SailJuice Blog

Surely the classes themselves should matter less than the fact that all sizes and sexes are catered for?

I suspect that the “dogma” that surrounds certain classes and their lobbies doesn’t really help.

Why not scrap all the classes and start again? In 4 years the top crews learned to sail the 49er, so that would give a nice refresh to procedings methinks.

[...] Olympic Survey Posted by: Andy Rice | 1st Nov, 2007 [...]

The Finn must stay an olympic class
Special for the real men 90 Kg +

The Finn is the best boat for tactical sailing and many sailors getting world famous had their education sailing Finn before.
It`s the best one man boat

Dear Lynn Fitzpatrick,

as you well know this one would not be the first time that the Star boat is eliminated from the Games.
Every time the reaction is the same.
Every time the self proclaimed best class for the best sailors in the world and her entourage start panicking and react by insulting not just any other Olympic class but any sailor in the Olympic circuit and ISAF Delegates themselves.
There is no limit to the Star delirium of omnipotence, so why not involving also the President of the IOC in stupid comments? pls check that the final ballot in the Events Comm. was between Tornado, 470 and Star and try to respect the Delegate’s decision.
Someone should rather be still ashamed of how the star class was reintroduced in the games for Athens 2004.
THAT was pure lobbjing operated by remarcable pressure putted on ISAF via IOC. The women’s match racing event was voted to be in for 2004, but then, after one year, somehow, it was decided that this WMR not a real sport in practice. So the star was back.
Today the same lobby wants to ride the popularity of Women’s Match racing….it sounds so funny.

I do really hope that this time there will be no back door opened by shameful billionaire connection.

The evidence can be hard to accept and even harder for older people who think they are the best, but the star is simply one boat designed 90 years ago sailed by 40-50 years old people.
Above this, sailing this item requires a huge amount of money .
Pls check the stratospheric costs of Mr Dane and son in law’s campaign: I respect John for his skill and what he achieved, but have clear in mind that in no other Olympic sport a 50+ ager can hugely widen his possibilities of beating a joung champion like Marc by simply spending hundred of thousand dollars.
Pls ask Rohart how many 50.000,00 Euros items he does buy for a four year campaign and he will not answer less than three, then add the rest. As simple as impressive maths exercise.
Pls take a look to the 2007 Preolympics results and reports and find in which other class the unanimousely recognized fastest boat was produced by the sailor’s family spending half a million dollars for two hulls.

Pls go to Beijing next August. Go to the Olympic village, the main one, not the sailing hotel and open your eyes: you will realize that the Olympic motto is Citius, Firtius, Altius, and that the athletes emboby this in any sport.
The Olympics are for the young people, all the athletes there are fit and young.
Nobody expects to see Carl Lewis making the long jump in China or is even thinking to introduce one discipline so that the best athlete of the 80’s can be still there.
I guess Lewis himself, as S. Coe or M. Spitz or B. Borg or M. Kiptanui or any other 50 ager former champion is not even thinking about saying that he MUST compete in the Games.

Furthermore pls believe that sailors are extremely bored of listening the self proclaimed best Class of the world to say that the best sailors are competing there.
Instead of trying to convince people they are bad and the star sailors are good, pls take a look to the other classes, watch how the top guys tack a Laser or Gybe a 49er, you will probably see things under new evidence
You will realize that the light of the star is weak out of Miami and today it is just reflected on the expensive deck of few teams in the world.
Not necessarily the best because they spend so much more then others.

I have clear in mind that this sweet illusion will last few hours and the Council will surrender to the best lobby.
But, Pls, let us live a couple days in the dream that Olympic sailing got rid of the Star, before we open our eyes and fall back into another four years nightmare populated by “the best sailors of the world”.

Kind Regards.
S.Z

DC: Technical Director of Carbonology, builder of the prototype GT60:

Am I the only person that thinks that’s a bit of a cop out? Just ditching the Tornado - Well, that really will “have a significant impact on the sport around the world” won’t it! By 2012,the foiling Moth will be coming up for it’s 10th birthday and I dread to think what 14’s and the fast cats are up to, but the Star the Finn and the 470 will “provide a perfect showcase of the wide range and diversity of sailing”… Are they sure!!!???

Strange thing is the report we had from the Womens HP trial in Hyere was that the competitors wanted the boat more than anything…. Did ISAF just pay lip service to the people that it will affect more than anyone?

So to compete against the existing super slick and TV savvy vehicle sports for air time at the Olympic Games in London - the biggest Games ever - the show case of modern sport on a World stage…. wait for it…sailing goes Old Skool!! Neat - that’ll allow us to compete for the advertising slot driven TV coverage won’t it! The IOC/LOCOG TV sales guys have just had a decision made for them! Delete Sailing from the offer list, it ain’t gonna raise us a penny… And once the TV guys delete sailing from that list, we become very vulnerable to new sports… Skateboarding is a demo at London… Stranger things have happened! Is sailing relevant when compared to Free Running or BMX Half Pipe?

‘ISAF President Göran PETERSSON led the ISAF Council in over two hours of debate and discussion before the ten events were decided.” so they can hand on heart say they gave the idea a good airing - Ricey, you and I have talked about it for longer than that in one phone call!

Dave Chiz

[...] Survey Posted by: Andy Rice | March 11, 2008 [...]