I just finished reading Dean Barker's coments from the above link, if you have not, take a minute and see what he says.

I went through the same learning process when I transitioned from racing mono dinghys to cats, and it has taken me years to get "up to speed" in cats, so to speak, which is why, when the new AC Multihull teams were announced, I was surprised ETNZ (and some others) were trying to convert life-long mono-drivers to cat drivers, in such a short time.

I would have thought all the teams would have chosen from the pool of life-long multihull drivers, who already have the "basic instincts" to race a big cat fast upwind and down, vs. trying to train up a newbie. My thoughts were piqued again when I saw that VX 40 collision at Cowes.

I realise the AC teams are putting in a lot of time learning on these boats, vs. the rest of us weekend hacks, but still, why isn't Randy Smyth driving for one of these teams, or is he but I just haven't heard his name yet?