Marketing Superlatives ....
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Dinghy classes
Forum Name: Dinghy development
Forum Discription: The latest moves in the dinghy market
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11901
Printed Date: 10 Jul 25 at 8:10am Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Marketing Superlatives ....
Posted By: Old Timer
Subject: Marketing Superlatives ....
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 10:10am
Post your examples here for a bit of fun ... here is one to get started:
http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/181476/Selden-S1-Merlin-Rocket-Mast-auction
"Sailmaker Andy Davis of HD Sails has been racing a Merlin Rocket for over 10 years. Andy has won every major Championship in the Merlin along with other National titles in the Solo, Scorpion, Snipe and GP14 Class."
It is a national class ... so they don't have a Europeans or a Worlds ... so ... well ... when you say "every" do you mean he has won all the nationals ... ever? He must be old ...
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Replies:
Posted By: furtive
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 10:22am
Doesn't seem unreasonable - I'm guessing he's won the Merlin Nationals, Inlands, Silver Tiller series, Salcombe Week.
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Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 10:23am
Be fair, probably means the Nationals *and* the inlands...
The one I hate is when the publicity droids send out press releases saying "XXX Says" which they've made up themselves and which XXX never said, using phrasing XXX wouldn't ever use in a month of Sundays. One should always remember in a press release "XXX says" means "I'm sure XXX would say it if I put the script in their hand and enough pressure was applied".
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Posted By: L123456
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 10:35am
Originally posted by furtive
Doesn't seem unreasonable - I'm guessing he's won the Merlin Nationals, Inlands, Silver Tiller series, Salcombe Week. |
He's probably won the lot ... but a National Class only has one "Championship" the rest are just other major events ... lets not debase the kudos that goes with being the champion ...
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Posted By: turnturtle
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 10:37am
Originally posted by JimC
Be fair, probably means the Nationals *and* the inlands...
The one I hate is when the publicity droids send out press releases saying "XXX Says" which they've made up themselves and which XXX never said, using phrasing XXX wouldn't ever use in a month of Sundays. One should always remember in a press release "XXX says" means "I'm sure XXX would say it if I put the script in their hand and enough pressure was applied". |
a bit like Ben Ainslie's initial endorsement of the RS Aero that was later redacted?
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Posted By: Old Timer
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 10:37am
In an a recent post JimC said "those PR morons really get up my nose, why can't they just report the facts"
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Posted By: Dougaldog
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 10:43am
Just to set the record straight, the Merlin Rocket Class has four major trophies up for grabs; the National and Inland Championships, Salcombe Week (which many would rate as one of the hardest events to win in any class)and the Silver Tiller - raced across the whole season and demanding success at all sorts of venue, from the smaller inland locations to events held on the open sea.
In the 50+ years that these events have been raced for, until recently only 3 helms had managed to win them all 'at some time' (no one has ever won them all in a season) and Andy Davis is now the fourth - and all his wins are in the same boat too.
Given the competition in the fleet and the range of events, locations and conditions raced at, I'd say that was a pretty damn good record and hardly one to be sneered at.....
D
------------- Dougal H
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Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 11:03am
Originally posted by Dougaldog
Salcombe Week (which many would rate as one of the hardest events to win in any class)
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Ummmm, how many of those people who rate Salcombe Week that highly have done;
America's Cup; Olympics; Moth/Melges/Farr 40/Dragon/Etchells/505/Laser/470/F18/Kona/Hobie 16 etc worlds? Volvo Windsurfing world cup or RSX Worlds etc etc etc?
To claim that one race in a class that, while very good, is restricted to one country is "one of the hardest to win in any class" seems to be over-egging it. Merlin sailors from one countryrare extremely unlikely to be so much smarter that they can sail part time and still be harder to beat than the full-time sailors from just about every major sailing nation, as you find in some other classes.
Sure, Salcombe Week would be extremely hard to win, but it's far from the only such lesser-known but hot event. There are lesser-known regattas where guys who have been top 4 in the Lasers and top 2 in the America''s Cup struggle, even after years of experience in the class in question.
