Nick Craig

It is true that the afore mentioned rugby players who dwarf Iain Percy are bulked up to the max. A less extreme form of training, concentrating on the fitness needed for sailing, would both see them lose muscle bulk, and so weight, and be far more healthy in the long term.

John1980, I'm a similar build to you, and I've found many singlehnders to suit my weight over the years. Many haven't kept my interest for very long, mind, but if I had the money time, skill and the love of steep learning curves, then the International Moth fits me, too.

well you weigh more than 95% of the population and are taller than 99% of the population 

Originally posted by davidyacht Interesting point about talented sailors who do not go the Olympic route, Mathew Syed in excellent book "bounce" would have you think that there is no such thing as natural talent, what is required for top level performance is 10,000 hours of directed training.

I'd disagree with that, having met a fair few naturally talented types in my time, it didn't matter what the sport, 'they' could just do it, instantly, a couple stand out, one a guy who picked up skiing and windsurfing so quickly it was almost that he was born to it, the other the guy that got me into sailing dinghies, a natural skier, snowboarder, windsurfer and dinghy sailor, automatically assumed I'd just get in an MPS like he had and sail it, which I did but was limited the same way he felt he was (he's light and not much taller than I). Having said that he did quite well in a euopeans I gather.

So rambling along, I do believe there are naturally talented people, but some of them don't push right through to win stuff, I believe winners have some psychological issues that drive them on and to the point they will be more than happy to do the 10,000 hours or push themselves to whatever is necessary to achieve their aim, but I also believe and this will set me up as a total nutter, but I believe in extra sensory perception, call it a gift of clear sight, call it psychic awareness, it's more usually manifested in women, blokes don't like to admit to it, it takes us into the realms of being a nutter, but it is very real and I believe in sports like sailing, it comes into play at times, not something easily switched on and off, not something everyone is even aware of, but I do believe some folk have it and others don't and if it happens to be part of being 'naturally talented' then no amount of training will put it in place, given it's a mental thing..

Mental ramble over.

Edited by iGRF - 17 Oct 13 at 11:01am

Originally posted by gordon The simple fact is that for the larger young fit sailors, especially in inland dinghy sailing clubs, there is no obvious pathway for them to continue sailing, whilst they are being actively recruited by other sports (rowing, rugby, basketball...) As the average size of fit healthy kids increases sailing in Europe and North America will have a demographc problem.

Suggest you point them at windsurfing then, it has favoured tall weightier guys& gals ever since the basic sail size went from 7.5 to 9.5 and the Olympic board went from 7.4 to 9.8.

I guess the problem inland (as well as the water density making low volume boats perform in a more weight sensitive manner ) the general lack of windy and moderate wind races and gusty conditions favouring lighter folk, I still think lighter tall folk have an advantage which kids tend to be these days.

Edited by iGRF - 17 Oct 13 at 11:23am

Originally posted by iitick her buttock clenching is so subtle I cant see it. And I have looked.

Steady on. Public forum...