"The real surprise is that the number of single handed racers who want to race with the spin in the world is surprisingly small. (NF17 and F16 unis probably don't add up to 25 at all Continentals 's over the last couple of years.)"

Good. That puts me right where I need to be.

What surprises me is the magnitude and emphasize sailors put on racing.

Racing skills can get you out of trouble or just make your life easier. The only way to gain those skills is to race.

Case in point, I've used speed to avoid serious thunderstorms on many occassions. Getting back home under the resulting light air requires skill. Unless you want to get back at midnight, parched and bug eaten.

I feel pretty confident that I learned most of my sailing skills on the water at home, training. Including long evenings in the dark with no drinking water and no wind

That's a great point Rolf, I only got into racing to "Learn to sail Faster" in the first place, but once in, I found it quite addicting.

I just can't get the same kind of adrenaline rush out of putzing around alone, even in big air, as I do when rounding marks in big air, with spin boats coming in from all directions! I don't really care about who wins, as long as I learn something.

And there is the social aspect at the keg afterwards, that's half the fun!

I've been on the water sailing about 30 days this year. 5 of those didn't involve racing or training. Four of those were ferrying the alternate boat for the alter cup, the other was on a local lake in which the yacht club had a course set for the leaners and I still did two legs for fun.

For some of us sailing doesn't hold much value without competition.

I think racing can be good fun, but I dont put much value into it, or the scoreboard. Perhaps best put any discussiong like this in its own thread so as to not ruin the Worlds thread.

Where I grew up (coastal New Hampshire) there were great places to "Cruise" to, up the Maine coast. I wanted to do that when I first got into sailing. Heck, I would STILL love to do that, I just can't afford to do that!

In the mean time, learning to go fast on something small (ie. our racing boats) will suffice. I would love to charter a big Gunbaot and do the Monhegan Island race though...and then cruise after the race is over!

(are you out there Pete Johnstone?? Need crew??)

Rolf... your perception is that racing is the focus..

I would say... racing is the focus of racing sailors and gets talked about here. If we don't all agree on what the game is, when and where ... there is no race.

Many sailors don't race and have no reason to belong to a community that talks about sailing at all. The vast majority of sailors do there own thing... at what ever level of proficiency they want.... and don't want to share anything about it. We have three new Hobie 16 Getaways at the club in the last two years (which matches up to the 3 new F16's). They do there own thing and don't sail with other boats.

No way Mark.

Define a racing sailor for me please.

Then explain to me why the catsailor.com forums are for racers.


But please do so in its own thread. I'll stop diverting this thread which is about the worlds.

(PS: If you want to know about my perception.. Just ask instead of guessing. )

It's over. Looks like Taylor and Matt took third.

Some interesting commentary from the last race from Team Intrepid on FB.

Just received this detailed report from Robbie detailing the start of the last race: I finally have a minute to tell you about the start! What a start! Caroline the boys and 2 others fighting for the pin. About a minute to go the wind shifted left and the boys were not going to make the line. So they gibe around, come in on port and try again. Same spot. Caroline managed to hold her spot well.
The boys came in underneath. The wind shifted left even more now and neither one of them are going to make it. The guys gyb around again. The gun goes off
And the guys come thru on port tack 2 stringing, just ripping! Go about 50 yards and tack right on top of the whole fleet. Poor Caroline is over early in irons.
She backs up and clears her self and gets going about 20- 30 seconds late.
Holy cow. I have the whole thing on video!

Nice job boys!!!!!!

I'm amazed there was room at the pin to spin around...twice, and still get a good start!

When you have total boat control and total confidence in that control you'll be surprised what you can do with just in a very confined area. Practice and training pays, and that is just a small part of separates the top of the fleet from the rest of us! The boys have skills! How many of us practice just such a maneuver?

Kudo's gentlemen!

BTW, I'm not calling them the dudes! I'm twice their age and I'll call them boys for the rest of my days! :-)

http://www.cerclevoilebordeaux.com/regates/resultats-2011/global_f16_g.htm

You wish you were only twice their age, unless you are adding them together, then twice that, yeah, maybe...


Re. my earlier comment about having enough room, with a tough fleet of champions like there were there, I am surprised some one else wasn't alrady there with them.

Maybe there was a big crowd of the top guys at the boat and the kids slipped down to the pin, unnoticed? Must have been a heck of a left shift!

Yes on #2, but only occasionally on #1 - the latter mainly for logistical reasons. It's just difficult to get to the lake and get set up/break down for one day at a time. So I end up mostly sailing at regattas. I've done a little bit of training in the past couple of years with other F16s (Dan Feldman, Tom Hoscheidt), and a little this year with some non-F16 teams.

Sailing singlehanded is hard work and I regularly embarrass myself, but it doesn't stop me from loving it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c_NOzqfhfPY

This doesn't seem quite so difficult, what's the difference?

We have to ask ourselves why the single handed fleet is not expanding as it would seem in time constrained work and family situations, more people should be sailing single handed for conveniance factors.

The F16 fleet at Datchet, which numbered 11 at one stage, has now totally disbanded, most going to other classes, some retiring from sailing burnout, others to other forms of sailing. Now as one of the first big fleets of F16's and almost entirely of singlehanders we would have to ask why such a fleet should disband in only few years.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the boats, probably 8 or 9 boats were regular active racers, not always at the same time, but the fleet was active. So why did it breakup so quickly. Here in the UK we operate on the SCHRS handicap system which rates the single handed F16 faster than both the 20ft Hurricane 5.9 with its modern square top main, jib and spinny and the F18s being only just slower than the Tornado.

Why did the Datchet F16 fleet disband and the sailors move to other classes, it was a no brainer really. One thing for certain it wasn't the boats.

+1 on the "regularly embarass myself" sailing solo. Still, racing 5-6 regattas a summer has helped me to focus and pick up sailing skills that I never would have sailing on my own.

I would like to see some of the top guys sail 1-up in competition.

There will be some solo sailors at the U.S. Nationals this year.

I asked a "top guy" once and he said he just didn't think he'd be as efficient as he would with crew.

An extra set of eyeballs really come in handy.