The Way we Live Now (yes, this is a sailing rant...Dan Crane may enjoy it...)

[Kukri]

This wasn't a rant by a parent "standing on the touchline and yelling" because their sprog didn't win. He didn't expect to win - he was taking a friend with very little sailing experience for a day out on the water in an easy boat. As were a lot of the other competitors.

The reason I said it was a "pointless" victory by Royal Hospital was that, given the sheer strength of numbers, Royal Hospital would have won anyway.

If they had not thrown money at it, they would have earned rather more respect from other competitors; as it is, they earned less than they might have done, to the point that there was backchat amongst some of the teachers from other schools present to the effect that their sailing coach's job was on the line if they didn't win - this I am sure is nonsense but it illustrates the strength of feeling...

Iain C has rather missed the point - this wasn't a 170 strong Nationals fleet; this was a "please turn up and have a go!" event, aimed at promoting the sport, where those without a boat could hire one for a tenner - as you may see from the flyer here:

http://www.swsa.uk.com/regatta.htm

He has also missed my sprog's joke about the "RS" 29er - don't turn up with a boat you can't handle. There was a bloke with a Musto Skiff - who could handle it.

Not to worry...

 

[Bosun Higgs]

It has always been the case that where something can be bought to gain an advantage someone wealthy will buy that advantage.

It's why they're in a private school in the first place.

Absolutely right. Thats just why I sent my kids to private school.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

If they had not thrown money at it, they would have earned rather more respect from other competitors; as it is, they earned less than they might have done, to the point that there was backchat amongst some of the teachers from other schools present to the effect that their sailing coach's job was on the line if they didn't win - this I am sure is nonsense but it illustrates the strength of feeling...

You do actually knoiw that they bought the sails just for this friendly do and not that it was the annual or biennial sail replace that just happened to co-incide?

 

[Kukri]

No; I am not their sailing coach and I don't know actually know that. Just going on what one of their crew said to my sprog as he helped him rig their boat. You are right - it is - or anyway it was - a friendly do.

 

[Keen_Ed]

You do actually knoiw that they bought the sails just for this friendly do and not that it was the annual or biennial sail replace that just happened to co-incide?

If they are limited by sail buttons to one set a year, odd not to save them for the biggest regatta of the year.

 

[dancrane]

Y'all know me...y'know how I make a livin'... (Fisherman Quint, in Jaws)

Since Minn flatteringly included me in the thread's title, I feel bound to comment, despite my wholesale ignorance.

There certainly would have been some underdog-gloating about that race, if the make-do-and-mend crews had taken line honours...

...and generally, there can't be as much deserved pride at the finish, when you win with kit which puts the competition's boats so far in the shade.

I think it's a pity to put kids in a competition where the disadvantage of their boat's condition writes off their chances...although seen philosophically, that itself is a valuable life-lesson. The trouble is that kids aren't usually reflective about such things - they only know they've lost, and their obnoxious classmates revel in discouraging any consolation.

But it may equally be a good thing if 'victory by any means' - (such as carefully timing considerable expenditure on new sails, so as to win a particular event by their crispiness) - is regarded as laughably neurotic, caring to a pathetically insecure degree about silverware - like the dad who brings running spikes to the kids' Sports Day, just in case there's a fathers' race.

Of course it's always nice to see one's family, one's friends, one's countrymen, oneself winning...but I don't think it's sour grapes, to point out the facts when the winner could hardly have lost.

Could that be why I happily bought an ancient dinghy with ancient sails, and keep it at a club where there are no other similar boats to gauge my ability against?

 

[Bru]

this rather reminds me of my one and only success as a racing sailor way back in the 1970s. After my helm and I had merrily trounced the fleet in the first three races, it was suggested by some of the other schools that we should sit out the fourth race to "give the others a chance"

Our sailing master put this to us and whilst I wasn't too fussed either way, Graham was having none of it and now being thoroughly annoyed set out with serious intent with the result that we lapped the entire fleet in the last race!

