Another What Boat Thread

Originally posted by Chew my RS Have you sailed a cat?  Surely windsurfing isn't overly tactical?  Neither for that matter is capsizing an MPS.  Have you considered moving to a different club without shingle, so that you can overcome your daggerboard phobia. Where do you sail?

Yes, I have messed about in cats on vacation with the kids, have four
daughters and get a one design hobie race thing going if we're bored.
But seriously they are hardly fun in the tactical sense.

Windsurfing tactical? Well yes, very tactical, but also very very physical, so
you not only have to be the right end of the line, sail the first beat with
your muscles onfire, it then goes on throughout the race, swapping
shifts, board to board tactics and board to mark stuff. Taking it high or
low on the first reach but never never high on the second, tidal leebows,
windbends, etc etc.

Back in the day I struck up a bit of a relationship with one of your lot, a
guy called Eric Twiname, wrote a book called start to win, excellent stuff,
a lot of which translated to sailboard racing, he was a bit of a mentor on
the tactics stuff, but since then you end up building your own library I
could write another book .

Nowadays Modern Sailboard Formula racing is a bit like cats, all Board
speed and hit the corners.
The gentile art of all weather round the cans stuff is eroding fast,
they dont make long boards anymore and its next to impossible to find a
good used one hence the long hard look at sitting down.

Sitting down doesn't give you the same "feel" for windshifts you get
standing up holding the sail, headers are easy, but lifts not quite as
obvious. I haven't yet got to the stage where I feel part of or in tune with
a boat, maybe I will one day once the jitters wear off. Getting involved
with all that rope and wire frankly scares me stupid (near drowning
accident as a kid with weeds round my legs has always given me an
aversion to rope, it happened the other day, just got to get over it) some
wag was cracking on about windward capsizes, I dont like the sound of
them.

I'm sure Graemef has loads of knowledge on the boat front and has just managed a terrific wind-up of every one around here.  Good job and I hope it is all in good humour.

If you look at TT's signature there is a link to the Noble Marine site.  They have a list and specs of loads of dinghies to peruse.

Bit disappointed the old Cherub brigade haven't waded in here with some balanced responses.

Have you ever thought about a Finn.  No issues on the dagger board front there, and at speed onto the beach over shingle, you could probably get back up to the dinghy park.

BTW TT empty your PM inbox !!!

I think you'll find running Finns into beaches was made illegal by an act of parliment in 1978 and ratified by the UN due to the massive ecological damage it was causing and because of the risk of knocking the earth off its orbit.

Edited by tack'ho

Or more likely a Fanatic Skate - Skate?? 

Aha and here we have the quintessential Cherub sailor.

Allow me to introduce Duncan, we've never met, but cyber world being what
it is, he's a bit like my dad.

Embarrassing in what he admits to sailing.

No Duncan I'm not going to use a dinghy at speed week, the threat to
overtake you whilst wearing buttless chaps and singing dixie still remains
hope you get well soon now Matrons let you out again then.

Still on the zimmer?

Edited by Graemef