Sure, people in the Merlins will list names as if to say that they demonstrate how good the class it - but so can those from many other classes in other countries. Andy Davis is no doubt an excellent sailor - but what is there in his record to show that he is better than Chris Dance or Tito Gonzales, who come from classes that don't seem to make such claims?**
How many people who have done Salcombe Week know how it compares to the US Thistle titles, or the Australian Sharpie championships, the NZ Sunbursts, or perhaps the Bavarian Pirat Title* or one of the many other lesser-known hot regional classes? I sail in a class that normally has 3 or 4 Olympians (past and present) at its titles and most people in the world wouldn't know it exists. I'm not saying it's tougher to win than Salcombe Week, but the point is that it's probably improbable that anyone can even list all the regattas that can claim to have good fleets, much less work out which one is harder to win.
I have an old mag where the Merlin fleet claimed to be possibly the hottest in the world. It was an arrogant and jingoistic thing to say when classes like Finns had people with Elvstrom racing, and it seems as if nothing has changed.
Oh, and on this topic I do apologise for the Aussies who have beaten their chests about skiffs over the years, but the fact that we can be one-eyed doesn't excuse it happening elsewhere.
EDITED to lighten up. :-)
* Ok, this one is a guess! :-)
** Actually, some of the classes they sail in also over-egg the publicity, but not in the same way IMHO.
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Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 11:17am
And to lighten things up a little...
The Minisail National Championships will be held at internationally renowned yacht club Whitefriars SC in the beautiful Cotswold Water park on July 4/5. Entries are expected from top Minisail sailors from around Europe and the UK.
Current Champion Rupert Whelan said "it is wonderful to be part of such a big event. Numbers taking part have tripled over the past 4 years, and we expect a great turnout again this year, with top sailors from Belgium, Holland, France and Germany coming to take part. The atmosphere will be electric and the sailing standard 2nd to none".
------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Posted By: Pierre
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 11:21am
Did a Merlin sailor do something unspeakable to in the past Chris?
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Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 11:26am
Nope, but like the OP I tend to get annoyed with extravagant claims and marketing BS.
And, being an Aussie, I've seen it from the inside so much because of the way some skiffies carried on in the past that I may be highly sensitive to it! When the 49er was announced as an Olympic class, some of our one-eyed commentators claimed that we were a dead cert to clean up the gold for several Olympiads....in fact our skiffies were cleaned up by Brits, Yanks and Finns for two Olympiads, which underlined how weak some claims to superiority can be.
EDIT - and some may say because of my jobs I've spouted rubbish for a living, so maybe it's just professional jealousy! When you want someone to talk rot you should pay for it.....
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Posted By: Old Timer
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 11:28am
Originally posted by Dougaldog
... hardly one to be sneered at.....
D |
Oooohhhh ....
No-one is sneering just poking fun at the over egging of the custard ...
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Posted By: rogerd
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 11:40am
Originally posted by Rupert
And to lighten things up a little...
The Minisail National Championships will be held at internationally renowned yacht club Whitefriars SC in the beautiful Cotswold Water park on July 4/5. Entries are expected from top Minisail sailors from around Europe and the UK.
Current Champion Rupert Whelan said "it is wonderful to be part of such a big event. Numbers taking part have tripled over the past 4 years, and we expect a great turnout again this year, with top sailors from Belgium, Holland, France and Germany coming to take part. The atmosphere will be electric and the sailing standard 2nd to none". |
and not a single exaggerated claim there Rupert.
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Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 11:51am
Mmm, if you study the history of real International classes you often see how one country fancies themselves as being really hot and on top, and then there is a new technique or something somewhere else, and suddenly the hot country is nowhere.
Obviously if you are just a little local class that cannot happen to you, so you go on in a haze of self satisfaction, blissfully unaware.
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Posted By: Old Timer
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 2:29pm
Originally posted by JimC
Mmm, if you study the history of real International classes you often see how one country fancies themselves as being really hot and on top, and then there is a new technique or something somewhere else, and suddenly the hot country is nowhere.
Obviously if you are just a little local class that cannot happen to you, so you go on in a haze of self satisfaction, blissfully unaware. |
Careful JimC many Merlin sailors will burn you at the stake for such a suggestion ... don't you realise Merlins are the very Everest of dinghy sailing?
Anyway - lets see some other gems ...