Was it unfair that Graham was a scion of a locally legendary sailing family? was it unfair that he was quite simply far and away a better sailor than the rest of us put together? was it hell

I should say, by the way, that the credit for the success was all his, I just sat up front and did exactly what I was told!

 

[Seajet]

When a teenager I used to crew a Fireball, then race my Scorpion, in the Chichester Snowflake winter series.

Both boats had sails more than 15 years old and were fairly sh***ed, and we clocked up a record 7 serious capsizes on one sail in the rather cold water.

I remember one time when I as crew was chucked out of the Fireball as it went over, then as the helmsman got it upright the sails filled and it took off again, a halliard had gone out through a self bailer and was snaking past so I grabbed it, ending up being towed along at quite a rate until my drag caused it to turn over again; I was quite relieved though the helm didn't see it that way.

We managed to keep halfway up the fleet, but the winners every time were the Yeoman brothers, who had sponsorship in their Javelin.

I learned 2 important lessons from this racing;

1, New / good condition sails are important

2, If retiring from a race make it early enough to get the hot water in the showers !

 

[Iain C]

So on the one hand you are saying "it's a turn up and have a go" event where limited sailing experience is fine, but at the same time don't turn up in a 29er (nothing to do with RS) if you can't handle it. So which is it? Are you saying practicing for an event is ok, but using new gear isn't?

So you're not shouting from the touchlines, but you're quite prepared to come onto a public internet forum, name the school, moan that they used new gear, say that they would have received more respect if they'd competed differently, said they were bound to win anyway (remember the old winning/taking part thing?) and then start spreading the rumours about one of their staff facing the sack whilst saying that other competitors couldn't handle the boats they turned up with.

Wow, what a shining example you set. Keep digging...

 

[jwilson]

Today I took the elder sprog and a friend to the Suffolk Schools' Regatta, on Alton Water, along with the elderly family Firefly.

We were pleased to see that ours was not the only Firefly there - there were three others - all modern GRP ones, all with very new looking sails. Enquiry of the crew of the Firefly next to the sprog's in the dinghy park revealed that the sails were indeed new - first unrolled this very morning. All three boats had new sails. All three boats belonged to Royal Hospital School, as indeed did many other boats. Unsurprisingly Royal Hospital School won the regatta.

Sprog and friend had a nice day's sailing, despite taunts of "Is that a Firefly - why are you going so slowly?" from children attending Royal Hospital School.

The Firefly class specify a single maker - Hyde - and a suit for a Firefly costs £558.67 including VAT. The sails on our boat are about ten years old. Indeed, the whole boat, with combi trailer, cost less than that.

For a county schools regatta?

Goes with ultra-polished custom foils on Optimists, but then one of the people who taught Ben Ainslie to race told me that you could put him in the tattiest Oppie in the club and he'd still be at the front...

And a few years ago I who say "I don't really race much, but I like to sail well" attended a regatta at the Royal Bombay YC and was lent the tiredest ancient Indian Navy training Enterprise, and had a wonderful regatta competing against shiny newish boats with new sails. Didn't win, but was never very far behind, and had a terrific time. I knew I'd probably have been in the front 2 or 3 if I'd been in a better boat, and they knew it too.

 

[Achillesheel]

Surely the most important sentence in the whole thread is "sprog and friend had a nice day's sailing".

 

[tico]

Makes a change from 35 years ago!... Then it was sailing ex-navy whalers and a Wayfarer IF you were good (& lucky).

PS (for Dylan.... Yes , I remember Woolverstone!)

 

[Sandy]

Sprog and friend had a nice day's sailing, despite taunts of "Is that a Firefly - why are you going so slowly?" from children attending Royal Hospital School.

I understand in Cricket it is called Sledging.

 

[willpatten]

http://theroyalhospitalschool.wordpress.com/tag/sailing/

Looks like the school & sailing coach are turning out some pretty impressive reults to me & competing at that level, its not a wonder they go through so many sails.