Incredible "Secrets of Yacht Design" website located...

[CT 249]

Frank, here's another protest for you....already cut and pasted.


15 February 2005

Dear Protest Committee,

I wish to report a gross breach of good manners and sportsmanship that has brought the sport into disrepute. The allegations of gross misconduct fall under the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) 2001-4.

The gross breach of good manners was committed by the writer, Frank Mighetto, in the course many year's ravings.

These views are well documented over a period of several years and reviewed critically and are expressed primarily on the internet including a web site I and others from Sailnet.net developed (see http://www.eskimo.com/~mighetto/murrelet.htm)first several years ago and then enhanced regularly owing to critical and sometimes painful review such as that started at Sailing Anarchy.

TIn my comments in the above, I have repeatedly made vicious accusations of lack of professional knowledge and skill and vile misconduct on the part of almost all professional yacht designers, US sailing instructors and others working in yacht racing; I have accused rating authorities of bad faith and creating unfair systems to disadvantage my boat; I have accused the creators of the TP52 of misleading and deceptive conduct; I have accused Mr Teeters of misleading a court of law; I have accused Macgregor yachts of replacing the M26X with an inferior boat and therefore breaching trades and practices law by representations regarding the design of the newer Mac 26M; I have maligned the US legal system; I have also defamed Mr Frank Bethwaite by comparing his Tasar to my Mac; and I have defamed cods and mullet by comparing their heads and tails to my Mac.

These smears on my fellow sailors must be considered a breach of good sportsmanship. These breaches - which go so far as to accuse a professional associated with my sport's governing body of committing perjury as part of a conspiracy of powerful figures within the sport - must be considered a breach of good manners.

I have repeatedly claimed that I have made these accusations as a result of my membership on the committee of SSSS, thereby committing the gross breach of linking my club to my defamatory ravings.

This publically on Internet forums. The behavior just doesn't appear to be stoppable outside of a formal protest and it likely discourages those considering sailboat racing. My effort will likely continue unless the protest committee can take action at this time.

I have repeatedly committed the gross breaches of good manners and sportsmanship listed above and I will do so again. Please therefore disqualify me under Rule 69 before I can further harm the sport of sailboat racing.

Frank Mighetto.

[Anarchist]

Ya crack me up 249........ Well writen.

See ya on the weekend mate....... Will be crewing with Kez

[Mark 42]

Originally Posted by pkoken

Do I have to? It hurts my eyes!

You may be watching...
but he's the one who's gonna go blind from doing it.

Originally Posted by Shife

Why does this idiot have 2 different URL's for his amazing breakthrough cruising log?
http://www.amasci.com/~mighetto/murrelet.htm
http://www.eskimo.com/~mighetto/murrelet.htm

One server can't handle the massive bandwidth demands caused
by all of us flocking to read the 10 myths of sailing...

[pkoken]

Originally Posted by Shife

Why does this idiot have 2 different URL's for his amazing breakthrough cruising log?

http://www.amasci.com/~mighetto/murrelet.htm
http://www.eskimo.com/~mighetto/murrelet.htm

So when kindred IT administrators block access to Frank's page of nonsense he still has a chance of getting through...

[Mark 42]

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=scaramouche

[cyclops]

I can see him now. Mighetto explaining why they are losing the war. Slowly Hitler takes his pistol out, takes carefull aim, fires one bullet. Another suicide.

[Crowie]

Now that this thread is reaching it's final gasp's, there has actually been some use for me, I was traveling up the Pacific Highway near Taree (for those in Australia) and followed briefly a trailer sailor that fitted into the "what the F.... is that" category, then it dawned on me thanks to Frank, I had a chance to examine all of the "unique" design elements before roaring passed a Macgregor 26, if it wasn't for the last 32 pages of entertainment I would have just dismissed it as the ugliest boat I'd ever seem, thanks all.

[101]

Crowie, I tend to agree with you. Last weekend I was on Lopez Island here in the NW USA and saw a Mac 26. It was the first time I had seen one with it's sails up and not motering! Although I was not able to check out the details. It was interesting in a sort of freakish way. I kinda felt sorry for the owners that they were not able to really appreciate the wind that day.

This thread has been . . . as in those famous words from the Dead . . . "What a long strange trip it's been". I guess out of some weird interest I want to know - Where did Frank go?

[Mark 42]

Originally Posted by mighetto

gust from 15 mph to 30 mph is the perfect opportunity to get the Mac26x on plane. They are that light even fully ballasted. I suspect Melges are the same way.

Melges couldn't possibly be as fast as the M26X... it can't dump ballast.

[Mark 42]

Originally Posted by 101

I guess out of some weird interest I want to know - Where did Frank go?

