Catamaran Sailing
Catamaran sailing is the heaven of cruising that makes any vacation unforgettable. Whether we are talking about a bare-boat or of fully crewed catamaran, you'll sail, swim, sunbathe and relax on some of the greatest waters in the world. If catamaran sailing has developed the recreational side to a very high level, at its origins this ship was used by people in southern India for fishing purposes.
Widely spread in the entire Oceania and Polynesia, catamaran sailing had a great influence on the design of leisure boats with multiple hulls. The power engine represents the alternative to wind and water current power in catamaran propelling, but the true feeling of the sea is achieved by knowing the winds and decoding the message of the waves.
The specificity of catamaran sailing is closely related to the very structure of such boats; tacking for instance is much more challenging when there are no dagger or center boards. One other issue here concerns the downwind move of such boats, and with the catamaran being lighter as compared to the size of the sail, the sailor has to know how to use the jib sail at its maximum potential in order to avoid getting into a wind dead point. This means that the great fun of catamaran sailing comes from the swiftness of this boat due to the use of a larger sail. Hence, with a catamaran you can be 1.5 times faster than the wind.
Catamaran sailing is not something you'll learn on the regular sailing programs, since most navigation practice is carried out on monohulls. The reason for such measures is the higher difficulty to operated multihulls as it is the case with the catamaran. Sailing experience combined with personal enthusiasm will eventually help one sail a catamaran, and enjoy the stability, the speed and the challenge of such a boat.
Maximum velocity for catamarans is achieved in coastal waters where the forward motion created by catamaran sailing is not impaired by the action of the waves. Presently, catamarans are held in high esteem for cruising and long distance journeys, but it all depends on the size of the hulls that need to be used as living spaces. The navigation decks and the living compartments will actually take around 24ft from the hull at the minimum; anything above this size is great for cruises and extended navigation. Comfort, safety, room for the cruising equipment, these are the main guidelines followed in the design and manufacturing of a large catamaran.