworth who regularly supports this regatta.
The rest of the season will see multihulls in various racing events in the Caribbean like the BVI, Stir, RORC Caribbean 600, Antigua Sailing Week and we expect that their racing will also take an upward trajectory. The Windies Multihull Trophy will have a good result as it captures the results and makes a regional award.
This encourages us to plan for the 8th annual Caribbean Multihull challenge which will take place on the last weekend of January 2026. We see a great future in Multihull Racing in the Caribbean
Robbie Ferron
Race Director 2025 Caribbean Multihull Challenge
