Nationals winnning boat- under £1000?

Steve Irish is a truly excellent sailor as anyone who has either seen his sailing CV or has sailed with him will tell you.

However, without wishing to take anything away from his DWSC open meeting win, let's not forget that...

1. Many of the more modern and serious boats were not there (I am talking the top 97 boats such as LRN and the other newer 05 boats) and may well have given him some more serious competition (I do not count SB as such as after all she is a conversion utlising lots of "recylced" parts)

2. Many of the boats that were there had recently been dug out of retirement (in keeping with the fantastic growth the class is enjoying) and had been put on the water using second hand gear, or with new crew/helm combinations

3. There was only 1 other boat there that had 05 rules sails and that boat did not do all the races.  The conditions were light which was going to put the 05 boats at a huge advantage.  During the Nationals last year, for the last 2 days (also light) when i'd sorted my sh*t out and learned to helm properly, IIRC all the 05 rules boats were at the front of the fleet and making big distance (although Will and Lucy were consistently mixing it in the smaller ragged Aquamarina).  This was due to Will and Lucy sailing very well, and the only reason I was up there was due to the fact that I had a shed load more sail up than the boats behind me.  If I can do it then Steve will certainly do it.

4. The new main, jib and very tired old kite were £1000, so the whole discussion is a bit pointless!

5. Suicide Blonde is a technological marvel, tuned to the highest specification and utilising the highest quality materials hand-picked from the cream of the nations boat parks.  Thousands of hours and hundreds of pints went into her design and construction...tee hee.

So to even suggest that Cherubs are a weak class because a National champion, former world champion, tide ride winner and Sailboat RYA presenter and full time performance coach can come along to his home club and win an event in a resonably well sorted boat that is flying considerably more rag than every other boat that attempted all the races is a load of old rowlocks.

He may still have won if all the more serious competition was there, let's not forget just how far he was in front at some points, but we don't know so to assume anything is a little foolish. 

Going back to somewhere near the original thread - I reckon Firefly would be my vote for boat you could buy for a grand a win the nat's.... qualify that though with saying that I reckon Ben Ainslie would probably win the Laser Nat's in a 1k boat

... definitely not Optimist, have you seen how much technology those little people have now??? they're going to be sooo dissapointed when they grow up and realise other people sail boats WITHOUT all that go-faster, custom-made-for-your-class gear on 'em .


Edited by getafix

not sure about the physcology element with our clubs oppie sailors but they seem to have every bit of kit going and know all the rules!

2nd attempt

Well as one of the recent Pacer National champions I can say I am proud to have the trophy on my sideboard, and yes we normally only get around 8 boats, I paid £550 for my first National winning boat, and 895 for my second,

I doubt you can get a Pacer for £1000 if you tried, (they are all cheaper)

however in the right hands in the right conditions they are very competitive (I know you could say that about most classes)

The Pacers were 1st and 2nd in the slow handicap in Saturdays IOS race (30 boats didn't make it round)

As for banning Nationals for small classes what a sad day that will be, remember the Pacer was designed for the family (not the boy racers). I have seen many a smile on a young crews face, such as the 10 year old crew who completed the Sheppey race and walked home with a huge trophy with his proud dad...

PS The Pacer Nationals are this weekend at Bough Beech Sailing Club, there are a couple of competitive boats on the Web site, you too could be National champion by Sunday night (and by the way the boats are all under a £1000)

Originally posted by Isis Originally posted by getafix ... definitely not Optimist, have you seen how much technology those little people have now??? they're going to be sooo dissapointed when they grow up and realise other people sail boats WITHOUT all that go-faster, custom-made-for-your-class gear on 'em . true some of the oppies are rediculously tricked out... but how much of it actualy makes a difference to a decent sailor other than psycologicaly?

I remember seeing some of the new optimists for real after sailing my old one for a couple of years. The amount of extra fittings and rope was crazy and barely resembled my boat. Despite all this, the kicker is still just a rope and a cleat on the mast though!