29er, why just the kids

Originally posted by I luv Wight Originally posted by English Dave Definitely too heavy. Boat looks like it's barely afloat. But if you'd sailed a 29er, you'd know that keeping the pointy front in the water, and the fat ass out is fast upwind! ( and yes it was a bit wavy) Solent waves are very tide influenced - a 15knot breeze is flat and easy with a 3-4knot tide , and very lumpy against. The low bow ( and high pitch inertia) is one of the 29er faults - it scoops up the waves upwind - get one wrong, and then you get the next two or three over the bow too, till the boat fills up and you slow down - and have to wait for ages for the water to drain out through those tiny holes.

I was being ironic! Ironic! As in not serious! Hence the winking smiley.

I saw the waves in the photo, but as the rest of the thread was very "weight" focused I couldn't resist the cheap gag. Jeez, have you all had a very hard week or something?

When the wind is from the NE it's a 50mile fetch from the Mull of Kintyre so the waves do get a bit lumpy. But I'm not going to get into a p***ing contest. Eh "sunshine"?

Have a good weekend. Go sailing, kick the dog, kiss the wife, have a pint. Get your head showered. And next week let's be nice to one another.

Wow! After all those references to pushy parents, I cannot possibly keep my mouth shut. Thank you Skiffman for your kind remarks. I suppose a flock of parents can a bit too much to stomach on occasions, but if you're nice to us we might just get back into sailing when the youths have gone to uni.

There are two parents here who, in a desperate attempt not to stand around on the bank for ever, have tried sailing a 29er on and off since January, mostly off, as I have lost count of the number of capsizes. The one where I went flying round the front of the mast was good - a strangely peaceful feeling once I realised that kicking my feet wasn't going to help me find the edge of the boat any more..

OK here are the reasons why it's hard for older ones to sail a 29er:

• We learned to sail in proper boats (OK Scorpions then), and we are having to learn all over again in a skiff - the only thing that's easier is gybing ... so far.
• The kids do four races back to back and I need a cup of tea after one or two.
• My helm is too heavy by far / I am just the right weight for a good sail in a breeze
• I will say nothing about our levels of fitness

Hey it's fun and we're still trying.

Seriously though, a number of the open meetings are 'Ovington' opens so it's not just 29ers, there are adult sailors at the same venues - such as this coming weekend at Grafham

I agree with glewis 'I would suggest the best approach is to ignore the "tag" and decide if a boat is right for you.'

Adult 29er sailors could organise adult-only training? and ask for separate starts at open meetings? 

And I also think Jim is probably quite right, since the Scorpion is more than thirty years old.

Tessa