flaming
Well-Known Member
Let me preface this by saying that there have been times at which I have earnt my wage driving corporate yachts, and I still do quite a bit of that work. But almost all of what I do is in events that are corporate only, not part of other big events. Mainly because I'm normally racing in the big events (RTI, Cowes etc).
As in all recent years the corporate boys were out in force for the RTI this year.
After a few run ins with them I'm now convinced that there needs to be a change in the way corporate sailing works in the large events.
Down the back of the island, with the wind about 18 knots, we came across a 40.7 in the colours of the race sponsors. He was on Port with a Spinnaker up. However his entire crew were sitting in the cockpit and no-one was trimming the kite. He was running by the lee and clearly trying to sail low to avoid having to gybe at the approaching headland.
We were sailing our standard angles, about 165, and slowly closed from his leward side. However when we got close he adamantly refused to go up. And even pushed us down to sailing by the lee. This angered us, as we wanted to dive inshore and gybe twice before the headland. It was clear however that the 40.7 had no intention of gybing, and wasn't prepared to be pushed into a situation where he would have to, and was ignoring the RRS. So we gybed out, and sailed into the tide, losing ground on our major competition. As we watched he also refused to yield to a J80 coming out on starboard.
I understood his situation, but he was effectively limited in his ability to react to racing situations because he did not have the crew to manouver his boat. I've been in that situation in corporate fleets, but in a different way because all of the boats are limited in the same way, and all the skippers make concessions.
So should he have been flying the kite?
Should he have mixed it with the main fleet knowing he couldn't gybe?
Is there a case for keeping corporate sailing separate from the "regular" sailors?
Or should the organisers start insiting that corporate charter boats have a minimum number of competent crew on board?
As in all recent years the corporate boys were out in force for the RTI this year.
After a few run ins with them I'm now convinced that there needs to be a change in the way corporate sailing works in the large events.
Down the back of the island, with the wind about 18 knots, we came across a 40.7 in the colours of the race sponsors. He was on Port with a Spinnaker up. However his entire crew were sitting in the cockpit and no-one was trimming the kite. He was running by the lee and clearly trying to sail low to avoid having to gybe at the approaching headland.
We were sailing our standard angles, about 165, and slowly closed from his leward side. However when we got close he adamantly refused to go up. And even pushed us down to sailing by the lee. This angered us, as we wanted to dive inshore and gybe twice before the headland. It was clear however that the 40.7 had no intention of gybing, and wasn't prepared to be pushed into a situation where he would have to, and was ignoring the RRS. So we gybed out, and sailed into the tide, losing ground on our major competition. As we watched he also refused to yield to a J80 coming out on starboard.
I understood his situation, but he was effectively limited in his ability to react to racing situations because he did not have the crew to manouver his boat. I've been in that situation in corporate fleets, but in a different way because all of the boats are limited in the same way, and all the skippers make concessions.
So should he have been flying the kite?
Should he have mixed it with the main fleet knowing he couldn't gybe?
Is there a case for keeping corporate sailing separate from the "regular" sailors?
Or should the organisers start insiting that corporate charter boats have a minimum number of competent crew on board?
