Laser Nationals

I doubt they would actually shut the door on Sunfish, it's clearly a money spinner if marketed properly. And they bought it......... Unless they bought it to kill it dead so the L@ser would be the biggest seller?

Implying that the Lightning (now 40 years old, only about 8 years newer than the Laser) or the Byte (a baby Laser hull with a modified 1960s Moth-style rig) are "forward looking" seems pretty damn silly in a world where the real leaps in performance have left all these classes well behind, and the leading edge in design is now owned by kitefoilers. Oh, and if you really think that a class that sells sometimes as few as one boat per year and another class that sells 20 per year across the entire globe are "forward looking" and going to be the future then you are the misguided one.

It looks like no one here has criticised Lightning sailors as being parochial souls who want to be big fish in a tiny puddle, so why do you call those who prefer other classes and bigger challenges "misguided"?  If we're over-sensitive then you are rude and arrogant, as indicated by the way you sit there on your self-erected throne and tell others they are "misguided" and "looking backwards" rather than respecting what others choose to do. Surely it's fairly simple - if you don't want to cop criticism then don't sit on your self-erected throne of "wisdom" and criticise others and their choices and classes.

Years ago this forum was an interesting and sometimes amusing exchange of sailing ideas. Contributors included young people and even women (God forbid). What is it now?

I will leave you to play with each other while I continue to support and promote a class that provides what a certain type of sailor is suited to rather than forcing them into something unsuitable.

Goodbye and "Thanks for all the fish".