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Drop the discards?
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salmon80 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 26 Aug 18 at 10:58pm
Originally posted by Dougaldog

Well said Jim - that is a point that had to be made and made well. As I travel around to various events, increasingly I'm seeing that it is the middle fleet competitors who are staying away. 
Not so long ago I was at an event and in the bar afterwards, listened with interest to a well known star of the sailing scene bemoaning the actions of  some mid-fleet sailors. After being called OCS (luckily on a P flag start) he'd gone back, restarted and was now keen to blast his way back towards the front of the fleet. Heading down the first reach (triangle-Sausage course) he went to sail over the top of some mid-fleeters (rabbits was one of the less abrasive terms he used for them) only to find himself being luffed up way above the lay line. These no-hopers, he declared, had spoilt his race! It was hard to feel any sympathy for him and that 'them and us' attitude, despite the fact that it is the 'them' in this situation, who by buying his products, where making his presence at the event possible!
There is enough flexibility in the Rules for both - for those small, high profile fleet, by all means drop the discard but for the majority of the dinghy sailing community, leave things as they currently stand!
D


Maybe he was playing the 'chicken'
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Chris 249 View Drop Down
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Posts: 2041 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Chris 249 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Aug 18 at 5:25am
Originally posted by Dougaldog

Well said Jim - that is a point that had to be made and made well. As I travel around to various events, increasingly I'm seeing that it is the middle fleet competitors who are staying away. 

Not so long ago I was at an event and in the bar afterwards, listened with interest to a well known star of the sailing scene bemoaning the actions of  some mid-fleet sailors. After being called OCS (luckily on a P flag start) he'd gone back, restarted and was now keen to blast his way back towards the front of the fleet. Heading down the first reach (triangle-Sausage course) he went to sail over the top of some mid-fleeters (rabbits was one of the less abrasive terms he used for them) only to find himself being luffed up way above the lay line. These no-hopers, he declared, had spoilt his race! It was hard to feel any sympathy for him and that 'them and us' attitude, despite the fact that it is the 'them' in this situation, who by buying his products, where making his presence at the event possible!

There is enough flexibility in the Rules for both - for those small, high profile fleet, by all means drop the discard but for the majority of the dinghy sailing community, leave things as they currently stand!

D



We probably all agree that the "rabbits" are actually the most important people in the fleet, and are often a bit slower around the racecourse because they spend their time doing things that are better for society as a whole than sailboat racing. However, sometimes when a fast sailor is caught behind, there are some others who seem to make a point of slowing them down even at the expense of making both boats lose time. I've seen fast sailors specifically go high so they don't affect other boats down the reach, only for the slower sailor to come up several boatlengths and start luffing. They seem to be saying "well I only finished 80th, but at least I held Joanna Hotshot back to 81st for a leg".  Since the front-end racers often make a point of sailing fast and clean, it can be rather galling.
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davidyacht View Drop Down
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Posts: 1345 		Post Options Post Options   Quote davidyacht Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Aug 18 at 4:52pm
Probably why you often see the down the pan hotshots going deep on the first reach ...
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Aug 18 at 9:23pm
I think people want to put their best results forward. Whether it improves their end ranking or not, I feel many people, including myself, tend to go away from events feeling better having only our 'best' on the score sheet. Discards are likely good for customer satisfaction, even if on average they do nothing to improve a sailors standing. 
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