From the Feedback - 9/12/00

We'll be publishing the choicest moments from the stuff you send us - but each contribution may or may not be subjected to a rigorous process of editing for language, taste and imparted wisdom. And of course, as they so famously say at the start of anything like this, the opinions expressed in From the Feedback do not necessarily reflect those of the management, staff or investors of madforsport.com. Instead, and much more importantly, they reflect your views.

From Graham Bailey,
Shifting ballast and weather routing in the next Admiral`s Cup? No one should be under any illusion about the issue of ballast-shifting, it is the most profitable offshore cheat currently available, the most difficult to police, and the easiest to cure.

From Simon Smith,
Dawn Riley attempts to get match racing back into the Olympics ... Sorry guys but as you can see this issue drives me round the bend ... It is depressing reading about the antics of the increasingly desperate women's Match Racing narcissists trying to reverse the democratically arrived at decision to introduce fleet racing for ladies. One cannot fail to have noted that the prime mover behind this is American ... does she, perhaps, come from Florida?

This sort of behaviour is insulting, selfish and patronising to women worldwide. Their stated objective is to get Olympic competition for, maybe, eight of their 130+ elite teams that practice match racing around the world's major sailing nations. Hardly follows the Olympic ideal.

The argument that having to buy an Yngling, or two, is equally contemptible ... who said sailing was meant to be cheap and why should women have an event that doesn't cost them much when the men's teams have to stump up money to buy their boats in the first place? If they want to go down the road of litigation they would serve the whole sailing world better by taking the IOC to court and getting them to lift their overall limit of 400 competitors instead of serving their own narrow self interest.

From Alex Davies,
Match Racing, Fleet Racing - or Team Racing? If Ms Dawn Riley is commited enough to winning a gold medal at the Olympics, maybe SHE would be prepared to pay for buying two boats and shipping them around the world and doing the fleet racing - they've put an event in that suits her well enough. Would she still be moaning if the men still had the Soling and Star and there was no Female keelboat?? It is after all the attitude of a Pro that moans about the amount it costs them to sail, a true devotee of the sport puts in all the money thay have to achieve their goal. Look at what Pete Goss had to do to enter the Vendee Globe last time around in Aqua Quorum. As for the actual question, the groups should have been lobbying harder when it mattered rather than believing rumours that were flying round two months ago.

From Flakey, (come on Flakey, cough up your real name next time ...)
The King's Cup - more sun and racing in the beautiful Thai Islands? Absolutely true, we chartered a local boat in 1994 and had a wonderful week with pleasant sociable sailors from mainly the Far East, having been together as a crew racing a Baltic 37 in the Irish Sea. Although we did not race seriously, a super time was had by us all. Congratulations to the organisation for such a wonderful event. Knocks the spots off the West Indies. Loved Thailand and its people.

From George Conk,
The start of the real Vendee Globe? Yes, this is the scary part - where you worry about the crash gybes, capsizes and desperate rescue attempts. It makes me wonder if there shouldn't be a rule that you can't go lower than 50S until east of New Zealand.

From Mike Ahrenberg,
Will Ellen win the Vendee Globe? I think Ellen is doing okay, good thing she was sitting at the helm during the wind shift, as otherwise there could have been some serious trouble. Of course the hard work with the sail changes are taking their toll, but I am confident she will pull through. This woman has a lot of stamina and unless she has some serious gear damage she will be among the front runners. Ellen has all the chances in the world to win this race. She has proven her abilities more than once. Besides I think that even if she does not win she proves a point, that is that a girl can be as competitive in sailing as a man. Sailing is a sport where tactics and use of equipment plays the major role, physical strength is not a must. In a race such as the Vendee Globe - a single-handed race - I think that the major thing is what you are carrying inside your head. You must be at peace with your mind, and have some mental strength to face the loneliness at sea. This my friends takes guts!

From R Whaye,
Is Goss beginning to look good after success in the Atlantic? Well at least she is holding up. Maybe I am still sceptical, especially after what has happened before (hulls and mast). But if they manage to get their qualifying distance under their belt, things are starting to look up a bit. I wonder if they have time for a thorough structural check before the start of The Race and to unstep the masts?