RS500 ...

Well firstly of course I'd love to have a go!

I wonder though if the Contender would be the class it is today. The Contender has grown in numbers gradually over the years (2400 in 40ish years) never really attracting the pot-hunters that Olympic selection would have brought, never really forcing development. Sometimes low-tech is better for a classes longevity, which is why there are so many Contenders still around. Sure weight could have been reduced and exotic mateials brought in earlier but maybe we don't want to have to think too hard about (or put our hand in our pockets for) the techy stuff.

By the way, the Contender IS 'The Ultimate Singlehander', it says so on the website and try as many people have it's never been disproved

Been reading all this stuff about boatspeed with much interest. Whilst I agree you don't need a brand-new boat with perfect foils, sails etc to win, why make life difficult? If you can win with a slow boat, think how much easier and less stressful life would be if your boat was faster! Boat preparation may be time-consuming (some people might even say boring), but it's a lot less time-consuming than the hours and hours on the water you'd need to hone your boat handling and tactics to the level where you can make up for a basic lack of speed.

The best start ever won't help you if you get rolled 200yds up the first beat by 5 boats whose start was nearly as good as yours, but who are simply going 1/4 of a knot faster!

Neil