Well this write-up is rather old and back then it was true to a large extend. In the last 10 years the other classes (Tornado, F18, A-cat) did really see alot of development while the Taipan was frozen in its 1989 state. It is indeed telling it took so long for the others to consistantly stay ahead of the Taipan. The introduction of the spinnaker to the other boats really was the thing that turned the fortunes of the Taipan.

But I agree that the I would have worded the pitch a little differently. But then again I'm the one who has been arguing that the Taipan class needed to incorporate design upgrades into their class for the last 7 years.

Still, we must also realize that with the upgrades the Taipan is indeed of the same order as the 18's and 20's; even the newer ones (assuming equal sailor skills). This latter condition is not a trivial one as the skill level in the Tornado, F18 and A-cat classes is just so incredibally high. Alot of people believe they can buy a good boat and immediately sail in the leading pack. But in reality you need a good amount of time to get to know the boat and work up sailing skills c.q. team coordination.

I don't think enough of Taipan / F16 sailors are putting in this effort/time yet. I certainly don't. I got a new crew almost every year. This is skewing comparisons.

So overall, I don't think it is unfounded BS, even though I would have worded the write-up significantly differently. I agree with you that unfounded retoric is bad taste and also just simply bad.

Almost as bad as not upgrading your boat every now and then.

C ya

Wouter