Any ideas why the target time is so short for the cats? PU used to go for 50 minutes for all of our major events, presumably from his Olympic experiences.
Mike
Easy, our generation has the attention span of a gnat. But seriously, I think it's spectator/tv driven...which I still think is silly.
Mike
Yeah <img src="<>/wink.gif" alt="wink" title="wink" height="15" width="15" /> And whats up with 3 races a day?????? <img src="<>/shocked.gif" alt="shocked" title="shocked" height="15" width="15" /> <img src="<>/shocked.gif" alt="shocked" title="shocked" height="15" width="15" /> I think they should start at 9am and sail til at least 4 maybe 5pm. After all they are professional/Elite level sailors for the most part.
Keep e'm on the water til their arms fall off!!! <img src="<>/wink.gif" alt="wink" title="wink" height="15" width="15" /> <img src="<>/wink.gif" alt="wink" title="wink" height="15" width="15" />
Said the dude who sails a two string boat with no loads.
Since I don't have to do it I'm all for it!
I doubt that's it, because there are other classes with longer races.
I've probably spent as much (or more) time working on RC with PU as anyone, and while I can't explain everything he did, I do recall quite a few conversations about target times. 50 minutes seemed to be the Olympic consensus (at least for Tornados) of what it took to have a fair race, where if a top team got a bad start, they could get back into it, etc. I can't see the Nacra 17 boat and/or competition being that much different to change this by 40%...
And Tommy, we still get 50% more per day than the America's Cup (on their good days)...
Mike
I remember the 50 min target times when PU was PRO, I also remember doing up to 5 races a day if the wind was good. As I recall at least one NA event we had over 20 races for the 5 day event. People were popping Aleve like it was candy.
It's a truly thankless job, that's for sure. The entire goal is to run a good number of fair races. Sometimes, weather does not cooperate, and you get boxed into corners that involve sunrise and sunset. People very often take things out of context, and make up some very strange conspiracy theories of what drives the RC. Sad, because all you need to do is ask, or better yet, volunteer and see for yourself that there is no evil empire on the signal and mark boats.
Mike
Mike,
The thing to keep in mind is that unlike the independent Tornado Class... the N17 class is wholely owned by ISAF and Nacra. The T class Sailors had a set of Seperate Championship Rules which allowed for two races per day with 10 in the series (If memory serves). The length of the race was guaged to the number of starters with the goal of spreading the sailors out on the course so that sailing skill determined the order. The number of races per day were set at two for worlds type events and were set to minimize the impact of a breakdown. (aka bad luck) eg you could eat a throwout and still do well. The story was that it was tougher to win the worlds then the Olympic Gold.
The Olympic rules were always set by ISAF who limit the regatta to 18 slots and ISAF changed the championship rules as they wanted... eg for china... there were no wind mimimums which the class used instead of weight mins to maintain a fair playing field.. Today, ISAF has taken control of the world regatta circuit and created the world cup (gold cup... whatever) circuit with the stated goal of restricting the fleet and trying to focus on fewer athletes for the sports marketing. They also control the N17 class. So.. they run the show. They argue that more races of shorter duration give you more finishes and supposedly more media interest as the final race which is scored double points makes the winner very much in doubt. It's just a different game. In my opinion... they have increased the Luck factor in getting a winner.... and from their perspective.. that is OK because it will sell.
What is different for the N17s is that ISAF calls the shots.. not the sailors.... and PRO's now answer to ISAF. PU would not fit will in this brave new world.
And back in the day, PU's favorite way to end a Regatta, was double #7's.
TK and all,
I have never been to the rudder club, but I can vouch for the scattered and diverse launching arenas in Coconut Grove - not much land/parking space along the shoreline. On the other side of the yacht club there are barrier islands with narrow, shallow, channels. This shallow bottom extends well out into Biscayne Bay. I remember it was quite a hike from the slip to the Laser Course and the houses still remaining, on posts, in the middle of the bay, south of Fowley Rock.
