Putting sailing on the map
One of the nice things about writing the Roll Tacks column is receiving emails from readers who are passionate about the sport. Ges New raises an interesting question that has probably occurred to a number of readers. "Surely one of the glaring holes in the RYA view of the UK dinghy sailing world is the lack of an international level open regatta week along the lines of the Dutch, French and German weeks?
"Big boats have Cowes Week and Cork Week as a focus for ordinary sailors to compete against some of the best in the world at a UK (ish) event in a great social scene - they get into the media and show the sport is happening and are a showcase for yachting. There are dozens of dinghy weeks, two that spring to mind are Federation Week at Hayling Island and Salcombe Week, both very popular, attracting hundreds of boats and giving a family holiday at the same time. They fulfil a need, but are organised by local clubs and volunteers - but why no top level dinghy regatta with RYA backing?"
Older readers will remember that such a regatta did exist in the form of Weymouth Olympic Week, which used to be a major annual regatta that every four years also served as the selection trials for the Olympic team. But there hasn't been a major multi-class Olympic event in the UK since WOW's demise in the late Eighties, when it was briefly replaced by a Eurolymp event at Hayling Island, but which never really attracted much international competition.
Back then, overseas competitors couldn't see much point in making the trip across the Channel, but I suspect the story would be different now. The Ray's Olympic set-up and the results they are achieving at major championships are the envy of the world. Foreign sailors and their national authorities would make a big effort to attend a well-organised international regatta in this country now.
WOW...that's a good idea
I put this to John Derbyshire, the racing manager at the RYA who happens to have been giving this very idea a good deal of serious thought already. "We are keen to resurrect Weymouth Olympic Week," he said, but added that it would be unlikely to happen until the back end of 2005. Rightly enough, the RYA is focused on achieving another big medal haul in Athens, and by then the soon-to-be-refurbished Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy should have been turned into a world-class training centre.
The other factor that hangs in favour of resurrecting WOW is the prospect of Britain submitting a bid to host the 2012 Olympics, in which case Weymouth would be the venue for the sailing event. Overnight, Weymouth would become an international sailing Mecca. So, no wonder John is feeling bullish about the prospects of WOW's revival.
John is also feeling confident about the future of the sailing centre at Weymouth, following a protracted period of planning negotiations and the usual red tape that is a part of getting any major building project off the ground. He would not be drawn on any firm dates for when the building work would be completed there, except to say that he would be disappointed if it started any later than September this year, from which time it should take about 12 months to get it all done. While the new centre won't be as swanky as Hayling Island, John says the infrastructure such as launching facilities and workshops will be second to none.
Meanwhile, John is enjoying the RYA's new open plan offices that he and his colleagues have just moved into, following their move from Eastleigh down to the Hamble. The new layout means the different departments are actually able to talk to each other rather than send emails around the place, and John believes it should make a significant improvement to way the RYA operates. And the other nice thing is that he sees the water a little bit more now, even if he doesn't get out on it as much as he used to. He's now been racing manager for around two years, and admits that from time to time he does hanker after his old jet-set lifestyle that took him around the world to all the major Olympic regattas. "Yes, it was a nice lifestyle," he reminisces fondly, and then also reminds himself: "I certainly don't miss looking up at Laser leeches all day."
Clamping down on rock and roll
If John was still coaching the Laser squad now, he would no doubt be following the ongoing debate about Rule 42 with interest. This is the rule that regulates how much artificial propulsion is acceptable - pumping, ooching, rocking, and the like. It is a debate that has got ISAF president Paul Henderson hot under the collar for the past year, most notably when he started yelling at the Finn sailors during last year's Hyeres Olympic Regatta to stop rocking so much. That probably wasn't the most constructive way to make his point, but his attendance at a recent meeting in Southampton to discuss this issue around the table with 60 attendees from 43 different nations was probably a good deal more useful.
During the two-day conference, a working party presented its interpretation of Rule 42 that will now be universally preached and adopted around the sailing world. The attendees from this initial meeting are now expected to go back to their respective nations and pass on the same message to their colleagues. British International Judge John Doerr commented: "It is a done deal, non-negotiable, the work has been done on it and the aim of Saturday was to enable each and every delegate to return to their own countries with a clear idea on how Rule 42 is to be interpreted."
