New women's Olympic boat

Originally posted by Doug.H Well Kit stenhouse seems to handle the musto skiff in all weather just fine, yet no ones mentioned that....??  Maybe it should replace the laser radial as the womens singlehander?   And no doubt some of you are now going to accuse that idea as obsurd!!  But why??  so far a womens boat is seen as a boat for lightweights, yet surely if anyones good enough to be selected for the olympics then they're good enough to sail any boat, weight regarding??  Doug

  Video clip of Kit sailing MPS after Phil in a Vortex and Jason Foiling Moth.http://www.badongo.com/vid/88797  I think the foiling moth would make a good Womens boat. Fun to watch crash and burn racing, and more fun to sail.

Originally posted by damp_freddie Is the emphasis not on fleet competition at an agreed level of 'toughness'  rather than boat speed and new ways of making boats go ever faster alone?

Most sailors on the Olympic circuit are full time for at least 4 years. If you restrict the development to stop it being an arms race. I think after 4 years most sailors would be very compitent racers in foiling moths, you would end up with close racing at high speed. Travel would be cheap moths look light enough to fly with. the 49ers have very close racing at olympic level I dont see why the same wouldnt be true for a moth and fun to watch.

yes, but it doesn't mean they couldn't take a moth and then say "right, this is the one for the womens olympic fleet" and then call it something else, eg. the "womens olympic moth" and then continue development in the actual international moth class.

Good point. If they've done it once they can do it agian. It would be like an updated Europe. The could call it the Newrope

Originally posted by mike ellis does that mean it would find new and even more depressing ways to dissapoint people. that must be hard for a moth.(being disapointing must be hard for a moth, i hope thats not oo confusing)

I love foiling Moths but it looks to me that they can be very dissapointing. For instance if i's blowing a gusty force 1-3 and one minute you're full on foiling the next you're wallowing - that's dissapointing as an Enterprise is about as fast then! It's especially dissapointing when another Moth at the other side of the beat or further back on a reach is doing four times your speed and worse still when he/she stays foiling and carries that speed through your lull.

I'm sure that to get and keep up on the foils requires great skill, but being a stick insect also helps - so maybe good for very petit ladies?