From the feedback - 7/4/01

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From Mike Ahrenberg
Naughty or Naive? Russell should be aware of the rules on the America's Cup boats regarding construction. If he really has done alterations on the boat's hull, more than only the keel construction I do think this is called opportunism. Clearly he cannot be so stupid or ignorant that he would make such alterations without first consulting the rules. The fining is relevant and should also be regarded as a warning to everybody else. Russell tried but failed, I hope he will take notice and play it by the book from now on. He has already had his troubles in getting the campaign on track.

From A Banks
Naughty or Naive? I don't think naivety has anything to do with it; Russell and his people are old hands at this game; not to mention the team's technical director, Hugh Treharne. The bottom line is that they probably decided not to waste time on consultation with the relevant committee, knowing that the fine would be probably less than a month's salary for their least remunerated team member. Perhaps some more significant sanction should be imposed in future (not necessarily financial), to make people sit up and take notice of the rules.

From John R. Harper
Is this a political battle or a sailboat race? It is a sailboat race between yacht clubs that are located on the ocean or an "arm" of the ocean. Chicago Yacht Club was a reasonable stretch of the deed of gift; the Swiss challenge does not in any manner fall within the parameters of the deed of gift. Accepting their challenge or trying to justify it is politics and only politics. I am disappointed that they don't qualify for the competition but rules are rules. Sorry Swiss but see you later, if and after the deed of gift is rewritten.

From Dan Howe
The Admiral's Cup. My thoughts are that the withdrawal by Champagne Mumm from the Admiral's Cup has led to the fall of the event. Regardless of whether the Cup is dominated by private investors or corporate sponsorship, both may be looking for a glamorous title sponsor to give the event more credibility. Both private investors and sponsors are likely to use their involvement in the Cup to signify the status of themselves/company but most importantly, will be using the event to entertain guests or clients in a competitive, glamorous and exciting arena. However, due to the complexity of handicap racing for the untrained spectator (be they corporate guests or TV viewers), one-designs are the way to go. The radical French K-Yote yacht in the last cup must have triggered a huge loss of faith in yacht racing for designers and investors. Here was a different yet controversial yacht that had the potential to change yacht design forever, but was denied this opportunity. Not only did this waste a huge amount of French money but it also possibly sent messages to the yachting world that you can build your CMAC big-boat to the handicap rule as long as it is not too good - not the best publicity for the event. So I think the key to the resurrection of the event could be a significantly glamorous title sponsor such as Corum, Veuve Clicquot or Louis Vuitton and use interesting and popular one-design yachts - perhaps the Farr 52, Farr 40 and the Mumm 30?

From Jim Champ
Carbon spars to move into mainstream dinghies? If the traditional classes are considering carbon spars as a straight replacement for tin ones then IMHO they are missing the point. OK you can replicate a tin mast in carbon for a few quid more and a few ounces less, but there's not really any great gain. You may as well wait until it's much the same price. The big gains come from exploiting the new properties of the new material. With composite spars you can tune the flex characteristics to a far greater extent than you can with aluminium, leading to rigs that can, for example, be much stiffer up to the hounds and much more flexible above. This in turn can be used with clever profiles to provide a rig with much more flexible and controllable gust response, as seen in the 49er and in a much more advanced state of development the latest 12 ft skiffs in NZ and Australia. However to take advantage of this properly the whole sail design and even the profile changes - this can be seen on photos of the 12s with the extreme over elliptical planform they use on www.skiff.org. Radical changes to sail planform may not be what the traditional one-designs think they should do, but you have to question what the point of half updating the class would be... After all logically if one were updating the 505 one would change the entire rig for a modern over elliptical fully battened one, and the whole hull for a modern fast planing low rocker shape. But then it's not a 505. It's an interesting decision for an obsolescent class. Do you allow the class to wither away gracefully, but maintain its character, or do you radically change the boat, with the risk of something that has lost the virtues of the original concept, yet cannot match a "from new" design? The problem will be even greater for SMOD classes when the original manufacturers drop the boat in favour of something newer.

From Chris Bingham-Hunter
Showing tenacity in the face of adversity? Regarding Tony Bullimore and the idea that there is 'no such thing as bad publicity'. I'd agree that this is probably the case if the only way is up. Whether or not this is the case with Tony Bullimore is arguable. But the Team Philips / Goss debacle, which has led to the closure of a large part of the Goss 'empire' is surely an example of the corrosive and far-reaching effect that bad publicity can have. Frankly I feel that of the two, Bullimore is probably an inherently better sailor, whereas Goss is more of a professional adventurer, with a broader palette of money-making 'schemes' - for want of a better word. If I were about to back one or the other, and reliability and levelheadedness were a part of the selection criteria, I would go for Bullimore.

From Terry Terman
Showing tenacity in the face of adversity? Tony Bullimore is a Hero (certainly not a Zero) for preventing the total dismasting of Team Legato, and creating a makeshift mast-step good enough to make reasonable progress against stiff headwinds -- all this with a crew reduced from ten to six and nearly exhausted 91 days after the start of The Race.

From Mark
End of the road for the Soling? The Soling will not disappear. The boat is still one of the most challenging and competitive keelboat classes in the world. It covers all aspects of sail handling and teamwork in a trailerable package (less the crane). It can also perform in the largest range of weather conditions. The class now has an opportunity to expand at its grass root's level without the intimidation or burden of Olympic professionals. At the same time, the confirmed Olympic classes can now train without the cloud of dissent or risk of reprisal from miffed Soling advocates. Being a weekend racer and part owner of a still competitive 22-year-old Soling, I still see the boat as athletic and exciting at the highest level. My partner and I never expected to mount an Olympic campaign but local and regional racing is just as competitive and satisfying. The Soling's capacity to teach the finer points of sail trim and teamwork make it a class that will stand for some time. If that doesn't convince you, go surfing with a Soling in a 25 knot breeze.

From Jerry Wales
RS 300 coming good? Good question if you have just returned from the Mir Space Station (I trust the landing was a safe one!). For those of us that have been on terra firma just a little longer will know that the RS300 had a incredible start selling almost 100 boats in the first year and therefore by comparison the last couple of years may seem a disappointment. The 300 is very strong at the grass roots level with local fleets growing where in the early years the boats were scattered far and wide. The class has the benefit of full support from the RS Association and of course LDC and perhaps without the high standards that the RS boats sets the 300 would not be positioned as coming good now. If your choice is to sail without the benefit of underwire support and of course single-handed, then the Laser is clearly going to take a large proportion of the market, particularly since the Olympics and with the strength of youth sailing at the moment. So the 300 is in a difficult market, but if your choice is not to dangle it over the side to show your manhood or indeed your masculine side for the fairer sex then the 300 is where people are currently headed. A cheeky boat the 300 is, there is no doubt, but then we are now in the naughties (2000-2009).