Waving the yellow flag
This is a welcome development that is really long overdue. Many Olympic competitors have been pushing Rule 42 to the limit and beyond in some of the less well-policed regattas, only to get their come-uppance at a major event such as the Olympics themselves, when illegal propulsion is heavily penalised. This new initiative should help resolve this problem of inconsistency, and should also promote wider uptake of the yellow flag rule. The 470 class is one that has used this rule to great effect over the past few years. If the wind is blowing more than 14 knots, the race officer flies the yellow flag, signalling to competitors that the gloves are off and they can now pump, ooch and rock their way around the course to their hearts' content. This is a great rule, because it takes into account the fact that over a certain wind strength, artificial propulsion becomes a skill in itself. Three badly-timed pumps down a wave can slow you down more than doing none, so it is right to reward those who can propel themselves to good effect.
Some of the die-hard Rule 42 enforcers have even been proposing the banning of roll tacking. But this again is a glorious skill that makes light wind dinghy sailing all the more rewarding when done right. Can you imagine anything more dull or artificial than being forced to tack your boat flat through a tack? And anyway, what would we call this column if not Roll Tacks? Flat Tacks?
Of course, if you can't bear the idea of all this naughty 'air rowing' going on, as Paul Henderson, calls it, why not go skiff or catamaran sailing? You can pump, rock or ooch all you like on a 49er, but all it does is shake the wind out of your sails. Rule 42 applies to these boats like any other, but it is never enforced because illegal propulsion won't do you the blindest bit of good.
Ice scream
As a top Enterprise, GP14, Fireball and 470 sailor, Neil Marsden no doubt knows a thing or two about effective propulsion, but it doesn't do him much good in his winter pursuit of ice yachting. One of just a handful of Brits in this primarily Scandinavian sport, Neil has just returned from an encouraging performance at the European championships. The event had been scheduled to be held in Estonia, but too much snow forced the fleet to jump on a ferry at the last minute and compete at an alternative venue in Sweden.
Neil finished fourth in the bronze fleet, which may not sound that impressive except that the Brits are real newcomers to the sport and have little opportunity to practise, for obvious reasons. There are obvious parallels with sailing, but some big differences too. Firstly, of course, there are the speeds that these ice yachts can achieve, with crash hats and protective a gear a must when you consider that these home-built contraptions can hit speeds in excess of 60 knots. These things are so efficient that they will gather considerable pace in even the lightest of breezes, propelled on self-perpetuating apparent wind.
Telling where the real wind is coming from must be tricky as it's hard to see gusts on ice, but sail trim varies remarkably little from downwind to upwind as the apparent wind is so strong that the sail is either pinned in hard, or pinned in even harder. Neil's 470 crew Graeme Nelson is just getting into the sport too, and his enthusiasm is infectious. The season is over for this year, but I'm sorely tempted to find out a little more about this sport for myself.
Strictly One-Design...and proud
David Evans from Wembley Sailing Club has responded to a question I asked a month or so back: "You asked in Roll Tacks on February 14th whether there was any sailing club out there that does actually restrict the types of boats that are allowed to race on its water. The clubs which share the Welsh Harp in North-West London have operated just such a policy since sailing resumed after World War II, and have found it very successful in ensuring that everyone does get real class racing most of the time.
"The current list of racing classes is: Merlin Rocket, MRX, Firefly, RS200, Laser and GP14. This list includes at least one class to suit most tastes, bearing in mind that the size of the reservoir makes it unsuitable for anything much bigger and faster than a Merlin Rocket.
"The potential downside is that we might put off new members who are already sailing another class, but we have found in practice that even committed sailors moving into the London area are often willing to change class if it means joining an established fleet and getting regular class racing all year round."
South Staffs Sailing Club has been thriving for almost half a century on the same policy, according to Peter Waine. For the first 20 years of its existence, only GP14s and Fireflies were allowed to race there. Then there was a change in the Seventies, which stands until the present day, of allowing only OKs, Larks and Solos. Peter comments: "Helms are willing to travel miles to sail in our one-design club racing. I am the only founder member and we know we did it right from the start in 1954. Having been at the start also of the Rangoon Sailing Club in Burma, racing all in one class was a great experience, never forgotten." So perhaps benign dictatorship has its merits over democracy after all.
Glass half empty, or half full?
Meanwhile, many of us are back on the road, hitting the open meeting circuit once more. What a pleasant surprise to get a suntan sailing at Rutland in March. We got third at the 49er event, which was also a pleasant surprise, but very galling to see fourth place rewarded with bottles of booze, whilst the top three walked off with the ubiquitous glassware. I don't know about you, but I'm always much happier when there's a bottle of Shiraz or a pair of sailing gloves up for grabs. So this week's question for you is: What would you rather win? a. Glassware; b. Booze, or c. Sailing Equipment? Never accuse Roll Tacks of avoiding the serious issues...
