The 49er V's either a 4.9 or a Tornado without a kite see's the cats winning by a massive margin, with the kites it is a joke. The Skiffs are painfully slow up wind, Not something that you notice when watching the skiffs in isolation but when on the same course the speed difference is staggering. At the Sail Auckland Olympic regatta in 1999 the Tornado's and 49ers were on the same course. The T's started 10 mins after the 49ers and on a 1.2nm course we had passed them all before the first bottom mark. This was in in extreme conditions 25kts plus. After that race we were given our own course, whether for safety reasons ( the closing speeds and angles were awesome) or so save further embarrasment I am not sure!
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<br>The 18's have been slowed in the last few years, It was very complex for a while with divisive fleets sailing under different rules... But the basics are that the wings have been "clipped" and now the max beam is about 14ft. The boats are getting back to the speed they once had through good development. My contacts in the skiff community are on a few paths that are quite interesting, including building a foil bourne skiff and rotating wing masts! (about time) But the basic rule for the skiffies is that unless it's a Hobie 16 don't even try to race it!!<br><br>