Peoples OLYMPIC Foiler!

I guess the first question to answer is...

Is it about the sailor, the boat or the audience. Answer that and the rest falls into place a little more readily.

Cheers
Mbz

 

Exactly

In total agreement. As a racing sailor I want the racing to be great and who cares about the TV or audience or even the boats. Just give me great close even racing. I felt faster in my Laser when beating a big fleet than trailing around in the Tornados. I understand your comments about the Laser- they are a bugger to sail in many ways. I remember capsizing 16 times on one heavy air reach in a state titles. Next year I didn't flip at all. The boat is a bit of a bugger so you have to be pretty slick to stay up. Teaches you a lot.

Others with a TV or wowing audience slant will like Moths and foilers. I like my sailing as it is but like a golfer, surfer or chess player new stuff can help but it has to be in the spirit of the game as it is played.

My bias is against big development. I saw Windsurfing crucified by the rampant explosion of boards and speeds. In the end everyone got too bothered by all the bits and gave up. 1983 we had 300 Windsurfers - just Windsurfers in a marathon. 25 years later you are lucky to see one sailboard out in a good blow. Windsurfers were slowish but fun to sail with good close racing. I do not see sailing as being helped along by anything too technical and finicky. Tough, easy to rig and get sailing and simple seem to have suceeded in the past.

cheers

Phil

 

I watch the videos of the foiling Moths and I am amazed at the speed and level of skill required to keep them going but I do wonder about race craft. Somehow I don't see fleet tactics being such a large component of racing these things, I do wonder what the trade off is, the balance looks to swing away from traditional skills to more athletic skills the chief of which being staying upright for the whole course. It would be interesting to see a champion Moth sailor racing Lasers just to see how the skills translate, in the old days they'd have been close... these days? I get that sense, but less so, about 18's as well It just looks like a different skill set to get to the front of the fleet and stay there. That's just an arms length impression, reality is... ?!?

As for windsurfers the production race boards where great, things like the Hifly race. They went to windward better, carved remarkably tight gybes for a long board and where fun to sail. You could pick something of that calibre and still have a high degree of accessibility, as a production board they where not that expensive. I think that Olympic sponsorship would see what ever race board they chose build good fleets in short order.

I have a close relative who is heavily involved in the Olympic sailing scene, I will bend his ear a bit see what he thinks.

Cheers
MBz

 

So anyway that begs another question... Olympic sports preserve and develop particular skills in each discipline. In a sport like sailing, where these skills vary depending on the craft being sailed, just what core skills are being tested? Is it all about fleet racing skills and tactics?

 

I asked and was told what makes Olympic classes, rolled my eyes and thought of course its the way of the world I now realise that foilers of any sort ain't got a hope for a long time. Turns out that the relative I yakked to is heading up the "bring back the cats" movement on an international level and is off to China next week to talk about that among other things. Anyway so I have a little more of a clue as to why they went and what cat classes have got a look in for the future. I also worked out why you don't really want your class to become Olympic.

Anyway, if there is still any interest in this thread.

Cheers
MBz

 

Who really watches the Olympics, I think people should spend their time trying to get 18' skiff racing back on TV.....thats a cause worth pursuing. I guess that some of the new San fransico 18' skiff races are going to be on so hopefully that will get somthing going here in the states (but sadly, probably not)

 

I can't recall ever seeing the sailing televised in Australia, mebe I am way off but I certainly only look at the wash up and who won what, so yeah I'd have to agree.

 

I've never lived there, so I don't really know, but I guess back in the 90's some of the 18' grand prix was televised or something (on sunday afternoons?).......its on the website somewhere:?:

 

It was saturdays around 12:00 (at least from '93 to '96). Sadly it all fell in a heap around '97/98 when the 49er hit mass production and when GP Sailing filed for bankruptcy.

There are serious problems with getting the 18s televised again... I mean for crying out loud a TV station sponsors one of the top skiffs here in aus (Gotta Love It 7) and yet the 18s still only get maybe an hour during the entire season which is simply a review of the JJ Giltinan. The used to get that much that every weekend during summer for the best part of 10 years!

You'd have a far greater chance of getting a foiler moth grand prix going; especially now that fleets are developing in the US, UAE, Canada etc... but even that was tried a few years ago (one of Rohan's ideas) and there were very few serious finacial backers so that flopped. I think the website for the GP idea is still online - Google "Foiler1 Grand Prix" and see what pops up.

 

Yeah, I caught the 18's on T.V. sometimes, but usually was heading off to race at that time. Its was good while it lasted... you would think that with digital T.V and all the extra air space that they are going to have we could have luxuries like the 18's and daytime Grand Prix coverage. I think that the TV stations would want deals for sticking the sponsors names on T.V, its not like the footy audience wise so they have to make it make sense in the $$$$ department.

 

sad really, I would love to see it happen again somehow, when I was little they televised all the America's Cup Races (Star's and Stripes, Dennis Conners) but only because it was the first time we (USA) ever had to win it back, after that I never saw any sailing on TV again.......I watch tons of sailing YouTube Vids though, but how many 3 minute video's can a guy watch? I hope the 18' racing in San Fran catches on........

 

Beanz, wana start a digital Sailing channel, they have one for huntin and fishin, and one for nascar, hell "Sailboat Racin Cannel" would be a great job

 

Its a little tougher in this part of the world, free to air is locked up tight and cable is not a huge as it is in the US, it's take $$$$$ to do T.V and I am certian you'd have a hard time justifying it commercially, but hey you can dream.

Man I would have thought that with all the cable and channels you guys have that they'd be looking for anything people would watch.... gotta beat those infomercials!

Face it, sailing is for doin, not watchin ...

Ever windsurfed the Colorado River? When I was riding wave boards years ago I was shown video of guys sailing the river, man it looked like fun, perfect standing waves and all the grunt you could ask for.

 

no, but I got a formula board going so fast on this little mountain lake that my body skipped like a stone for 30 feet, mountain winds are nasty, 90deg shifts, nothing you can do.

 

LOL, I have done similar... been hurled by the rig, unhooked a little late and bounced. Stuff me whats the board doing all the way over there was the first thought when I surfaced.

There's a vid on youtube of a kite surfer getting caught up with an aircraft on short final. I don't know if its real or a fake, what a "bugger" moment that would be !