National/Regional Circuits.

Originally posted by Sam.Spoons BTW I'm surprised the Aero has achieved international status so quickly, I seem to remember it used to take good a few years before a class was considered established enough to warrant such an honour.

Originally posted by Sam.Spoons If they want to sail class event as one class that's up to the CA to decide.

RB, the above would suggest that the Aero is a little small for you in general, not just if rig swapping is going on.

Not sure why I'm defending rig swapping so much. Ideally, I'd like to see them as 3 separate classes, racing together, or with 3 starts, depending on numbers, people choosing which group they want to be in for the season of racing. If the wind drops or increases, then by all means swap rigs and join another group for the weekend, rather than sit on the shore, but accept you results won't count to the series in the group you normally sail with. This is a consequence of your choice, freely made.

Otherwise, the CA really needs to push the rig swapping aspect of the class, as it would be a USP. One boat, one handicap. Personally, from what I've seen of the 3 rigs racing together, I think it would kill the 5 stone dead apart from as a storm rig. A light person changing down to a 5 earlier than a middleweight will likely get beaten soundly. 7 and 9 appear to be better matched, as the 9 appears to fall over easily. This is based on the half dozen or so we have at Whitefriars so not objective!

Originally posted by JimC Originally posted by Chris 249 Originally posted by Rupert A lower wind limit. Only ever suggested by people unable to concentrate on picking up ultra light gusts and shifts. lower wind limits have also been suggested by people who see that the future of the sport is all about spectacular high-speed sailing in ideal conditions. There's also the practical point that if tidal stream strength is approaching wind strength then navigation is more or less impossible - and there may be other considerations. If, for instance, your racing fleet has to cross a chain ferry then you do not want to be sailing in conditions where its impossible to get out of the way. But ultimately the object of the exercise is to have fun. If a fleet/club decides that racing below a given wind strength is not fun, and they'd rather be telling tall tales over a beer in the dinghy park, well, who are we to argue? I can recall a fair few occasions when a fleet cheered when the abandon flag went up, but not any when they sighed or booed...

What you are describing is a PRO making a decision based on local conditions as to whether racing is practical. This happens everywhere already, usually after a discussion with whoever is in charge of the event from a class point of view. It may be that with your strong tide in one venue, a class minimum of 4 knots, say, would still have them going backwards, whereas on a small puddle a zephyr or 2 a would see a nice, if knee aching, tactical battle, and the 4 knot mind would ruin that.

Originally posted by zippyRN Originally posted by rb_stretch Originally posted by Rupert But heavier sailors can switch to the bigger the earlier than lighter sailors as the wind drops. And as the wind gets lighter, the lightweights can also have the big rig. Most heavy sailors will need the biggest rig in up to 20 knots. Below that lighter sailors can start changing up as well. Most sailing conditions mean that the big sailor is only ever using the one rig. Hence they don't get the advantage of multi rigs.  that's the issue  ...  someone who is  fit enough and  has good enough technique can hold onto the  same rig as  the 'fatties' even if they are a stone or two underweight   and   any losses  upwind  are made back off the wind