Fair Play?

I used to race longboards and short boards back in the late 80s and the problem I identified was that you just could not race effectively unless you pumped liked crazy. In the UK this happened a lot because conditions were often marginal and pumping made a significant difference if you got planing quicker, got clean air etc. Just the starts where enough to wear most people out. So IMHO the necessary pumping is one of the reasons why board racing has never really taken off.

Div II boards did appeal to me as a lot less pumping seemed to go on, but unfortunately they had already died by the time I was thinking about racing them. Wonder if they could ever make a comeback.

Originally posted by Medway Maniac  What were you doing?

Coming 9th in the fast handicap in a boat I'd stepped into for the first time only two weeks ago, with a crew I've sailed with once before, in a gusty force 5 to 6 over a 40 mile marathon, beating people who have spent years in these things, I'm not unhappy about that and even happier I appear to still be improving at something, at a time of life where most folk are deteriorating.

Or the Icon is a Bandit.

It's one of those two.

Originally posted by Medway Maniac Talking of fair play, sailor of the day award should have gone to that Chipstead Scorpion2005. Not the easiest ride in those conditions by any means. Quicker round the course than Grumph's Icon and with a dagger rudder. 4th overall (no prize), she had to make do with the consolation 'Ladies' prize.

A Scorpion is a good sea boat and correct me here but I'm sure they have a kite and a centreboard an excellent boat for that event. A kite would have taken half an hour out of our time maybe more never mind the two minutes they had and at 1042 for a three sail everyone knows they're worse bandits than Merlins, they're just sailed by vegetarians and tree huggers hence the smaller numbers than the alco's in the Merlin class.
Neither was she first female helm, Genna was, chiselling banditry as we come to expect from dinghy sailors, I'm surprised you didn't enter a Laser 3k with full North rigout, that's your usual style isn't it?

Edited by iGRF - 02 Sep 14 at 1:48pm

I agree it's a 100% cultural Chris- having essentially learned to windsurf inland I am amazed at the learning curve I've been through when it comes to kit choice.  I don't think there was anyone else (adult) who regularly sailed a daggerboarded plank....  they'd rather stand around in the shallows, thumbs in their armpits waiting for a 'gust' to get their +20L freeride or freestyle board moving.  If folks only have shortboard kit, then it's no surprise there is little interest in course racing... 

Originally posted by Medway Maniac The local IC has given up and gone cruising, the other one used to come mostly to race him.  Perfect boats for a round course, with lots of non-kite off-wind legs (as are Tasars and Icons, of course, plus all the una rigs) I just recall the hassle of rigging on the day in a queue along the road, then having to park your trailer miles away, and de-rigging is a crowded affair too, unless numbers have dropped off a lot.  Last time I did it I took the boat down and rigged it the previous day.  To make all that worthwhile it has to be perfect conditions wind and tide-wise.   This year we'd have had real problems with the daggerboard; an 800 would have been a nightmare too.  Even the Alto pairing claimed that their centreboard was half its original length by the time they'd sailed up the Swale...

That's because almost every boat we saw upwind worked the wind and headed to flat water rather than work the middle and stick in the channel where the tide was greatest, and it was choppy with overfalls, although I can't imagine the Alto not spotting that if he/she sails up your river. We only touched once down the bottom and that was because I tried to smart arse around the back of a rescue boat, you could see the water was confused so there would be an obstruction under it. I paid for it upwind with weather helm because the rudder got knocked back.

Edited by iGRF - 02 Sep 14 at 12:39pm