single hander for heavyweight

And guys (Mark and Matt Jackson, not related), you forgot to mention that the Contender fleet has a good social life too!
Contender sailors are cool, quite laid-back with a great sense of humour - best of all, most of them are really good-looking! (ooooooooooooops, getting carried away there )

All the class needs now, is a female sailor!

Edited by Black no sugar

Originally posted by Black no sugar All the class needs now, is a female sailor!

I've been wondering when we'd get some 'talent' in the fleet . There is one female Contenderer in the UK that I know of and another in Europe when makes for interesting social events usually (always) involving beer and curry. I just console myself with the fact that we 2 more ladies in our fleet than the Phantoms .

Originally posted by redback I think people just moving into dinghy sailing put too much emphasis on correct weight range.  Don't go silly like 7 stone in a Finn or Phantom, but for the first couple of years you are not going to be competitive and get the boat tune, shifts and most of all boat handling right is far more important. If you are 15.5 stone you are unlikely to be agile enough to sail a 600 if you've never trapezed before, but Laser, Contender, and all those other classes mentioned will provide you with a great deal of fun and when (and if) you get good enough to challenge the front of an open meeting fleet then you should consider if you are in the right class.

I completely agree but when you're at the top end of the weight range it's hard to find a boat thats comfortable to sail when the wind is lighter. My brother sails a 600 though and he likened learning to sail it like learning to windsurf - most of the time you haven't a clew what's going on and it takes several months just to get it around a course.

When it's windy the Contender is fantastic with a bit of weight on it.

The comment about being in the correct weight range for psychological reasons is spot on. I've been sailing for years and resently attended some training weekends yet i've no real idea if im any good/ getting better. If I get myself in the correct boat then I have, as you say, no excuses.

Contender currently top of my list ( partly because the contender web site is more busness like than the yo-ho-ho phantom one )

thanks again for all your thoughts

Originally posted by Stefan Lloyd Don't agree - mostly for psychological reasons. Why aren't I as fast as the front guys? Because I'm too light/heavy, so there is nothing I can do about it. If you are the right weight you don't have an excuse, so you work out how to do it better. Dennis Conner's book is called "No excuses to lose" - it makes a lot of sense.

In a worrying turn of events I also agree with Stephan, I always analyse every control for effeciency, power and position and as much as possible class standard. I guess unconsciously I have done this with class choice as well.

Originally posted by catmandoo Was reading a report on Weston Contender traveller last night and there was mention of Keith Paul and his 100 kgs doing well . What it did n't say , though I may be rang ( no you're right its a meringue - old scottish joke - sorry). was I seem to remember K P 's name from my contender sailing which I'm ashamed to say was nearly 20 yrs ago !!, he was good then.

I used to sail at Weston and unless Keith has put on at least 2 stone in the last 18 months he is nowhere near 100kg. He is however incredibly hard to beat (I never managed it in the 3 years a sailed there) because he's sailed the boat for 25-30 years.

Originally posted by redback I think people just moving into dinghy sailing put too much emphasis on correct weight range.  Don't go silly like 7 stone in a Finn or Phantom, but for the first couple of years you are not going to be competitive and get the boat tune, shifts and most of all boat handling right is far more important.

Partly agree with this. However, you could argue that newbies who are in completely the wrong boat for their weight, and sailing water for that matter, are likely to stay at the back for a long time. And how many pack the sport in completely after only sailing for perhaps 1 or 2 seasons due to their lack of progress?   There's a guy at my club who went and bought the latest shiny new plastic fantastic from one of the big name builders, joined the club, and has spent the entire season sailing around every week a lap behind everyone else.

He's now thinking that dinghy sailing isn't for him, whereas the real problem is he's in a boat that doesn't suit his age, weight, or the prevailing sailing conditions on our lake.