Olympic Investment

I was referring to maximising golds but in any case surprised you suggest a Laser or Radial is out of reach of most people compared to a 49er or Nacra plus 49er isn't what I would recommend for a beginner. Of the classes in the Olympics the only ones most club sailors will relate to are the Lasers and these are the only classes anyone knew to sailing is likely to sail so these two classes should be top priority for golds. Of all the sports at the Olympics the sailing classes seem more remote from what most people use in a sport and getting remoter as go for speed classes which overall give boring racing - the general public isn't interested in sailing at the Olympics and most sailors would rather tactical racing rather than a blast on one tack to end of course and back again.A shame match or team racing isn't in anymore.

Cornish gigs going well too, with an exiles club even started up in London. But still harder to organise than sit on tops or SUPs. Rowing on the Thames in hire boats is the equivalent of that, I guess, and is still popular, as far as I'm aware. Like SoT and SUP, a pastime, not a sport at the most popular level.

Originally posted by Old Timer Originally posted by iGRF It would make your eyes water if you saw the bill for the 49er and FX team "....... Are you saying you have seen it or are you just talking sh*te.

I don't think it's a big secret, the number of boat rig combinations they tried even prior to London/Weymouth in their seeking the 'boat speed makes you a tactical genius' solution. You only have to spend a few visits to the Weymouth training centre to see for yourself, so no, I'm not talking 'sh*te' a lot of equipment expense is involved in the sailing budget.

Edited by iGRF - 23 Aug 16 at 11:06am

Originally posted by attenborough Of the classes in the Olympics the only ones most club sailors will relate to are the Lasers and these are the only classes anyone knew to sailing is likely to sail so these two classes should be top priority for golds.

Originally posted by Presuming Ed Originally posted by Chris 249 Yes, but why?  As in, is rowing inherently more difficult than canoeing, or does sports rowing make itself more difficult than canoeing because of the design of the boats that is normally used?  Flatwater rowing seems to (AIUI) get people into full-on rowing shells if they want to row as a sport, whereas canoe builders have been pumping out simple, stable sea kayaks, SOTs etc rather than promoting K1s.  Is that a factor????? I haven't had a chance to check it out in detail, but the great decline in rowing as a popular spectator sport in Oz, at any rate, apparently occurred 8 years after the more stable "string test fours" and other boats were replaced for 'normal' racing by modern-style outrigger boats. Apparently coastal rowing, using beamier boats, is booming; as of course are dragon boating and SUPping which aren't Olympic events. There is a chance that I'm just seeing everything from the eyes of someone who believes that the popularity of a sport is closely linked to having easy-to-use kit, but certainly some canoe builders have said that the sport's rise is linked to the advent of cheap plastic boats. Rowing is a killer time suck, to somebody else's timetable. There's a bit of latitude in winter, but it's still 4 evenings a week in the gym, and 8am - 1pm Saturday and Sundays. And you have to be there at 8am, because that's the time everybody else is. The vast majority of rowing - at least here in the UK, is in 8+s and 4s, as that's the most bang for the boat club's buck when buying boats. (Singles tend to be privately owned,) In summer, it's even worse as you go rowing in the evenings, so down to the boatclub for 7pm outings 3-4 times per week. And with most clubs, you can't take more than about 1 or 2 weekends off through the winter.  I can't imagine a rotomolded boat working, other than a very short playboat, from a structural point of view.  The Scottish Coastal Rowing project seems to have been doing quite well, with self-built faering type boats - built in ply & epoxy.

Edited by Chris 249 - 25 Aug 16 at 1:06am