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Showing posts from October, 2018

World Sailing President Interview by Sail-World: Some Highlights

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Journalist Richard Gladwell from Sail-World, conducted a far reaching and most interesting three parts interview with Kim Andersen, the President of World Sailing. The interview was made in anticipation of World Sailing’s annual conference this week-end, in Sarasota, FL. Here are key highlights. See the links towards the full interview at the bottom of this page. Regarding the Laser Andersen is adamant that the Laser has not been kicked out of the Olympics. "We are running that process with the Laser. It is not true that the Laser has been kicked out. We are just applying "anti-monopoly" so that we don't get into trouble. The Council has the freedom of choice to say they would like a Laser." About Anti-Trust, Monopoly and the Finn Andersen raised a novel view of what constitutes a monopoly in sailing, claiming that the EU believed that when World Sailing was selecting a class or discipline at the Olympics, a monopoly was created because "you are n

Jumpstarting the Laser 4.7 in North America

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Jumpstarting the Laser 4.7 in North America - an article by Jean-Pierre Kiekens and Agustin Ferrario - published in The Laser Sailor - Winter 2018 /* With the increased development of the Optimist in North America and the decline of the Byte class, there is an urgent need for a vibrant Laser 4.7 class, offering an optimal transition towards the Laser Radial and, ultimately, for men, the Laser Standard. A striking difference between Laser youth sailing in Europe and North America is the role played by the Laser 4.7. Huge fleets of Laser 4.7 are competing at national and international events in Europe. While, in North America, the Laser 4.7 has until now had a limited, sporadic, presence only. It’s a situation that is unfortunate, because the Radial is a way too powerful rig for many youth sailors, particularly those just out of the Optimist class. The European Experience with the Laser 4.7 Today, there are large fleets of competitors in the Laser 4.7 class in Europe. P

Changing Perspectives at the Canadian Optimist Class?

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Excerpt of International Teams page of CODA website The Canadian Optimist class published a list of some 42 sailors eligible to attend IODA events in 2019. The so called “International Teams” list produced on October 11, draws from the unique qualifier organized by the class - the Canadian nationals - held on August 17-23 2018 in British Columbia. Canada, unlike most countries, is sending sailors to many IODA events, including the Worlds, Europeans, North Americans, South Americans and the Asian and Oceanian championships. Some sailors will attend, one, two, three or even four such events. Others will just attend one or two. And yes, there are sailors, including very good ones, not attending any IODA events - for example because parents don’t want to get involved into the complexities of preparing for such events, or because of the high costs of participation. With the recent change in the directorship of the organization, there may be a bit of a change of tone. Indeed, the COD

Coral Reef Sailor Freddie Parkin Wins the 2018 Optimist New England Championship

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Blue flight leaders arriving at the gate in the last race of the 2018 New England Optimist Championships The New England Optimist Championships were held on October 6-8 at Sail Newport, in Newport Rhodes Island. This was a substantial event, with over 200 participants in the championship fleet, and with several sailors from the Virgin Islands, Canada, Germany, Bermuda and various parts of the continental US. The New Englands are one of the regional « team trial qualifiers » organized by the US Optimist Dinghy Association (USODA), aimed at ultimately selecting sailors for IODA events - Worlds, North Americans, etc. The weather conditions were not optimal for this event - and only 5 races were completed, out of the 9 that were scheduled. Among those 5 races, the first and the last one were sailed in light, uneven wind conditions. The races were carried out just near the Newport Bridge, where significant tidal current prevails, which made the racing pretty complex. The sailors we

Four Single-Handed Dinghies Still in Contention for the 2024 Olympics

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The Devoti D-Zero is one of the four equipments still in contention for the single-handed dinghy for Paris 2024 World Sailing announced this October 3rd that the 4 single-handed dinghies, already shortlisted on July 13 2018, would be recommended to the Council for undertaking trials. The 4 equipments are: - Laser - Melges 14 - Devoti D Zero - RS Aero Source: http://www.sailing.org/news/87980.php#.W7T6iVKNyRs « The Board’s Re-evaluation Working Party has reviewed the bids and has recommended to the Board that World Sailing should proceed to select new equipment with additional recommendation that the existing equipment (Laser/ILCA) is included as a full option in this process. » According to the timeline below, there were yard visits and shortlisted candidates were asked to submit improved tenders, by September 3rd. "Following shortlisting, in Phase 2, World Sailing undertook site visits to the manufacturers to confirm the submitted information, after which an