The days are shorter, the distance to the designated race tracks is long, and the traffic is immense, considering all the coach boats. Set up and return to the harbor take a bit more bite out of the sunshine. Equipment care also drains the time.
Now, maybe the women match racers should be on cats - they race from sunup until sundown in their little corner of Biscayne Bay. One lady I met in the elevator, told me they had been doing that for over a month. I guarantee you, she knew where the laundry center was in the Marriott.
The womens match racers sail in a round robin, their round is assigned to a part of the day they will sail during. During the final rounds they will be around more of the day as they advance through the finals. They also rotate in and out of boats. So they aren't sailing all day.
Some of the women's teams will be at Sandbar pretty late if they aren't sailing in the morning.
That and there is no womens match racing anymore.
soooooo....waddaya sayin'?
...just returned from the Gulf Yachting Association's AGM, and there, I learned of the reorganization committee and read their survey with emphasis on the Mallory and the Adams. I believe one of them is being modified or deep - sixed, so I am not surprised about the loss of WMR.
I know a TV minded audience will not enjoy the hours of a match racing format. Now a N 17 doing a wheelie or auto-gybing would create colorful drama that sells the sport to the action-oriented audience. A three boat pile up at the leeward gate in force five could attract a NASCAR audience.
Viewing a sailboat race has a rather recent history in the technological wonderworld. Modern devices and software have enhanced the opportunity to share the excitement of sailing to the public.
I told a couple past yc commodores that we may not have the history and traditions of the past, but we sure have an exciting future.
Multihulls will prosper, not just because of the AC on home screens, but more and more talent is pushing out the performance envelope or enjoying a competitive class association. Inter disciplinary sailing is more popular now than ever in the middle - age range of sincere athletes.
I will try and submit some video and photos from the weather mark. I am sure the regatta media coverage will be quite up to speed. The special Medal Racing event on Saturday will include the N 17, and if I am asked to serve on safety patrol, I'll try and share that as well.
Unless the coverage is equal to that of the America's Cup it's still like watching paint dry, and difficult to follow what is going on to the average person. jmo
It's a shame they got rid of WMR, it was an awesome format to watch on tv/streaming. The finals of the WMR worlds that Anna won was one of the best sailing events I have watched, truly awesome sailing.
As for the venues for OCR, the rowing club is actually a pretty great spot. Not much in the way of facilities, but launching wise it is ideal. Kind of a bummer being so far away from the regatta headquarters, but that is the reality of hosting such a big event in Miami.
really nice article in sail world today interviewing nina and bundy. damn those guys put some work into their sailing.
I would like to add a Bundy quote from the really informative piece in Sail-World.
Bundock puts a dampener on this notion. 'We have had the Nacra 17 fully foiling. In fact we did it downwind, on the first weekend we had here for training. We were completely out of the water for about five seconds, with about 30cms of rudder in the water. But this Olympics, the Nacra won’t fully foil, unless you put some lifting rudders on the boat.
I thought that was a well-known limitation (and necessary required to make foiling happen in a practical sense)?
The real question: Other than from the fans and (some of?) the sailors, is there a desire to have a foiling boat in the Olympics?
Mike
It's downright PALPABLE
The real question: Other than from the fans and (some of?) the sailors, is there a desire to have a foiling boat in the Olympics?
Mike
Interestingly I spoke to Nacra just before christmas about wether the upcoming F20 foiling kit would be adaptable to suit the 17. The response was
could be
.......!!
The N 17s will be racing on course,
Charlie,
the outer most race track. Long haul for the teams...and very difficult to view from shore.
Find a friend with a power boat and cheer your favorites on.
John Craig is giving a presentation on the AC as we speak.
Fairlie and I are headed to CRYC in the AM. Meanwhile, Matt, best to ya in the land down under, and may the Hobie Worlds enjoy warmer weather than we expect in Miami.