RTIR 12 - Cancelled Classes

Originally posted by RS400atC Originally posted by laser193713 We went round in cool runnings, despite the class being abandoned.  Mainly because we wanted to race against the bigger boats and knew we had a good chance of showing up the bigger boats.  We started the race on our biggest jib 2 minutes after the class 1 start and decided to change down a jib at hurst.  That probably took 5 minutes as we had to stop as it is a jib luff. ....... Having to stop for 5 minutes to change jib suggests to me that this isn't an offshore boat, and makes me think the race organisers have a point. Many small boats could go faster than the bigger boats, including dinghies, but is that the point? It is well known that the 'dayboat' classes sometimes get cancelled, you should know that when you enter. I've spoken to a fair variety of competitors and none of them have described it as sounding like a suitable RTIR for dayboats.

it's an interesting thread... I do wonder if the Fastnet in 1979 had occurred in 2009 whether there would have been another one 2010.  

Originally posted by RS400atC Originally posted by laser193713 ..... I went round on a sportsboat, so who are you going to believe? The muppets on cruising boats that should be left in the marina or someone who can actually sail, on a boat that should have been allowed to race? We saw some particularly scary sailing from some very big and fast boats, these are the people who shouldnt be allowed to race. We had a professional sailor helming the boat and a very quick crew, watching 45 footers wiping out while we didnt even come close to broaching was amusing.  Also very indicative of the incredibly low standard of sailing in this country, compared to say France, where competency reaches much further down the results board! If you have such disdain for the majority of the competitors, I don't see why you wanted to take part. Why don't the sportsboats organise their own RTI?

Originally posted by Rupert The decision to cancel the sports boats wasn't made by the other boats that were allowed to go round, so not sure why they should get a tongue lashing?

Indeed.
A better argument would be to look at comparable events in which these boats competed.
Cool Runnings looks like a big dinghy.
The J/80 seems more yacht-like to me.
Maybe 'Sportsboat' is too wide a category.

I can appreciate the need to cancel open cockpit, non-self draining boats like the Etchells based on sea conditions.

The problem is not the principle of cancelling unsuitable classes, more where certain classes fit in the  spectrum of (for want of a better word) seaworthiness.

From the photo, Cool Runnings seems to have no lifelines.
Does it have jackstays and harnesses for the crew?
I can see that a race  officer might justifiably believe that a boat like this is more likely to lose people overboard in the event of really severe weather.
I would imagine the race team are not working on the most probable weather, but the maximum weather that is 'reasonably likely'.
It's fair to question their decision, and the information it was based on, and to look for a better decision process in future, but I have a lot of sympathy for the race team.

Cool Runnings does have lifelines, but only for a small length of the hull, a bit like a melges 24.  There are no Jackstays but all crew were wearing Spinlock Deckvest Lites and HL drysuits. There are windsurf style footstraps for the helm and the bowman (myself, sat behind the helm), the rest of the crew rely on the skateboard style deck grip and guardwires to stay on the boat.   The most likely person to fall overboard would have been me, running forwards and backwards as we gybed.  Perhaps the helm could have fallen off too but the footstraps make that unlikely.