I think this was true only before the Ollier cats were launched. Playstation never beat them when sailing against them on the same 'patch' of ocean at the same time.

Record breaking is another game altogether. You pick your weather window and if it doesn't work out to your liking you may abandon the attempt. You can also boost the length of the list of records by going after old, forgotten records...

/Martin

Ahhh, feel the negativity... Notice that nobody here has said the French sailors are not top notch, yet...

So, how many real G-Cat regattas have there been? You're right, I don't remember seeing Playstation at the G-Cat Worlds. What chickens. Saying a boat/team was inferior because they never won a contest on the water against the other boats is a silly statement given the whole G-Cat scene. These boats have been largely relegated to record attempts or rotting away in boatyards. I don't think there have been any meaningful races for them since the Race. And given the widely different levels of preparation for the Race itself, it's hard to call that much of a contest either IMO, as cool as it was.

And yes, the current gen G class multis are superior to Playstation, that's already been stated, and fully expected. But guess what - they're also superior to the Ollier cats from the Race.

And since record setting is soooooo easy, I guess I won't be impressed by Orange II's recent records....

Well, Mr Fosset played that game with Lakota too: never faced the French. He tried it once in Route de Ruhm and promptly brought Lakota to California... Why not race the French Open 60 tris? Plenty of racing every year! The boat was one of the best if not the best when he bought it.

Go figure...

/Martin

I don't think Mr. Fossett is interested in fleet type racing, at least he has never shown any interest. He has enough money to buy any top team and win what ever championship you think is the most important, just like Larry Ellison of Oracle. But he really doesn't do it for you, he does it for him.

He has climbed Mt. Everest, run the Iron Man Triathalon, swam the English Channel, flown numerous and various jets and baloons around the world, most times alone, also setting many aviation records. How many of you slackers have done any of those things, let alone all? (Everest, Iron Man and Channel swim)

I only hope that when I get to be his age I am at least half as motivated to keep going! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Steve Fossett just bought Craig Breedlove's land speed record car. Looks like Steve is heading for Bonneville next.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/31/MTGRJNA8051.DTL

You're bashing the man simply to bash using whatever you can come up with. We were talking about Playstation, but now it's Lakota. Again, his aim has always been the records. If the yardstick is that somebody must enter and win every contest then there's a whole lot of sailors out there for you to bash, including some French sailors I suspect. And I don't recall anybody saying at all that Steve or Playstation were superior to the French - why you guys have gone that way just shows a big chip on your shoulder. My statements earlier were that he and the boat were not deserving of the bashing he receives.

As far as being a top boat in the circuit - Lakota was. But sometimes there's nothing as slow as last year's boat in the Open 60s. The fact that he took it home and didn't race the French simply meant that wasn't his plan. With his money if he wanted to race that circuit he would have raced that circuit.

But, as this has gone the way I predicted and it's now boring, here you go:

Steve Fosset is a talentless, ugly American who got lucky and got rich. He is obviously afraid of a challenge, and all the things he has acheived have been because he bought his way through, and had no skill, work, training, or personal contribution to the successes of those efforts. The fact that he has not competed successfully directly in a series or any other race means that what little we could say about him is diminished greatly.

The fact that Playstation even floated at the dock was a supreme act of luck. The fact that it even made it across any ocean, let alone a pond was more luck that the Gods bestow upon idiots who have no business going where others go. The fact that it has suffered no real structural damage is further evidence of that luck. I certainly wouldn't buy any Morelli and Melvin design, as they fostered this festering crap pile on the rest of us. God help anybody that ever sails on it.

Ok, on to the next thread...

Wow... I hope we all, including Mr. Fosset, are having a great new year. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I suspect it takes more than a lot of money to hike your [noodle] up Mt. Everest. So what that he has never beat the French. They have been beaten enough in history anyway. If he would have shown up at a french regatta they probably would have all surrendered when they heard the 5-minute gun go off. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Again, I hope you all have a great new year... even you Frenchies out there.

-Rob V.
Panama City

We are just trying to give you some facts about this "kick butt" boat...

But.....right now we have a NEW YEAR here and we should maybe end this pissing contest and focus on a new exciting sailing year!!!!

/håkan

Well said Keith!!!

Tom, where in NH are you? I was raised in Hampton, raced mono's out of Portsmouth with Pete Follansbee but moved to Florida about 9 years ago. I do miss it in the summer but not this time of year. Did I mention I was sailing today in shorts and a T shirt?

Timbo,

In Stratham right now. Spent a great deal of time in the Lakes Region though. Sailing out of Little Harbor at Wentworth. While you are in shorts, I am frostbiting waiting for the ice to freeze for some real speed. I would trade places with you anytime.

Tom

Yes, yes, your "facts" have educated me! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> And yet it is still a kick butt boat, French conquest or no.

Happy New Year!

Tom, I had part ownership of a J24 in Little Harbor, I think it's still moored there because the waiting list is at least 8-9 years for a mooring! It's a dark blue hull and the name (was) Blue Max. It's still owned by one of the original partners, Mark Robinson, of Portsmouth. He's always looking for crew if you are interested in the spring. I think they race Thursday nights and Saturdays, there is a Laser fleet that races on Sunday too.

There is a Cape Cod Frosty fleet http://www.capecodfrosty.org that frostbites in the back chanel of Newcastle. See if you can track down Pete Follansbee (phonebook?) and he can hook you up with a loaner boat.

Have you found a good beach to use for launching a cat yet? There are a lot of rocks out there so be careful! There is a guy from Rye, now in Newmarket (I think), named Craig Hackett (if he's still there) who races a Nacra 6.0 and a 5.5. If you can find him he can give you some good locations for launching.

A favorite movie, no doubt!

Yes, but I had nothing to do with picking the name, Mark did that and he's not a pilot!

Sorry about not worshiping your 'hero'.

Back to Playstation:
- She had well documented handling problems.
- She was launched first of all boats designed for The Race yet they didn't use that advantage to tune, practise, iron out bugs... Why?
- She was then rebuilt beyond recognition. The Fosset spin was that this was according to plan and the original hull shape was merely to trick the oposition. Who bought that one? Not me for one. The original hulls must have been a major failure and now they band-aided the design.

Oops, don't "send in the marines", please.

/Martin

Martin, I thought Play Station was built many years before "The Race" was ever concieved? I thought Steve had it built just to break records, (chasing the 80' ENZA New Zealand, remember them?) then several years later, the French came up with "The Race" concept and built better cats, learning from the Playstation problems.

Someone has to be first, then the others will leapfrog the technology. Without Steve building Play Station first, I doubt if there ever would have been a "The Race" at all. And isn't there supposed to be another one soon? Anyone know the latest on that? Any new cats being built for it?

Give it up Tim! You'll never convince anyone outside the U.S that anything American made is worth a damn.

Yes that's right. Playstation was constructed before the conception of "The Race". It was the first cat of it's kind and I'm sure we can cite several examples of non-American ground breaking vessels that suffered teething problems.

I wish there was a way you guys could look past your biases.

That bias would better be named envy.