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what makes a good fleet racing singlehander |
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Daniel Holman
Really should get out more Joined: 17 Nov 08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 997 |
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Topic: what makes a good fleet racing singlehander Posted: 30 Mar 12 at 9:54am |
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Average age is 73.24 years, the sample is skewed slightly by some sailmaker jockeys in their 20s and 30s who are doing it because their bosses covet the market in aged men. If company is the important thing, why not cut out the middle man, chop up the boats and repair straight to the bar for some pints of mild and picking pork scratchings out of each others beards. |
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rogue
Really should get out more Joined: 04 Dec 08 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 978 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 30 Mar 12 at 10:19am | |
In fairness Dan that sounds far more attractive than beetling off to the race hut to bash numbers into a spreadsheet before printing it out, shaking my head and accusing every other bugger of sailing a 'bandit'. For added spice, I can then pin it to a board somehow start convincing myself and those around me that what just happened on the water was a 'meaningful race', not just some procession for disparately varying sailboats. truth is, with 2 little girls both under 4 years old, when the racing finishes and I'll be heading home and I certainly won't then have the time to mess around with a technology headache to try and justify some credibility from my racing.
Edited by rogue - 30 Mar 12 at 11:43am |
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Daniel Holman
Really should get out more Joined: 17 Nov 08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 997 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 30 Mar 12 at 10:38am | |
I know, I know, I am in particularly flippant mood this morning.
It does seem to me that you're a bit of a searcher with your sailing though. I hate hassle (travelling, faff, anything that lengthens the path pre or post sailing) Is it the process of being absorbed by the challenge of racing better, or the glory of the podium that motivates you? With the old racing, I guess it is a matter of whether you are concerned by the process or outcome. I know I am not alone in never looking at the results sheet - unless I have a really good reason. For me it is more about knowing how good a job I have or havent done in racing around a course, with or without other boats, as compared to what I feel capable of, that gives me te satisfaction or disappointment - I can always make a judgement on that without looking at the sheet. I'm probably easily pleased but it means that I can derive satisfaction (or other extremes of human emotion) from sailing in a mixed Hcap fleet. |
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Contender443
Really should get out more Joined: 01 Oct 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1211 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 30 Mar 12 at 10:51am | |
James you want something that is quick to rig and does not muck up your knees. For those reasons I would stick with the boards. I cannot see any hiking boat being any good for you. Why was the 100 so bad for your knees?
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Bonnie Lass Contender 1764
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rogue
Really should get out more Joined: 04 Dec 08 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 978 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 30 Mar 12 at 11:06am | |
You have to hike it very hard to stay competitive at the circuit events once the breeze is up- and you do this upwind and down. For club racing I'd buy one again, tighten the straps a bit and enjoy the ride... if there were others to race against, which is less likely than say a Blaze or 300 at a club which has year-on-year failed to get any windward/leeward racing going.
Edited by rogue - 30 Mar 12 at 11:09am |
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rogue
Really should get out more Joined: 04 Dec 08 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 978 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 30 Mar 12 at 11:29am | |
Yep- I'm not one for looking at a results sheet either. In a class race it's pretty darn obvious, and sadly it will only be the process, not the podium, that excites me... I was chuffed to get halfway up the fleet at the last nationals I did and it wasn't from skill or technique- I capsized 7 times on the final run I was so knackered and spaced-out from dehydration- bloodymindedness and determination kept me going (and a rather generous PRO with a lenient observation of the time limit ) Searching is a good word- misguided is another- both have taken me on a journey into custom boat hell when I ultimately tried to convert a sodding cherub into the final destination. That was an experience so strongly negative to put me off a life long love of dinghy sailing for over a year now. My last what, 6 years, has been spent trying to find an asymmetric single hander for predominantly club racing... I'm really not sure it exists, well not one that doesn't polarise the upwind verses downwind experience anyway. Factor in the RTC issue and really for a club racer with cats cradle courses, asymmetric singlehanders just aren't versatile enough. Was is similar thinking behind not putting a kite on the Punk? Now if I had the time then I would happily just 'suck it up' on a Wednesday night as my circuit sailing would be where it's at... but circumstances have changed and I can't see travelling to two-day circuit events featuring in the foreseeable future and experience shows that W/L racing simply isn't going to take off either at my club. So what to do... buy a.n.other unarig that can carry a bit of pie and join the back of the procession? Or join one of the fleets, where I can actually enjoy the racing aspect again? It's a no brainer once you've taken a step away and already have means to get your adrenaline kicks and family sailing in elsewhere.
Edited by rogue - 30 Mar 12 at 2:04pm |
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fab100
Really should get out more Joined: 15 Mar 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1005 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 30 Mar 12 at 1:48pm | |
Jimbo, Frensham is 60 acres compared to CC's 120, and I am loving racing my 100 RTC on our cats cradle courses more than ever - partly as we have a decent Phantom fleet to try and blow away. So CC too small?
BTW, I use the 10.2 at FPSC, but the 8.4 on the circuit. It is indeed a challenge to sail the beast, but that is part of the fun. I don't fall in that often, but calling lay lines often goes wrong when a gust arrives! On average, I reckon do about as well as I would if I had a Phantom too, but I have more fun and am not wrecking my knees kneeling down half the time either.
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rogue
Really should get out more Joined: 04 Dec 08 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 978 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 30 Mar 12 at 2:11pm | |
Clive - even if I could convince myself that only ever sailing RTC with a singlehanded asymmetric was 'worth it' to get that occasional deep reach, I doubt I could convince enough others. So I'm not going to get the class racing.
no class racing = no dinghy racing full stop
I'd rather go windsurfing, jump onboard someone else's boat for a blast, go snowboarding or even get the bike out. If it was really windy, I'd even be tempted to rent a club laser- strap the knee up and get a proper race in, although christ knows why I'd do that to myself! It really is that simple.
Edited by rogue - 30 Mar 12 at 2:14pm |
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rb_stretch
Really should get out more Joined: 23 Aug 10 Online Status: Offline Posts: 742 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 30 Mar 12 at 2:25pm | |
The crucial missing bit, which is why I suspect you perceive this approach doesn't work is that you need to choose a boat suited to the water. You'll never convince people to start a fleet if they don't think it works well there and unfortunately one of the ways you do that is to show that the chosen boat can do well on handicap (which whatever the faults of the PY system, boats generally do much better in the ideal conditions than not, so it does kind of work as a way to assess suitability) |
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r2d2
Far too distracted from work Joined: 29 Sep 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 350 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 30 Mar 12 at 2:28pm | |
are you really too far from Rutland? there's loads of space and a few (admittedly not loads) but a few of us 100s here.
as to Volvos, yes great cars fro lugging sails etc about, but for a company that is so into sailing, why can't they develop a waterproof key?
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