+1

FWIW- Since "Eddie the Eagle" the IOC has placed a minimum skills requirement for athelets so there is like chance of skills being watered down by sub par performance.

Imo, that is where we should be headed, developing a program designed to measure and raise the sailing skills set to Olympic standards.

Don't you mean like a Tornado. Where do you think a lot of these systems filtered down from.

Sadly it is more than just qualify. You need to get to Europe for real cat racing. You need to mix it on the European circit to build the experince, then later to prove yourself against the International fleet. Fact is, if you have not got serious $$$$ behind you AFTER buying a boat, you have no chance. Forget just tallent..... You need tallent and $$$$$.

Olympic sailing is a profesional, big dollar sport now days. If you want to make it more within reach, force sailors to work 9 to 5 in a regular, non industry job for starters.

Make that "7 inches shorter" instead of the 12 inches that go into a full foot. The class name may use the number 16 but the hulls are actually a bit longer than that.

The name F16.42 didn't sound as catchy as F16.

Wouter

The ISAF countries are going to continue to vote their self interest.... IE What events do we have a shot at... Nothing like a principled stand for 5 disciplines.

The Tornado, Star and Elliot 6 had one common factor... All dominated by the Pros.... aka too elite for the rest of the ISAF world... they had no chance.

The Match Race circuit was so elite (limited boats and expensive regattas ) that you could not get a slot in the events if you were a small country....

What is the deal with the 470 or 49ner..... Are these classes easier for the little ISAf countries to feel that they have a shot.

I can understand the 470... it's your classic two handed dinghy.. a junior in Japan could be the "lighting in a bottle that Japan" needs for medal and they fit the 470...

It is cheaper to by one boat that will hold up. As far as I know though carbon fiber is still illegal in the Tornado class. Marström Tornados are autoclaved glass-nomex boats. The only carbon Tornado that I knew of was one that Paul Standley of Yankee Laminates built around 95-96 as a trial boat. The class voted against carbon or other composites at the time because it would have made most the fleet obsolete.

Mark... for a guy that claims to know everything, you would think you would know that it's 49er not 49ner.

I stand corrected. All the same, extremely well built to withstand an Olympic campaign, which was the point.