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Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 2:34pm
Originally posted by Old Timer
don't you realise Merlins are the very Everest of dinghy sailing? |
What, you mean endlessly hyped, much favoured by chequebook climbers, but actually not as challenging as other nearby peaks? Surely not?
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Posted By: winging it
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 2:51pm
[QUOTE=JimC]Be fair, probably means the Nationals *and* the inlands...
The one I hate is when the publicity droids send out press releases saying "XXX Says" which they've made up themselves and which XXX never said, using phrasing XXX wouldn't ever use in a month of Sundays. One should always remember in a press release "XXX says" means "I'm sure XXX would say it if I put the script in their hand and enough pressure was applied".[/QUOTE/]
As one who has previously done just this in order to fund expensive sailing campaigns, I would say in defence that trying to get meaningful quotes out of people is stupidly hard. If they do deign to provide something it is usually mumbo jumbo jargon or barely literate. So yes we do make up the quotes, if only to preserve our own sanity plus the reputation of the person seemingly quoting.
Sorry.
Oh, and Chris 249, come and meet Nick Craig.
------------- the same, but different...
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Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 3:10pm
Its obviously my day for getting everyone to hate me, but honestly, in the world I was educated in the word for a made up quote is a lie. Take the quote marks and the "Fred said" out, and you can have exactly the same text in the press release and it isn't dishonest.
On one occasion when it happened to me I was livid. I wasn't asked for a quote or even consulted, and what was attributed to me was ungrammatical and not something I'd have said under any circumstances. Frankly I felt it was bordering on libellous. But you can't really sue your own organisation for libel can you? I'm sure the person who wrote it thought they were doing the right thing, but they'd been corrupted by what seems to be an accepted dishonesty in their profession.
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Posted By: jeffers
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 3:15pm
Originally posted by winging it
Oh, and Chris 249, come and meet Nick Craig.
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Definitely.
Nick is one of the most talented amateur dinghy sailors on the planet and is consistently at the top of any fleet he sails in.
I seem to recall he went to a Finn Gold Cup a couple of years back and gave a good account of himself (being up against professional sailors).
Top of it all he is a nice guy.
------------- Paul
----------------------
D-Zero GBR 74
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Posted By: turnturtle
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 3:32pm
Originally posted by JimC
Its obviously my day for getting everyone to hate me, but honestly, in the world I was educated in the word for a made up quote is a lie. Take the quote marks and the "Fred said" out, and you can have exactly the same text in the press release and it isn't dishonest.
On one occasion when it happened to me I was livid. I wasn't asked for a quote or even consulted, and what was attributed to me was ungrammatical and not something I'd have said under any circumstances. Frankly I felt it was bordering on libellous. But you can't really sue your own organisation for libel can you? I'm sure the person who wrote it thought they were doing the right thing, but they'd been corrupted by what seems to be an accepted dishonesty in their profession. |
don't worry Jim... no one hates you. In fact, I quite agree with you on this thread... well the OP bit anyway. As for the Merlin, if any class I happen to be sailing can generate half the credibility of the Merlin Rocket then I'd be a happy boy being brutally honest. Secondly I don't really see Taxi's results as anything like hyped compared to some of the crap we're expected to endure from those selling their wares to us. Quite contrary, HD Sails don't do fan boys, they just make quality kit.
Sailing is something I quite enjoy being free from hype and nonsense of our the rest of our lives. Long may it continue.
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Posted By: Old Timer
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 3:54pm
Originally posted by JimC
Its obviously my day for getting everyone to hate me, but honestly, in the world I was educated in the word for a made up quote is a lie. Take the quote marks and the "Fred said" out, and you can have exactly the same text in the press release and it isn't dishonest.
On one occasion when it happened to me I was livid. I wasn't asked for a quote or even consulted, and what was attributed to me was ungrammatical and not something I'd have said under any circumstances. Frankly I felt it was bordering on libellous. But you can't really sue your own organisation for libel can you? I'm sure the person who wrote it thought they were doing the right thing, but they'd been corrupted by what seems to be an accepted dishonesty in their profession. |
To be fair writing quotes is standard practice but what should also be standard practice is getting the person for whom you may have written a quote to approve it.
