420 winged rudder

Not sure there is any liable posted in this thread is there? The OP was asking a genuine question.  I will keep an eye out over the next few events.  However i cant see a 420 fitting a t foil style rudder.   As for the 800 sails, i didn't even notice until it was pointed out to me.  Then i just presumed that they had been voted in.  To be honest, i couldn't care less about my position overall but i think the boats using out of class sails should retire retrospectively.  This needs to be nipped in the bud fast or else where will it stop?

We're just not very good at self-policing are we....

Well, I agree Matt, but if Neal saw someone pumping like mad then surely he should of protested?!  Myself I didn't see much bending of any rules, couple of fireball and 400 sailors pushing their luck but nothing a bit of luffing and shouting back couldn't sort for me.  If he did see it and made no effort to at least stop the person from cheating and then having a rant at people on here for voicing an opinion about out of class boats racing outside of the class rules then it’s a pretty poor show and we have no hope!  Especially when he is sailing a class with a high level of child crews (or am in wrong)   FWIW the Bloody Mary, Tiger Trophy etc. etc. are NOT the place to test new kit.  These are major events (think over 600 sailors competed in last year’s Global warm-up series)  with many of these events having more Kudos than most of the national championships in the respective competing classes and certainly bigger prizes on the table!  Am I going to win, absolutely not!  Would of beaten the 800 with the original sail plan, again NO way.  They were much better sailors than me and made fewer mistakes, but at least I can walk away saying I gave it my all in a boat in class.  If we don't get better at this self policing then we may as well give up.  I really enjoyed this year’s BM, and felt my result was fair given the f**k ups and big swims.  Sure I have done better in the past, but I enjoyed myself.  All this nonsense is really dampening the whole experience for me for an event I paid to enter and paid to get to.  So how about giving me my entry, fuel cost and time back??  Or please just send me an email next time telling me on your plans to show one of the jewels in the sailing crown and all its 346 competitors disrespect so I don’t bother coming...

Originally posted by iGRF   Edit and I have just read the thread from start to finish and am not surprised by any of its content, having said that I'm also of the opinion that these winter events are there to try out stuff

Edited by pondmonkey - 22 Jan 13 at 9:53am

Greame

Div One in those early days limited fully battened sails to 6.0m but allowed slightly larger 'soft' sails, The hulls were effectively a box rule as well.... Div one was a development class if you want to translate things for the 'dinghy only ever' types !

The 'Demon' and similar type sails were smaller than most of us initially used at the 6.0m limit but much more efficient and were easier to use.  They also introduced at the same time hull shapes right at the limit of what was allowed ('split' almost Cat  hull at the front blending into a single planing surface at the rear were seen). 

However when the 'class' evolved to 7.5m sails everything stabalised, 'normal' flattish hulls dominated again and it became pretty much a one-design class cos the designs had gone through a process of converged design to the optimal package.  A Golden Age decended .....It was only later when the 'misguided' aided by 'get rich quick' suppliers effectively stuffed 'mass' racing for a load of 'progressive' race-board tosh (no problem with that, you don't have to join them, but why oh why kill off Div 1 to do it ?)  and yes unlimited pumping ... that meant most of us promptly voted with our feet and our wallets. 

Racing fleets dwindled from truly massive (read Topper / Optiomist event nuimbers but with 'grown-ups' doing the sailing)  to frankly pathetic numbers and a load of washed up surfer types sitting around on-shore being 'cool' waiting for 'proper racing' conditions ... all the time at fewer and fewer locations.

It was the organisers who lost the plot and promoted a lost cause path if mass participation was the objective -  and not the vast majority of racers pushing things.  Div one was a great class, maybe the biggest since the Laser was actually seen as 'sexy' by the masses (er ... now that was a long long time ago of course !). 

Simple logic never came into it .... that was the bit that was missing  !  'They' fiddled around with a working 'engine' until it broke and then none of 'them' had a clue how it had really worked so it remained broken.... and they solely focussed on what they were told was 'really important' stuff like the funded 'elite'.

Dinghy types did not stuff board racing .... it imploded by itself and the dinghy types in it were possibly the first to vote with their feet.  The 'exits' then soon filled up with the masses who couild not see the 'kings clothes' either.

Mike L.