International Tornado

Description

The International Tornado (commonly called the Tornado catamaran) is a high-performance, double-handed Olympic catamaran class designed in 1967 by British sailors Rodney March, Terry Pierce, and Reg White (with Reg White also involved in early building through Sailcraft/Panthercraft). It was created specifically to become the fastest production racing catamaran for international competition, combining innovative multihull features like twin centerboards, a rotating mast (fractional sloop rig), and later evolutions including twin trapezes (1984), asymmetric spinnakers, flat-head mainsails, and carbon construction in modern variants. The class gained International status quickly after dominating 1967 IYRU trials and served as the Olympic multihull/catamaran discipline from 1976 to 2008 (when multihulls were temporarily removed from the Games). Built primarily in fiberglass (with some early wood/composite and later carbon/epoxy options by builders like Sailcraft, Marstrom, and others), it emphasizes extreme speed (often 15–20+ knots, with foiling-capable modern setups), lightweight construction (minimum hull weight ~155 kg / 342 lb), twin hulls for stability and power, and demanding crew work (one on trapeze/wire, often both in advanced configs). Over 4,800 boats have been built since 1967 (with ~1,200 active class members worldwide historically), making it one of the most successful and enduring high-performance catamaran classes, still raced actively in international fleets despite no longer being Olympic.