If you do a release and write a quote for someone and don't ask them to review you are heading for trouble.
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Posted By: winging it
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 6:57pm
I have never written a quote for someone else and not then got it cleared with the person supposedly speaking. I object to the phrase 'accepted dishonesty' but can't be bothered to argue about it. I'll just hate Jim instead. 
On the subject of Andy Davies, he's now done several sail repairs for me, the last one being on a rust stained manky Sprog mainsail. He did a fantastic job at a bargain price. The other jobs were on my D One mainsail. Again quality work with a great appraisal of the state of the sail, all at a great price. He is clearly a craftsman and has a really good attitude.
------------- the same, but different...
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Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 25 Feb 15 at 11:26pm
Originally posted by winging it
Oh, and Chris 249, come and meet Nick Craig.
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I'd love to meet Nick Craig - he's an inspirational sailor and person, and by coincidence the other day I was thinking of starting a "NC for ISAF Sailor of the Year" thread. But the fact that Nick is a brilliant sailor does nothing to prove that the regattas he sails in are any harder to win than many other regattas in other classes and other places. There are many other brilliant sailors who sail other regattas in other classes, and there are many lesser-known classes in which you have to beat Olympians, America's Cup sailors and pros to win. Why are they supposedly easier to beat than Merlin sailors? The earlier post was very complimentary about the Merlins at Salcombe; it said it was "veary good", "extremely hard to win" and "a hot event", but it's one hell of a long way from being a great class to being one of the toughest classes or events in the world, as the Merlins have occasionally claimed over the years. And Andy Davis is doubtless an outstanding sailor, but that doesn't mean that a class that contains him is better than the many other classes containing outstanding sailors.
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Posted By: patj
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 6:25am
I agree about not necessarily the toughest event in the world, it's just probably the toughest event in the Merlin world and a load of marketing hype, but several times I've watched top Merlin sailors racing in particularly rough conditions and handling their boats brilliantly so I can't help but respect them for their ability - the rest of us are just green with envy.
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Posted By: Dougaldog
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 8:28am
Whilst there are many varying disciplines in the world of sailing, in the world of dinghy racing - and in particular dinghy racing in the UK, Salcombe Week for the Merlin Rockets is widely held to be one of the great challenges. In recent years I've been running a programme of interviews with many of our top dinghy racers, their views are an important insight into how the UK dinghy scene has developed.
Now it just so happens that the Merlin fleet has never been light on Olympic representation and there are 5 ring medallists that have seen their reputation take a bit of a knock in trying to progress through that infamous stretch of water known as 'the bag'. All of those I've interviewed seem to be of the same opinion; that Salcombe is harder to win than a Championships! The more interviews I ran and the deeper I dug, the more I found this interesting! Helms who can do a brilliant start, then the classic 'triangle-sausage-triangle-beat to the finish' in their sleep have found their skills wanting when it came to being able to build a winning score at Salcombe.
The Silver Tiller series, sailed at a variety of locations, across a whole season, is already a demanding series that brings the very best of helms to the front, Salcombe is just all that and then more so. Even world class helms, multiple world championships winners in other classes that I've interviewed have been known to make reference to Salcombe as an event that they wished they had had a crack at - though they too comment on how tough a nut this would be to crack.
Of course it is easy with the anonymity of the keyboard to sneer away at those who have won Salcombe and any other top events. Some of these are known to have tried the Merlin Rocket but found the heat of competition too much and defaulted back to where there are easier pickings, or else are medal winners in the 'fame may be fleeting but obscurity is forever' stakes. Of course the Merlin Rocket, like so many of the traditional classes, can be akin to Marmite, but it would be a mistake to underestimate just how tough it is just to make the top ten, let alone the top spot.
d
------------- Dougal H
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Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 8:39am
No-one's sneering at people who've won the event. But some of us are highly suspicious of the claim that its any more challenging than dozens of other significant local events round the world, most of which we've no more heard of than sailors there have heard of Merlins or Salcombe week. Isn't suggesting it is rather parochial? Even sneering at many other sailors/events worldwide? Rather like those US sailors who say that Elvstrom can't be the greatest sailor of all time simply because he's never won the America's Cup?
