Numbers at nationals.

I suspect that a class like the Musto Skiff has a higher % of hardcore racers in it than the Supernova (or almost any other dinghy), as it is a boat that takes dedication to master. Far more Supernovas will have been bought by people to join in club racing, or even cruising, with no wish to travel. It is one of the problems with basing the health of a class on Nationals turnouts.

Having said that - good show by the Mustos - GRF's prediction of the class dying appears to be premature...

I notice that the Musto Skiff Nationals had a healthy 74 entries whereas the Supernova Nationals had only 42. Both healthy figures but why the discrepancy? It makes me wonder exactly why some nationals are better supported than others. Once a class has become established and there are plenty of boats out there why do some sailors show enough enthusiasm to travel whilst others are contented club racers? It is not that higher performance classes show more enthusiasm because Solo has big turnouts. At Burton recently Byte C2 had only 9 boats for their Inland Championships, Laser EPS 10 for their Nationals but Miracle had 20 for an area Traveller. I am sure that RS 100 will have most of the available boats entered because those of you wealthy enough to buy one will want to give it a go and this must be true of other new classes. Obviously Laser will always be huge but what of other Olympic classes, 470?

At our club on Saturday morning at 9.45 we will be holding the Yamaha Sea Hopper National Championships. We expect a big turnout............