Bring back the Tornado

The strong case for bringing back the Olympic catamaran

The Tornado class is gearing up for a fresh initiative to return it to its status as the Olympic catamaran. The class has a new 'high quality one design concept' and have understood the clear message of the requirements from the IOC and ISAF.

These requirements are :
- More media attention to promote sailing and reach a higher media value for events and team sponsors
- More spectators to translate into Olympic Sailing ticket sales
- Lower cost for Olympic campaigners and MNAs
- Worldwide boat availability and class structure
- More nations competing
- Easy to sail for youth, women and mixed teams
- Attractive and sailable multihull for all ages and sizes of sailors in all nations worldwide

Here is why the Tornado is the best multihull for the Olympics:
High Quality One Design for Olympic Multihull Sailing
- Marstrom Boatbuilding Experience and Quality
- Perfect weight range allowance
- The best for Open, Men and Mixed Multihull Sailing at Olympic Level
- Best price-performance ratio for Olympic Multihull sailing
- No risk for ISAF and Olympics
- Innovator of Sail Racing Events – Tornados at the Top of Sailing Entertainment
- IOC awarded for the best TV sailing at the Beijing Olympics
- Highest Media Value for Tornado Teams and Event Sponsors
- Smart and Ecological Logistic Concept with minimal costs for Tornado Sailing Teams
- Worldwide Class Structure
- Young Talents and Olympic Champions are waiting for the Olympic Comeback of the Tornado
- Youth Multihull Program

Tornado High Quality One Design for Olympic Multihull Sailing

The new strict One Design Tornado has all these attributes: The most modern rig with an ultra-light carbon mast which makes the Tornado still the most advanced small multihull available. The Tornado hulls are made under pressure in an autoclave in carbon/epoxy/Nomex honeycomb sandwich, which delivers the best stiffness and durability for a multihull. With 200+ days of hard sailing a year this is essential. A Tornado never gets soft and they thus have excellent longevity.

Goran Marstrom has brought multihull boatbuilding to a new quality level. No one else has so much experience building multihulls in an autoclave. This building process guarantees highest stiffness and quality, and as a result one Tornado can last two Olympic campaigns. Many boats in the World Championships top ten are more than four years old.

The Tornad has the highest standard of in-house one design certification. All boats are built in one location (Sweden), they are identical with a long lasting quality and strength. An essential benefit is that Sweden is a world class Health, Safety and Environmentally friendly country and the people involved in the building process are guaranteed the highest standards of health and safety.

The new easy-to-handle rope handling systems for the sails make Tornado sailing easy for every sailor with Olympic ambitions.

Boats are built in one week and ready to send all around the World. Out-of-the Box, the Tornado is ready to fly.

The last 40 years of Tornado sailing show that the 20-foot catamaran offers the optimum size for Olympic multihull sailing. Any person can sail a Tornado as helm or crew. Any teams can sail the Tornado and a variety of sailors across the World have enjoyed flying high on the Tornado over the past 40 years, including famous sailors from the 470, Laser, 49er, Finn and Surfing some of whom have won Olympic Medals and Championships in the Tornado Class. They include Santiago Lange (ARG), Fernando Echavarri (ESP), Roland Gaebler (GER), Aaron McIntosh (NZL), Carolijn Brouwer (NED).

Perfect weight range

At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the Tornado had teams in the weight range from 135 to 160kg. Light crews are able to handle the boat easily and the one design carbon mast guarantees the highest safety, because it is very easy to lift up and allows sailing always at the upper edge. The construction and size of the boat with twin trapeze allows sailors within the weight range of 50-100kg to be on board.

The Tornado is the class with one of the most mixed teams in the rankings. The current World champions are a mixed team. With Carolijn Brouwer (Helm) as Vice-World Champion in 2007 and Nahid Gaebler (Crew) as World champion 2010 there are women at the top of the fleet too.Nahid Gaebler is handling the 24sqm Gennacker downwind and the mainsheet on the upwind legs of the course. There are also more women in the top of the fleets who helm and crew the Tornado.

Best price-performance ratio for Olympic Multihull sailing

Due to the high qualities of the Tornado, an Olympic Team only needs one boat for a four-year Olympic campaign and after this they will still get a good price for the boat on the second hand market. This keeps the cost to a minimum for the sailors.

The new Ullman high quality One Design Sails allow teams to keep the costs to a minimum - a huge benefit for the teams and MNA's.

No risk for ISAF and Olympics

The Tornado is proven as the best formula for multihull racing in the Olympics. There have been no problems with the quality of boats. It offers an easy and stress-free measurement process for event organisers. The sailing world knows the brand name 'Tornado' and the media and spectators love to watch the close action packed racing.