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Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 9:07am
I'm coming to the conclusion that marketing causes more upset than the yardstick system. Or maybe I should sy that Marketing Superlitives Cause The Biggest Upsets This Forum (And Maybe The Whole Internet) Have Ever Known!!!!!!!!!!!
As none of the "Salcombe week is tougher than an SAS training course" "No it isn't, the Outer Mogolian Oppie race week is far harder" can be proved in any way, shape or form, why are people getting wound up by it?
------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Posted By: turnturtle
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 9:14am
The Argentine Oppy Nationals was pretty brutal.... you don't need to worry about which parent has the best RIB or drives the nicest T5 sport with lowered alloys.... the f*ckers show up in their submarine to make sure Pedro and Diego are going the right way up the beat.
[tube]IgTdLcJ-Sj8[/tube]
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Posted By: Woodbotherer
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 10:29am
Salcombe week afaik is fairly easy to win if you're any good, you just stay sober, which is called cheating, the main aim of the week being to break last years bar record for one night which I believe stands at over eight grand.Merlin is the alcoholics class of choice, always has been... 
------------- http://www.edgeactionsports.co.uk/collections/soundcast-portable-weatherproof" rel="nofollow - Soundcast Weatherproof Speakers
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Posted By: davidyacht
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 11:50am
Originally posted by Woodbotherer
Salcombe week afaik is fairly easy to win if you're any good, you just stay sober, which is called cheating, the main aim of the week being to break last years bar record for one night which I believe stands at over eight grand.Merlin is the alcoholics class of choice, always has been... 
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One of my best Salcombe Merlin Week memories was when crewing in a knackered old boat, wooden decks lifting off and borrowed sails, for a well known Thames Rater sailor. I think that we walked out of the Salcombe Hotel late bar somewhat the worse for wear straight to the boat, then sailed a windy beat rounding the first mark with a considerable lead ... Best Merlin Week result I ever had!
------------- Happily living in the past
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Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 11:55am
Originally posted by turnturtle
The Argentine Oppy Nationals was pretty brutal.... you don't need to worry about which parent has the best RIB or drives the nicest T5 sport with lowered alloys.... the f*ckers show up in their submarine to make sure Pedro and Diego are going the right way up the beat.
[tube]IgTdLcJ-Sj8[/tube] |
That's quite a committee boat. You could fire a torpedo along the startline and take out the foils of any boat with its nose over the line.
------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 12:28pm
No one's sneering at Merlin sailors or Salcombe Week - but surely saying "our regatta is tougher than your regatta and our class standard is higher than your class' standard" is in itself inherently denigrating other classes. One can't have a "toughest event" unless one is saying that other events are inferior, and that seems pretty much like saying sneering at other events. Sure, Olympians may be beaten at Salcombe, but that happens in many other regattas around the world so why is this particular regatta so special?
There's no way I can be said to be sneering at the class or the regatta; as noted in the previous posts on this topic, I've given it a lot of respect, and the UK dinghy scene is obviously right on top of the world. But Salcombe Week doesn't seem to be "widely held to be one of the great challenges" since it's very little known outside of the UK - I have never heard or seen it mentioned outside the UK media, just as the UK sailing media don't cover events like the Citrus Bowl regatta or the Californian Midwinters.
I don't know if I've ever sailed a class in which some people didn't say "this is one of the toughest classes with some of the best sailors", and they can't all have been right! 
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Posted By: davidyacht
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 12:42pm
Forget the marketing hype let's have the facts; The UK has the best sailors in the World, Merlin Rockets are the most competitive class in the UK, Salcombe has the biggest Merlin Rocket regatta in the UK, ergo Salcombe Merlin week is the best regatta in the World, and therefore Taxi is the best sailor in the World, actually Dave Winder and Pippa Taylor are!
------------- Happily living in the past
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Posted By: getafix
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 1:08pm
The american-orientated and mostly-staffed TV coverage and commentary of the last America's cup was sooooooo strewn with ridiculous superlatives that to even start such a thread (in a sailing context) with a post about UK dinghy sailing is odd, to say the least. Of course, all this pales into insignificance compared to the billions of bytes wasted on football, just on Saturday mornings alone.
