multihull racing is all about speed, not so much tactics. Monohull racing is all about tactics, not much real speed difference exists between two boats of the same design, usaully not even half a knot.
Good point. Sailing monos has its own type of appeal. The choice of boat or boat type is an emotional issue, not a rational one. If it wasn't so, we'd all be racing jet skis and big motor boats. Similarly, race horses will always have its fans, they will not be abandoned because cars are faster.
Still, when multis are well sailed, they are close enough for tactics to play their role. But we need different courses. This is important.
A lot of the perception that we are less tactical, comes from the few times we share the same course with monos. When that happens, the course has to be short enough for them to finish and, as a consequence, it is set too short for multis. This forces our race to be less tactic: it becomes a sprint to the layline, another to the buoy and so on.
When the course is ridiculously short, I prefer to start in the wrong tack to save a tack... This is not a proper multihull race. In a proper course, with crews and equipement levelled, our races become a lot more interesting and tactical.
Similarly, it would be stupid to race cars and horses in the same track, under the same rules and then say that car racing is just a sprint to the finish line. Or that cars aren't tactical. Car racing in a horse track lacks emotions, but not because it is inhently less tactical: they just need more space to put tactics to work.
Cheers,