The boat guarantees racing in between 1 and 35 knots of winds so there are no delays for races. A Tornado flies in all wind-conditions. This is very important for TV programming and spectators alike.

Innovator of Sail Racing Events –Tornados at the Top of Sailing Entertainment

The Tornado Class invented the Volvo Champions Race with their spectator and media-friendly short course racing. The newest invention is the Speedsailing race format. The aim of this fresh approach to sailing is to breathe new life into the sport and bring the skills and thrills of Tornado catamaran racing to a wider audience and a new generation of spectators and sailors. Close action, engrossing battles, slick commentary, short races with young rookies and legendary skippers. It's sailing as we have never seen it before and tailor-made to be both spectator and media friendly.

The class has had 40,000+ spectators for every Champions Race and Speedsailing event we have raced so far in our Sailing arenas. Together with the Skiffs, the Tornado delivers the highest media value for Event and Team sponsors.

IOC awarded for the best TV sailing at the Beijing Olympics

The IOC golden rings award for the sensational Medal Race action in 2008 shows that the Tornado is the catamaran for the media action. The Journalists love the Formula-1 image the Tornado creates. The variety of pictures the Tornado delivers creates the best image Olympic Sailing can get. The Speed and the spectacular maneuvers of a Tornado are the best parts of high adrenaline sailing.

Highest Media Value for Tornado Team- and Event Sponsors

The media analysis at ISAF World Cup Events (Kiel, Palma, Melbourne etc.) shows that the Tornado is always on top alongside the skiffs in terms of TV minutes and pictures in the print and online media.

The Tornado is one of the most attractive classes for sponsors, the majority of Tornado sailing teams in the past have found great sponsors who finance their Olympic Campaigns. The Tornado was the Formula-1 of Olympic summer sports. It's time this purebred racing machine comes back to the Olympic sailing arena.

Smart and Ecological Logistic Concept – minimal costs for Tornado Sailing Teams

10 Tornados can be packed into one 40ft container. This means that each team has to pay a minimal cost to travel around the world. For the ISAF World Cup Series, the Olympics and World/Continental Championships the Tornado class offers a worldwide container service with PSP Logistics. This is the most cost effective way for sailing teams to travel to sailing events.

Worldwide Class Structure

Tornados are sailing on each continent and it is easy for sailors to join the racing in the class. The new young Tornado Class Committee are re-building the international events calendar to make it easy to step into the world of ultra-fast sailing with a Tornado.

Young Talents and Olympic Champions are waiting for the Olympic Comeback of the Tornado

The sailors and their sponsors are on standby and they are waiting for the Tornado to come back into the Olympic Program. Young Sailors from youth-classes and established Olympic Campaigners want to sail with the Formula-1 in the Olympics. They want the maximum speed and action. The second hand Tornado market has top quality boats in the range between 6.000 and 16.000 €, straight out of the boat park and ready to race.

Youth Multihull Program

The young sailors want action, speed and adrenaline, the Tornado has it all. Our youngest Tornado skipper is just 14 years old and he has the dream to win an Olympic medal on a Tornado in the future. Legends like Mitch Booth, John Forbes and Rene Schwall started sailing the Tornado at the age of 16. The Tornado is easy to handle and to sail. That's why the class co-operates with multihull sailors to motivate them to go for the Olympics. The Tornado racing legends are very open to coaching sailors to win an Olympic medal. The class also assists National Sailing Federations to start their Olympic Multihull program.

Ask any young sailor, the Tornado is the boat they all want to sail.

Tornado Investments and Return for a 4-year Olympic Campaign

Often there is a mistake in cost planning for an Olympic Sailing campaign. It is not only the price of a boat that is important, the sailors and MNAs must also calculate the running cost of an Olympic Campaign. And for this a high quality boat has a better price balance as a low budget product.

Here are some figures for you on running an Olympic campaign in a Tornado. This is based on a top quality boat built in Europe with the highest standards of eco friendly building environments:
Investment:
1 Tornado 23,000 €
4 sets of sails 16,000 €
Extras 1,000 €

Return /Sales
1 Tornado 12,000 €
4 sets of sails 8,000 €

The balance/total investment over four years is 20,000 € or 5,000 € per year. Tax excluded. Compare this to other classes; it is a very good value for a high speed One Design Multihull which will entertain spectators and the media.

Boat Logistics cost for 10 Events per Year in a 10-Boat Unit with a 40-Foot Container
- ISAF World Cup Series
- World- and Continental Champs
- Olympics and Pre-Olympics

Price per Team/Boat for one year is 4.000 € Tax included.
Tornados are easy to pack into a 40-Foot Container. This way, the logistics are economically and cost effective.