Roll tacks - February 2004, #2

Stormy Weather

The wind this winter seems to veer between the gorblimey and the ridiculous. It's either been as flat as a pancake or blowing old boots, which must work out pretty nicely for the chandlery business. Either the wind has been too light and dull to bother going out, in which case you might as well buy some shiny new ropes and bimble with your boat, or else it's blowing dogs off chains and rigs off boats. What impresses me, though, is just how many boats venture out into the teeth of evil weather these days. I'm sure it wasn't always this way, because I seem to remember a lot more ‘umming' and ‘aahing' emanating from the clubhouse in days past, whenever the anemometer went above 20 knots. Now people don't seem to give it a second thought - they pull on their drysuits, hoist the sails and head out for battle.

Maybe it's because we have better clothing to keep us warm, or maybe it's because our boats and rigs are more reliable these days. I also think it's also a lot to do with the level of training going on at youth level, where sailors are brought up to cope with virtually any conditions that may come their way. When one sailors goes out there and proves it is sailable, others soon follow.

The recent RS Winter Championships were a case in point. They took place across four different venues over a particularly cold and windy weekend, and none of the events was called off. It goes to show sailors' enthusiasm for wanting to get out there and get stuck into some proper racing for 2004.

RS 10^th Anniversary

The RS Winter Championships marks the beginning of a significant year for the RS range of dinghies, which have now become part of the fabric of modern dinghy sailing. This is the 10^th anniversary of the RS brand, which first came to the public's attention with the launch of the RS400 and RS600 in 1994. Nick Peters and Martin Wadhams are the founding fathers of the RS family, which now has 11 classes, from which around 3,500 boats have been spawned in the past decade.

I spoke to Martin to find out what it felt like to have made such an impact on the dinghy scene. "It feels incredible to think it's 10 years, because it doesn't seem remotely like that. I would never have predicted that we would find ourselves where we are now, to be so much part of the furniture."

Martin says he remembers the first time he was on holiday, when he saw one of his boats out sailing. "It was a fantastic feeling to see it there, it felt like we'd arrived. Now, when I see a group of boats out sailing, I'm almost disappointed not to see one of ours out there."

But Martin says the changes he and Nick have experienced have extended way beyond the boats they have sold. There are the people that we've got to know who have been customers since the outset. When you see what a big part of people's lives their sailing is, it's a huge privilege to be doing what we're doing. The fact that some people plan their entire year around their sailing is a huge thing for us, but it's also a huge responsibility to make sure we're getting it right."

250 boats - beat that

He is also proud that the RS family has led to a few marriages along the way, and there are even a few kids who might not have been born if their parents hadn't met through RS sailing. To celebrate the anniversary, there is a special three-day regatta being held at Hayling Island over the Bank Holiday weekend in early May.

"The plan is for it to be a weekend with a difference," says Martin. "The main thing is, it's not serious level racing. It will be a big, fun event with a big atmosphere." There will be a giant pursuit race, and also a massed start, where RS hope to attract more than 250 boats to the start line. "We think that if we achieve that number, it may well be a record for the number of dinghies gathered on one start line," says Martin, who is throwing down the challenge to any other classes or big dinghy events that can lay claim to a bigger number. "If there have been any bigger starts in the history of dinghy sailing, we'd like to know about it because then we've got a target to aim for," he adds.

Some classes, such as the Optimist with over 300 entries at the Nationals last year, might have an answer for Martin, although he is pretty sure that 250 would set the record. This is because most classes at their major regattas divide up into smaller fleets before they reach this number, whereas other classes resort to gate starts. The Bloody Mary has boasted more than 500 boats in the past, although being a pursuit race it does not meet the criteria that Martin describes. So if you think you've got the record, send an email to Rolltacks and let us know.

There will also be a big dinner to celebrate the occasion, and Nick and Martin plan to gather as many characters as they can, who have contributed to the RS brand in one form or another. "We are inviting people like Phil Morrison [designer of many RS classes] Edward Hyde [of Hyde Sails], Richard Woof [boatbuilder of many RS classes], Mike Corduff [West Mersea Trailers], and many others who have played a part in our success." While you may have heard of most of these names, Mike Corduff may not be so familiar to Yachts & Yachting readers. But Martin believes Mike has been responsible for building virtually every trolley and trailer for the 3,500 RS boats out there. Over 10 years, that's about one trolley a day, not even taking into account the road trailers, so RS has certainly kept Mike busy this past decade.

The fact that Martin and Nick have developed 11 classes in just 10 years is also impressive, although Martin promises the next 10 years will be nothing like the same. It is encouraging to hear that he is keen to establish some of the older RS classes more firmly in the sailing scene. One of the downsides of the dinghy revolution this past decade has been a dilution of the same pool of sailors into more and more classes, something I touched on in last issue's Rolltacks when I discussed the RS700 and Musto Skiff.

"The most important thing is seeing the classes develop and establish their character," says Martin. "We never set out to develop boats for the sake of it. We have always tried to develop boats to the specific needs of sailors. I think this is why we have seen a lot of new classes come and go, whereas most of our classes remain strong."

Ultimately, Martin accepts that the strength of a class is down to the drive of the sailors in that class. "No amount of glossy advertising will sustain a class," he says. Big marketing budgets certainly help get a class established, but beyond that I think Martin is right. After a while, the real pedigree of a boat will become evident to the sailing public, and it will either survive or die on its own merits.

Fireballs never burn out

Of course, some of the older classes may not hold such a favourable view of the RS classes, as it could be argued that some fleets have suffered in the wake of their arrival. That certainly hasn't been the case with the Fireball, however, which continues to attract a loyal following. Class publicity officer Jonathan Bale sent a gear guide of the top 10 finishers in the recent World Championships in Adelaide, which reveal some interesting trends. Note the dominance of the Winder/Proctor/Pinnell & Bax combination for example. But far more interesting was the performance of two Australian-built Delange hulls in the racing. Malcolm Davies and Russell Thorne finished fourth in GBR13945, the same boat which finished fifth in the Worlds some 14 years ago. This is a great testament to the durability of modern construction techniques and materials.

I bought the first ever Delange hull - No. 13207 - back in the late 80s, and I can say she was bulletproof. Well I don't actually know if she was bulletproof because I never tested it, but Chrusan' Downunder had certainly been through the wars by the time I bought her. When she arrived by plane from Australia to compete in the 1987 World Championships in France, she was dropped 30 feet from the plane on to the tarmac by clumsy baggage handlers. Despite this, I think she came top five in the Worlds, helmed by the boatbuilder's wife Sue Delange.

Then she was sold to Paul ‘Tufty' Bedell, a sailmaker at No.1 Sails, who took Chrusan' Downunder to a dominant victory at the Fireball UK Nationals in Plymouth 1988. That same year, Tufty was round at his parents' house in the Midlands when some pesky kids set light to Chrusan', which was sitting outside in the road. Luckily, Tufty discovered the fire in time to save poor Chrusan', although she was pretty badly charred and scarred. Chrusan' Downunder was still fast though. Tufty and I sailed her to second place at the Nationals in 1991, and I imagine she is still going strong now.

Fireball Worlds 2004 Gear Guide