19.07.2023 by Ben Remocker

    July Update - FX spin material - alternate penalties - top mast

    Test Event Commentary

     

    Congrats to those who raced at the Test Event. As the name implies it is a test of the organization, less so meant for the sailors. That said, it’s become a more important regatta for teams over time.

    There were a large number of equipment preparation penalties and protests. In 2018, I wrote this paper and submitted it to World Sailing. It argues that transgressions that don’t relate to racing should have penalties that don’t impact the scoreboard. That is why we’ve had fines in recent years instead of points.

    World Sailing agreed with the principles in the paper by vote, and while penalties did not completely get removed, they were dropped to a single point at the 2020 Tokyo Games. It seems this lesson was forgotten for the Test Event.

    I wrote to the organization and reminded them of the current policy they have endorsed, and they have updated their schedule of penalties back to 0.5-1 point from what they were at the Test Event. So at the World Championships, the penalty scheme should be back to what it was in Tokyo. There will be a further discussion about this at the Next World sailing meeting in November.

     

    TV17 masts

     

    Plenty of masts have left Ovi and Mackay factory doors and should be in the system. If you wish to use one for the 2023 Worlds but don’t have one, please be in contact. That should not be the case, as everyone that wants once should be able to get on now, and we can supply spares and multiple orders too.

     

    FX Spinnaker Material

     

    North Sails are nearing completion of 6 FX spinnakers each in an alternate material to what we have now. We are seeking a group of teams who will use these sails in testing in a common location for a reasonably long duration. If you are a group of boats training hard after the Hague and before the next AGM in late October, please be in contact and we will select a group or groups of boats to test these sails for durability. They will not be eligible for racing, but will be the same shape as the FX uses now, so should be perfectly suitable for training.

     

    New Websites

     

    We are nearing completion of the updated websites for both 49er and Nacra 17. If you are interested in providing feedback to the builders, this is a test version of the site, and there is a ‘Comment’ button at the bottom you can add comments on if you wish for review.