Banging on about Byte (again)

   So there we have it. A very successful ByteC2 Wordls at Garda. Loads of boats sailed by both male and female.....average age, 16. This was also a qualifier for the Youth Olympics. There were two British boys and two British girls sailing who were sponsored by the RYA. This is where we come to the child abuse scandal. Those four young people where made to practice in Laser 4.7's before being thrown to the Worlds young lions who had of course been sailing in Byte's all along. The two girls did quite well, one of them won a race, the boys less so. 
Perhaps things will change now that Hartley have taken on building them, Perhaps the RYA Laser stranglehold will begin to lose it's grip!

Hartley by the way have oversold the ten boats for three grand offer but have not started building yet......anyone want to buy a multiple nationals and inlands winning Byte later in the year?

Of course you do not have to be 16 to sail one.....just under about 11 stone. I realise that the wealthy middle class gentlemen that frequent this forum could have  a waistline commensurate with the size of their wallets. 

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iitick Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 09 Sep 13 Location: Tunstead Milton Online Status: Offline Posts: 392	Post Options Post Reply Quote iitick Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Banging on about Byte (again) Posted: 28 Apr 14 at 12:44pm
	So there we have it. A very successful ByteC2 Wordls at Garda. Loads of boats sailed by both male and female.....average age, 16. This was also a qualifier for the Youth Olympics. There were two British boys and two British girls sailing who were sponsored by the RYA. This is where we come to the child abuse scandal. Those four young people where made to practice in Laser 4.7's before being thrown to the Worlds young lions who had of course been sailing in Byte's all along. The two girls did quite well, one of them won a race, the boys less so. Perhaps things will change now that Hartley have taken on building them, Perhaps the RYA Laser stranglehold will begin to lose it's grip! Hartley by the way have oversold the ten boats for three grand offer but have not started building yet......anyone want to buy a multiple nationals and inlands winning Byte later in the year? Of course you do not have to be 16 to sail one.....just under about 11 stone. I realise that the wealthy middle class gentlemen that frequent this forum could have a waistline commensurate with the size of their wallets.

Bootscooter Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 15 May 07 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1094	Post Options Post Reply Quote Bootscooter Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Apr 14 at 8:27pm
	Just a thought, but those sailors were plucked from the 4.7 Squads, in which they've learnt the large fleet racing skills that have let them perform so well in this event. I personally think the Byte is a great boat, but I understand that at least one of the sailors we're talking about dislikes it intensely.

kneewrecker Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 09 Apr 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1586	Post Options Post Reply Quote kneewrecker Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Apr 14 at 8:39pm
	And just like the girls wanting the 49erFX - it might not make sense to a bunch of middle age men behind computers, but the folks sailing them want the same as their counterparts.

Guests Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Quote Reply Posted: 28 Apr 14 at 8:44pm
	Interesting take on things..... Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not anti-byte. I'm actually intrigued by the boat but I think a more realistic post would be... So there we have it. Another Byte C2 worlds at garda. 30ish males and 30ish females, that's the amount the whole world could muster. There were two british boys and two british boys who were paid to sail the Byte C2 because we don't have any youth byte C2 sailors. This is where we come to the child abuse scandal. Having so few byte C2 sailors in the country, the RYA had to bribe laser 4.7 sailors to sail a byte C2. Things won't change even though hartley has started building them. The RYA sent a team this year as a bit of a one off due to certain reasons whereby they weren't really left much of a choice. Those kids are back in their lasers now and in no way rushing to buy a byte after sailing one. Yep..... That seems to sum up my take on things. I genuinely would like to have a play in a byte cII, I think they look potentially fun. Though after this post, I don't think I'll be getting any offers

iitick Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 09 Sep 13 Location: Tunstead Milton Online Status: Offline Posts: 392	Post Options Post Reply Quote iitick Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 14 at 7:36am


iitick Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 09 Sep 13 Location: Tunstead Milton Online Status: Offline Posts: 392	Post Options Post Reply Quote iitick Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 14 at 8:13am
	I do accept your point Doug but.....I have met many ambitious young sailors with stars in their eyes. They want to do well, they have their eyes on the Olympics in future years, mummy and daddy have their eyes on the Olympics as well, so, they will force themselves into a Laser come what may. The RYA have no provision for any other boat. Then along comes this Youth Olympic jolly. Personally I think that getting sixty kids thrashing round in Garda is quite a good effort but it has changed the nature of the class World wide. It is now a youth class in the rest of the World. The RYA eventually decided to support the Youth Olympics, grudgingly it seems, but could not be bothered to source boats for practice. They did have a problem of course because there was no UK manufacturer (and that's another long story) but boats are available in Italy and I am sure a deal could have been reached. You may ask, "why could the CA not help?" and that would be a valid point but while the rest of the World has gone 'Youth' Britain has just stayed 'Small'. There are quite a lot of boats out there being club sailed and Nationals attendances are increasing. If a C2 comes on the market it will be quickly snapped up.At last years Nationals there was only one sailor in the teen age group but lots of women. At our club we do have the two most successful Byte sailors in the country and to see them racing on Sunday in a strong, blustery wind and crawling all over Lasers and Supernovas is a sight to behold. If you wish to try one I am sure it can be arranged, where are you?

iGRF Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499	Post Options Post Reply Quote iGRF Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 14 at 8:34am
	There's a thing though tick, they offered them for 3 grand at the dinghy show, yet still haven't built any? Is that good for customers? I had a good look at them at the show and reasoned it was a tiny boat for even me, is it really capable of holding a Laser, mano y mano? I love the rig, but the boat just looks so small and if they can't churn ten out from then until now even though they have orders, well what can I say? I agree the RYA should support the class with a squad for the kids, but if there is no onward and upward path to grownupness, you can see the predicament. Would the boat hold a Streaker, or Solo? Given similar sailor skill sets of course..
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Rupert Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rupert Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 14 at 8:43am
	In Britain it is simply another of the many small singlehanders, with the USP of the fancy rig. However, I suspect the rig puts more people off than it does bring people in. Couple that with lots of people defining the boat as "Oh, the old Topper boat that changed its sail" and you don't have the best of starting points to build the fleet. I guess the Lightning had/has similar problems. At Whitefriars, despite the fact that I've been sailing one there for 5 years, it is still the boat that, when there were a few there 20 years ago, it was the boat that nosedived. The Lightning is slowly coming out of that, I think - people are now sailing them on the sea, for instance - and I think the Byte can too. But it will always be a niche class in the UK, sailed by enthusiasts, away from the mainstream. In my opinion, that is an excellent place to be.
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gordon1277 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 24 Mar 10 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 665	Post Options Post Reply Quote gordon1277 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 14 at 8:46am
	Hi Just a thought can you team the Byte up with another class a bit bigger that could be seen as the alternative to the RYA pathway, say the Streaker or Lightning? Alternatively what about working with the Grad fleet as a boat for the crews to move into once they get to big. Just a middle aged far to heavy bloke trying to be constructive and not looking for sarcastic comments. Gordon
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iGRF Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499	Post Options Post Reply Quote iGRF Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 14 at 8:54am
	It strikes me, that Open events could be organised and box 'classes' set up within, like we used to windsurfing, 6.5, 7.5 8.5 & 9.5 style. I'm guessing Lightnings, Streakers, Bytes maybe Europes could race together pretty evenly. Then another start for the 8-10 mtr class, Blazes, Phantoms, EPS's etc Edited by iGRF - 29 Apr 14 at 8:54am
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