I also think you'll find it hard to beat a Bill McLaren simile - he's like a rampaging giraffe - Doddie Wier, being my absolute favourite.
If we have to stick to UK dinghy sailing, I'd say the hype over the recent O's and the "mockrage" over past Winter PY events on here are closely tied for the lead.
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Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 1:12pm
The Asymmetric hype of the 90s must be hard to beat. Basically, if you weren't sailing one, you were totally past it and simply not with the programme at all.
------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Posted By: getafix
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 1:25pm
Originally posted by Rupert
The Asymmetric hype of the 90s must be hard to beat. Basically, if you weren't sailing one, you were totally past it and simply not with the programme at all.
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Oh how we chuckled when I caught up with a fellow I-SO-went-there veteran the other day and we chuckled about some of that 'do-do' that went on back in the day between the classes and sailors. Still, we were young, dumb and full of..... the joys of over-hyped 'skiff' sailing, even to the point where we, frequently, attempted it on patches of water plainly unsuitable to anything quicker than an Enterprise
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Posted By: turnturtle
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 2:51pm
Originally posted by getafix
Originally posted by Rupert
The Asymmetric hype of the 90s must be hard to beat. Basically, if you weren't sailing one, you were totally past it and simply not with the programme at all.
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Oh how we chuckled when I caught up with a fellow I-SO-went-there veteran the other day and we chuckled about some of that 'do-do' that went on back in the day between the classes and sailors. Still, we were young, dumb and full of..... the joys of over-hyped 'skiff' sailing, even to the point where we, frequently, attempted it on patches of water plainly unsuitable to anything quicker than an Enterprise
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yes but if you were there doing it at least you were old enough to experience how sh*te reality really was .... those of us at impressional ages (< 40 years old now) could only stare on in wonderment from those body disfiguring Laser side decks grimacing through the pain, clinging on to one hope - one dream - that being, if I work hard at school and get good grades, one day I'll have a boat as cool as those guys in their Iso.
I wish I had been more brand aware back then.... always was just another b**tard Topper.
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Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 26 Feb 15 at 3:00pm
Never got on with the ISO, but always enjoyed sailing the Buzz when I got the chance. Bit of a teatray, but at least that gave it some stability. Didn't need the weight as well, though.
------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 27 Feb 15 at 12:12am
Originally posted by Rupert
The Asymmetric hype of the 90s must be hard to beat. Basically, if you weren't sailing one, you were totally past it and simply not with the programme at all.
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And the assymetric hype in dinghies was matched at the time by the water-ballast hype in big boats and the sportsboat hype in small yachts. Twenty years on, and shifting ballast boats, skiffs and the more extreme sportsboats still only make up a small sector of the market, with the apparent exception of the USA and perhaps Italy - and average white boat cruiser/racers are everywhere. We may not have learned anything about hype. Wonderful as foilers may be, the growth in overall fleet numbers outside of the UK and Oz seems to be pretty small according to reports presented at the class AGM. The foiling R Class in NZ attracted a sad 6 or 7 boats to its last nationals, which is a bit of a tragedy for what used to be a popular and leading edge class. The other current hype is arguably the "shift" to multis. It's hard to find evidence that they are doing anything more than quietly climbing out of a trough that saw them lose market share in many places. The hype of a shift to multis is being generated by people who don't seem to have heard of the size and strength of classes like Formula 1 (85 footers), Formula 40, Micros etc in earlier eras. Meanwhile the *eros seem to be getting ready to become more popular in their first year or two than the foilers have become in a decade of hype. And speaking of RS success and the assy hype - given the collapse of most of the hyped "skiffs" of the '90s, what would have happened if the 400 hadn't been around to show that people would buy new boats that didn't adopt the skiff hype? Was the 400 enormously influential in showing the industry that people generally preferred "non skiffs"?
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Posted By: turnturtle
Date Posted: 27 Feb 15 at 7:24am
I seem to recall the 400 was equally 'skiffy' in presentation - and the 600 the skiffy version of the contender. The real beauty of the 400 was that it dressed a Merlin up in a skiff skirt- which allowed it ride the hype In its infancy, but below the surface, was just a decent one design version of a well suited dinghy to multiple UK waters.