I was planning to post a shorter version of this, and could
not possibly hope to say it as well as this:

Originally Posted by Soñadora, 2 Feb 2005, 10:08 AM, Sailing Anarchy

It's kind of like a really nasty car accident.
Your logic tells you not to look...not to get involved...
that it has nothing to do with you yet...

morbid curiosity makes you want to slow down and stare...
and if you really stretched your imagination, you would pull
over, get out of the car and check out all the nasty bits.
There, you can see where he slid sideways and you can see
the skidmarks (Remember that I was invited to defend
Macgregor Yachts at SailingAnarchy)

...then the paint scrapes on the median wall (But in a
sailing world where weight is the enemy, why would one purchase
a TP52? They so clearly have two much weight in the
bulb keel)

...then a few yards away you see the shattered glass (It is
my understanding that bringing the bulb weight closer to the hull
makes the boat faster like bringing the arms of a twirling ice
skater in makes the ice skater twirl faster)

...finally, you see the car. Completely unrecognizable. The airbag
has been deployed and is covered in blood. Next to the wreckage,
under a blanket, you see the twisted and bloodied torso (She sports
two rudders and centerboards and a canting keel. These boats are
horrors to the designers on the east coast of the US who just can
not get themselves away from bulb keels or fixed foils).

But, as you stare, you see the torso begin to move slowly. Then -
oh horror of horrors - it stands! Suddenly, it is whole again
without a scar (But for now, I think I will concentrate on
winning a few races)

so, I came into this late and it's taken me a while to get caught
up to how freakishly curious this ******* fruitcake is.

But now, I'm spent. I hope, for my own sake, that I've had enough.

Oh god, when will that ambulance get here!

[boby boy]

bunch of crap!

[Stu Wiley]

No self respecting boater would get caught dead in one of these things up here.
No offense to the manufacturers or any owners, but these things simply try to do to many functions and therefore compromise on all of them.

[woodboat]

No self respecting boater would get caught dead in one of these things up here

So you will take a dink to shore, maybe sail a sunfish around, go fishing in a Jon boat but won't be caught dead in a Mac26?
I would rather have a Mac26 then sitting on the dock wishing I had a boat.

[Mark 42]

Originally Posted by woodboat

I would rather have a Mac26 then sitting on the dock wishing I had a boat.

The Mac 26 is a good boat for some people.
As long as they understand what it is before they buy one,
it can bring them a lot of pleasure.
It's when they are told wild exaggerations about its capabilities
that there are going to be problems... customer satisfaction and
safety being a couple of them.

The Mac 26 tends to attract people who don't want to commit
to a dedicated sailboat. The typical M26 owner likes many
features of powerboats, but would also like to be able to
shut off the motor and sail at times.

This also tends to be a profile for inexperienced boaters,
whioch means a higher proportion of them will inadvertantly
be rude by ignorance of rules of the road and also the group
will have a higher ratio of owner/skippers who get into trouble
beyond what they know how to deal with, and will need help
of one kind or another.

It probably makes a good first boat in some respects (actually,
there are reasons it doesn't), which means it will get bashed.

That could contribute to making any boat look bad.

It would be like if people driving some certain car type tended
to be teenagers with their first car... there might be a lot of
collisions with those cars, and injuries... which might lead to
the conclusion that the car is less safe than others.
It may or may not be, but the demographic of the driver
should be considered in the analysis of accident data.

[Mark 42]

From another message thread...

The Mac 26 is the right boat for some people.
It's good for a power boater who isn't ready to commit to
owning a sailboat yet, but likes the idea od turning off
the motor when he's not in any particular hurry...
Or someone who isn't sure if he'd prefer sailing
or powerboating. Of course, you could buy an older
sailboat and powerboat for the same amount.
They do tend to hold value pretty good though.

It's not a race boat, but with handicap, can be a start
and give some exposure to what racing is (though it
could prove discouraging).

I think MacGregor's marketing is a bit more than
"Optimistic", and may end up leading to their downfall
by ruining their reputation. Previously, they didn't make
a lot of wild claims about their inexpensive trailer sailors
(at least as I remember it). If people buy Mac 26's with
certain expectations based on dealer & mfr. claims, and
are disappointed by their purchases, it will probably
come back to haunt MacGregor.

But if a person has one, and has no delusions about
beating Cup Yachts or Global Circumnavigation with
it, he might find it a good way to dabble in the power
and sail boat worlds.

But as with anything, irrationally rabid fans of a product
can make the product look dumb. Just look how many
guys wear a suit five days a week and strap on leather chaps
and apply temporary tattos and espouse the virtues of old
technology motorcycles every weekend. They look ridiculous
when they work so hard at maintaining a scowl on their faces
and lapse into the personna every time someone is watching.

And they make their product of choice look silly to those
who look at it from other perspectives.