No New Rig for the Laser?

Picture of a new rig developped by
Bethwaite -- source: Improper Course
Following the article in Sailing Illustrated about the development of a new rig for the Laser, a post has appeared in the blog "Improper Course" with an interview of Julian Bethwaite out of Australia,

In the post, Julian Bethwaite talks about the development of two rigs. Yet none for the Laser or the Olympics.

Here are excepts (questions are in bold)

"Is this rig for the Olympics? No. The rig in the photo is too big and the rig we’re developing for the recreational market is too small, so neither are for the Olympics as the article states."

"I understand it’s not for the Laser but if it was, how would it feel? The carbon rig is 5 kilos lighter which is less than half the weight so the inertia, which is the square of the weight/arm, is dramatically better. It’s like driving a Porsche instead of a tank. In addition, a Laser rig bends to leeward and “kinks’” at the deck level, so this additional weight reduces the righting movement by 12%. With carbon rigs, this is 4% so a sailor effectively has 10% more power."

Source: http://www.impropercourse.com/2018/05/julian-bethwaite-lasers-olympics-and.html

What the blog post does not mention is for what boat that new rig, "too big" for the Laser, is being developped.

And the new rig in the picture seems very similar to the one featured in Sailing Illustrated - where the hull is actually visible, and it is a Laser (see below).

Note that on that Sailing Illustrated picture (which is at least partly photoshopped - check the sail numbers), the sail does not seem to be oversized, especially if the righting movement is reduced by the carbon rig, as explained in the above quote.

Picture from Sailing Illustrated article
As reported in this blog (see link below), submissions are expected by June 27 for the singlehanded dinghy at the 2024 Paris / Marseilles Olympics - with the possibility that the Laser be replaced by a boat such as the RS Aero, the Melges 14 or the Wazsp.

https://optimist-openbic-sailing.blogspot.com/2018/05/singlehanded-dinghies-for-2024-olympics.html

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