From Scuttlebutt Europe:
This though does not help the fight. I know that for many of us the emotions run high on this issue, but sometimes we keep shooting ourselves in our own feet.


Tornado Warnings
Sounds like things got a bit ugly at the Tornado World Championship prizegiving, after Darren Bundock's old crew John Forbes took the opportunity to have a go at Yachting New Zealand President Jan Dawson over the Tornado's ejection from the Olympic slate. Sail World's Richard Gladwell gave his verdict on the affair. Here's a snippet:

The class did itself no favours at the Worlds prizegiving with an attack on Yachting New Zealand by past ITA President John Forbes, seemingly endorsed by the new ITA President and echoed with the booing from the competitors tables as Yachting New Zealand President Jan Dawson made her way forward to make a closing address to what had otherwise been a brilliant regatta for the class.

Forbes probed, parried and quoted from a leaked email from the Yachting NZ Olympic Committee, which got onto the internet some months ago and was seized upon by the international multihull community.

The fact that the recommendation was not accepted by the YNZ Board seemed to be lost on Forbes. As too was the fact that Yachting New Zealand is one of the few organisations with the guts to have said they intend to make a submission to ISAF requesting a review of the event selection for the 2012 Olympics.

For the Multihull to make it back into the 2012 Olympics, there has to be quite a few more Yachting New Zealand's prepared to make such a stand.

Richard's comment provoked an equally eloquent rebuttal from Darren Bundock, who has this to say:

There is no doubt that John's speech was a great surprise and I think totally unexpected by everyone in the room at the presentation and when he read the first line of the submission I instantly knew which MNA had made this submission and I cringed on where he was going with it. However, after reflecting on his speech over night there is no doubt that he was completely honest and right on the money.

There is no doubt that the Tornado sailors appreciate the recent turn around from Yachting New Zealand but Yachting New Zealand's submissions and their council member help contribute to the disastrous position that Olympic sailing is in right now. No question.

It needs to be made perfectly clear to all these National Member Associations worldwide what their actions are doing to the future of the sport and the lives of the Athletes with very little consequence on the MNA's, Yachting Association boards and council members.

The recently appointed ISAF Athletes Commission (the athletes' voice) has come out with 10 of the 11 Olympic classes represented stating that the decision taken in Estoril was a bad decision and needs to be overturned. This is what the athletes want. Remember us? The sailors.

A very interesting debate, which you can read in full on Sail-World. If you're a regular SailJuice reader you'll know that my sympathies lie in good part with the multihull sailors. But as Richard Gladwell points out, when an organisation such as YNZ has shown the balls to change its mind and throw its support behind the beleaguered Tornado class, it's time to say thank you, to forget the past, and to welcome any help you can get with open arms.

The lid on the Tornado's Olympic coffin hasn't creaked shut quite yet, but I'm not sure that John Forbes's speech has done much to secure the Tornado's safe return from its undeserved grave. -- Andy Rice, sailjuiceblog.com