Russell’s letter:

“The recently completed Dubai Match Race was the first race between RC 44 boats and as such was the first opportunity to see how Andrej Justin's and my creation would perform under hard racing conditions.  Without question the boat performed fantastically.  It looks great in pictures, sails fast and provided an excellent physical test for the teams. The boats were able to accommodate an umpire and cameraman onboard, which simplified the regatta logistics and costs.  The umpires did not use their usual follow boat and made their decisions by verbally informing the teams.  I must say that I liked the simplicity.  We were able to use just one (red) flag which indicated a penalty to those watching the race. 

Fast boats are more fun

After racing the boats, the response from the teams was amazing.  While there is no doubting the boats are challenging to match race with only six crew, the performance of the boats impressed everyone that sailed them. Many people believe you have to use relatively slow boats to have a good match race but as Vasco Vascotto said; "In fact the opposite is true. The faster the boats the more opportunity there is to pass, particularly downwind."

Many of us have already experienced and seen this at races such as the Trieste Match Race where their boats are also light and fast, or when we have fleet raced in boats like Melges 24's. 

In our five races, the lead changed downwind in three of them and twice upwind.  If the boat behind was able to find even slightly more wind or perform a slightly better gybe, or better judge the layline into the bottom mark, the race closed up very rapidly.  Crew work was a key factor with the gennaker gybes requiring a lot of precision, both in terms of steering and in the operation of the winches.  There is no question that this configuration is much more rewarding than the more traditional spinnaker set up found on most boats. 

Get rid of the dial up

The race organizers also experimented with a different port end entry for the start, eliminating the dial up situation.  The dial up at entry is something that match racing should do away with.  In most match races the two boats sit head to wind, motionless for up to two minutes just after they enter the gate!  In light winds, it is not uncommon for the boats to sit like that for the entire three and a half minutes!  This is quite ridiculous for a sport wanting to attract spectator interest!!

So at the Dubai Match Race, they allowed the port tack boat to enter below the starting gate, therefore allowing it to cross the starboard boat. After that the pre-start maneuvering began and we had some fantastic pre-start duals. I must say that I was impressed with Jes Gram Hansen and his team, particularly around the pre-start box where they won a couple of the starts very clearly. It seems the in house practice at their America's Cup training base is paying off.

Giant spotlights

Dubai presented an awesome venue with an almost perfect arena inside the Palm development.  The last race was conducted at dusk which may be a leader for some of their future thinking.  They are planning to mount a series of giant spotlights around the racing area and conduct the racing at night.  The racing should provide a perfect backdrop to the many hotels and restaurants dotted along the beach.  When you think about it, there is no reason why match racing couldn't do this in the future, especially in Dubai where almost no idea is too crazy to try!!

A major RC 44 event next year

Dubai would be a perfect venue for a major event, similar to Key West Race Week or Coppa del Rey.  From a marine standpoint, it is largely undiscovered at this point but I do not believe that situation will last much longer. They have already announced their intention to run a major RC44 fleet racing event next year, and maybe they will also stage a match race as well. 

As a first event in these boats this regatta was a huge success.  As an introductory regatta for the region, which perhaps allowed some important people to get an insight as to what could be achieved, it was also an excellent result. There was some good local press coverage and it gave the local youth sailors a chance to see some exciting big boat sailing.

A great format for Olympic sailing

With this in mind, I couldn't help but think what this type of format could do for Olympic sailing.  These boats are proper racing machines and are big enough to look reasonably impressive.  They are a physical test for the crews and are powerful and fast enough to provide a sailing test as well as a spectacle in almost any wind conditions over 5-6 knots. The format allows for a final to be raced within a relatively confined area, where people could view the racing from the shore and the races last only 12-15 minutes.  The cameraman can film from onboard the boat and Virtual Spectator can easily identify who is ahead. Simplicity is the key, and maybe the boat ahead should be more clearly identified (by use of lights) in the future.  

Russell Coutts.