Mark, the best teams make their own luck. The boats have equal design, and the teams have to decide how much time, and in what conditions, to prepare. The best teams will figure out how to best sail the boat, as designed, not how they (or anyone else) wish it was designed.
So long as all of the boats are the same, it's a fair event.
Besides, part of the whole draw to have a cat in the Olympics, Americas Cup, and any of us racing them, is the NASCAR aspect: the boats are fast, and it could all go wrong at any given moment.
Mike
"Fair event" is a red herring... the gear is one design.. fair is not at question.
"the best guys make their luck" is arm chair pundit like trope...
Luck is luck and not the same as fairness OR excellence.. don't conflate them. We manage luck by running regattas with 10 events and allow a throw out.
ISAF long ago screwed that basic principle of the game with double points in the medal event.. Why... because to attract eyeballs... they figured that the average viewer would not appreciate the game... (Why is the winner sitting on the beach with 9 first place finishes and NOT sailing in the last race???) SO... add in the possibility of "BAD LUCK" in a double points medal race and the game would be better ???.... YMMV.. but I think its crap.
RE... NASCAR... ... it could all go wrong at any minute... IF that is a design parameter for all dinghies in the Olympics... Fine... BUT IT IS NOT... The design parameter was a boat that allowed the Olympic level of skill to sort itself out on the race course of 30 minutes or so duration (short courses) ... Nothing to do with luck or crashing and burning spectacle.
Jake, ... re winglets possibly causing problems and certainly changing the boat's performance
ISAF allowed and insisted on MULTIPLE FIXES to the 49ner when the boat was selected... IT WAS also half baked and was mostly Fixed by the the last two years of the quad.
Secondly... the Norwegian program of 49ner medalists splitting up and starting on the N17 began a few months ago... and one pair was top 10 at the last look.... So, Basically... the best in the world can't manage the changes is a weak argument..
Equally lame... is the argument.. well they are really good and they can manage a half baked boat... TRUE but WHY should they have to...
We deserved a better process from the ISAF technical committee AND better attention by ISAF to the last two years.
Now they are in a pickle... The N17 is the boat for the NEXT quad as well for the MIXED .. So.. what do they do now... finish the quad (too late now for changes)... and THEN redesign the boat... There is no good time other then getting it right in the beginning.
