Could be Seeing a New Multihull on Long Island Sound
In early 2015, the International Sailing Federation announced that they were searching for a new youth multihull class to replace the Sirena SL16 for the ISAF Youth World Championships. Nacra Sailing, a Dutch performance sailing company, submitted two bids for the class—the previously existing Nacra 16 and the newly designed Nacra 15. After extensive trials and deliberation, the Nacra 15 was confirmed as the new youth multihull class at the ISAF’s Annual General Meeting in November 2015.
The Nacra 15 will compete internationally for the first time at the 2016 Youth World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand. It is also confirmed as the multihull boat for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games taking place in Buenos Aires, where fourteen Nacra 15s will compete.
The Nacra 15 is a catamaran sailboat designed specifically for youth sailors. The boat features two curved daggerboards that provide lift and allow the boat to be semi-foiling; by the 2018 Youth World Championships, Nacra plans for the boat to be fully foiling, reducing drag and greatly increasing boat speed. The Nacra 15 is designed to be sailed double-handed, but its spacious trampoline allows room for an instructor to join young sailors onboard. The boat is expected to join the ranks of other intermediate level double-handed dinghy classes such as RS Feva and 420, and it will share a comparative price tag.
Nacra Sailing is represented in the United States by Rec Marine Sales, a company based in Quincy, Massachusetts.The owner of Rec Marine Sales, Todd Ricardi, is a catamaran expert and dinghy sailing coach. Ricardi was present at the JSA All-Instructors Symposium hosted at the Larchmont Yacht Club on June 22nd, and with him was one of five Nacra 15s currently in the United States. Currently, catamarans are rarely utilized on the Long Island Sound, but are extremely popular in many other sailing communities around the world. Ricardi hopes that the Nacra 15 will become a popular youth boat class in the next few years, and will become a stepping stone for high level catamaran sailing and racing on the Long Island Sound.
By Gaby Anselmo