As the skiff hype died, the 400 could shed the skirt to reveal regulation PE knickers- very functional and keeps the camel toe in check.... Decent boat with decent class racing and can still perform on handicap. still find it a very appealing class - now 20 years since I first saw one.
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Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 27 Feb 15 at 8:45am
Might have taken that similie a step too far there, but agree the 400 is simply a nice boat to sail.
------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Posted By: skslr
Date Posted: 27 Feb 15 at 9:23am
I still like this one by the German Finn Dinghy Association: ".... it still is the fastest non-trapeze singlehanded dinghy. An ultimate racing machine...." http://www.finnwelle.de/finndinghy.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.finnwelle.de/finndinghy.html
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Posted By: Dougal
Date Posted: 27 Feb 15 at 9:56am
Or the add for McNamara sails (bottom left)...
(Image from here: https://www.facebook.com/MerlinRocketBook?fref=ts)
------------- What could possibly go wrong?
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Posted By: rb_stretch
Date Posted: 27 Feb 15 at 1:15pm
Originally posted by Rupert
Might have taken that similie a step too far there, but agree the 400 is simply a nice boat to sail.
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But did raise a smile though...
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Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 27 Feb 15 at 1:16pm
Originally posted by rb_stretch
Originally posted by Rupert
Might have taken that similie a step too far there, but agree the 400 is simply a nice boat to sail.
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But did raise a smile though... |
Yes, it did - and a mental image...
------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Posted By: turnturtle
Date Posted: 27 Feb 15 at 1:21pm
well it is Friday gents....
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Posted By: Old Timer
Date Posted: 27 Feb 15 at 2:29pm
Originally posted by skslr
I still like this one by the German Finn Dinghy Association: ".... it still is the fastest non-trapeze singlehanded dinghy. An ultimate racing machine...." http://www.finnwelle.de/finndinghy.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.finnwelle.de/finndinghy.html |
Well that one has to be locked in a time warp ...
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Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 03 Mar 15 at 9:15am
Today's marketing rubbish, from SA;
" there’s been a massive amount of interest in the forums in the Rainmaker saga, with a small but vocal number of you complaining that you weren’t getting ‘the whole story.’ We have some advice for you: Get over it, because 15 years ago, you wouldn’t have heard about it at all. "
Oh, rubbish we wouldn't have heard about it 15 years ago. Earlier incidents involving the loss of boats have lead to articles that included detailed information on the scantlings of the boats involved and pages of other detailed analysis of the underlying reasons.
And while on the subject.....looking at the SA mini-spat between the fans of the various *eros one can see people calling for an end to negative posts bashing one or the other of the classes. That's great - but how come the people who are against coming out against class-bashing are sometimes glad to bash established classes?
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Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 03 Mar 15 at 9:17am
Originally posted by Dougal
Or the add for McNamara sails (bottom left)...
(Image from here: https://www.facebook.com/MerlinRocketBook?fref=ts)
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One place I wouldn't have sex is next to my good dinghy sails.... you don't want to crush them in the excitement, and battens and cringles could get into all sort of uncomfortable places.
Big boat spinnakers, on the other hand.....
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Posted By: Dougaldog
Date Posted: 03 Mar 15 at 1:23pm
Gosh Chris, you had me thinking then!
I remember all too well the media interest when Smackwater Jack went missing in 1980 along with her designer, Paul Whiting. We heard about that well enough!
D
------------- Dougal H
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Posted By: turnturtle
Date Posted: 04 Mar 15 at 10:13am
Originally posted by Chris 249
That's great - but how come the people who are against coming out against class-bashing are sometimes glad to bash established classes?
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because it's fun to play rebellion against establishment and authority... a bit like getting all 'animal rights' on the hunting lobby 'round here.
Watching them respond with their bullsh*t justification is just good entertainment value, especially when they take you really seriously. In truth I couldn't give a damn what they do with their weekend and I certainly couldn't give two sh*ts about the vermin they chase around fields on horseback with a pack of dogs of their leashes, but I'd have a lot more respect for them for saying 'f**k off, we like it' than all the pro-hunt rationale they come out with.
Here's anther good one, by one of your fellow countrymen:
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