Top dog

Thank you for your correction "Contender", I besmirched the name of a great man!

It seems strange that Mr Fuller is so against commercialism. He evidently must have inherited the money to build V twin rather than soil his hands through "trade", particularly a trade that seems do dependent on image.

Originally posted by tickel It seems strange that Mr Fuller is so against commercialism. .

Edited by G.R.F. - 05 Sep 11 at 3:09pm

Originally posted by G.R.F. ... there is too much BS in dinghy sailing

ain't that the truth, brought home even more after witnessing a day at the National Windsurfing Festival yesterday.

300 boards lined up on a beach, no complex start procedures, a limited rule set based on common sense and a simple, short course you could be bothered to follow from the wall at Hayling. In fact I counted over 100 people watching the lunchtime race yesterday.

A few observations:


- At dinghy events if you're lucky they'll lay on a simple course; if not, it's round the cans like some psuedo-military navigation exercise favouring the local boats who don't need a course card- and the races are usually FAR TOO LONG- two laps is enough thanks. At the NWF the course was simple, short and fun to watch, probably more fun to be in.

- At dinghy events there's complex rules and start procedures. At the NWF they had a RIB running a gate start (although it wasn't defined as such) and the 'rules' are based on common sense and COLREGS. 300 competitors and 6 races... no protests, no jury boats, no black flags and recalls. Go figure.

- In dinghies you choose your 'class' and this produces several national champions leading to the 4 pages of b**locks above and a debate over why Topper Xenons are crap boats for the Endeavour. At the NWF everyone lines up with whatever gear they want and someone wins, in fact several people win as there's token prize for every race, there are category prizes for the usual age related/gender splits/pro vs am status and finally someone wins overall. But that's not the point really, the priority is for everyone to participate- even those not racing (like me) who are actively encouraged to get on the water for as much as they can stomach, learn from the shorebased clinics and generally have a laugh in a non-judgemental way, everyone is there to help everyone else get more their time on the water- they even run complete novice 'try windsurfing' sessions... imagine a 'have a go at sailing' demo at the Merlin Nationals!

- At most dinghy class nationals they cater for demographic as 'classes' attract like-types- body type, age, gender, economic profile etc. At the NWF everyone competed off the same line on whatever kit they wanted- sure it meant some people had a technical advantage, but this simply didn't matter on the beach- no one gives a sh*t. I guess Guy Cribb summed it up when he beat the £100k Extreme 40 on his 'top of the range' slalom kit - £3k.

- At most dinghy class nationals they have a measurement tent, at the NWF they had a beer tent.


This was apparently the 6th year of the NWF and everyone says it was the best one yet. Whatever- they're building on a solid formula and the numbers are going up, not down each year.   

Edited by rogue - 05 Sep 11 at 4:54pm

Originally posted by G.R.F. it is and always has been a muppetfest.

And dinghy sailing isn't?

The one thing this thread has failed to pick up on is the fact that a lot of nationals are being won by industry employees. Honestly how many national winners are NOT connected in someway to the industry flogging us this or that, even at the most modest level of getting free sh*t to pimp a sail loft or spar company?

These guys aren't team riders in pro-events like other sports, but they might as well be. Dinghy sailing better wake up and realise it's us muppets who are paying full retail to keep the show on the road. What was that term I first heard you use... 'weekend warrior', yep, that's the one.

At least the NWF caters for muppets on an equal level- in fact, would get more muppets along given half the chance- 'exclusivity' simply ain't on the agenda!

Edited by rogue - 05 Sep 11 at 5:39pm

Class rules are there to stop an arms race - lets all sail something 14 feet long with X amount of sail - or you end up with the winner being the person with the biggest, most extreme boat. This has happened in the history of yachting, and will again, I'm sure - just look at the crap that happens at the AC, and multiply by lots.