ummm.. because only good sailors sail boats with spinakers????
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Just because these new entries ...are not racers... does not mean that they are not good sailors...
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All skippers are responsible for their boats and crews on the water. Period... racing, cruising or anchoring.
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We have some common sense and informal guidelines in place that are applied at the fleet level for the new racers... We are not in the business of denying anyone entry.
Mark,
Well said, thank you.
I have enough of a problem with a certain monohull class that believes other boats should't be allowed on "their racecourse". I don't need the same attitude from other cat sailors. The water belongs to all boats, regardless of their hull count or sail plan - and even to boats without sails at all.
To say that a non-spin boat is a hazard because its skipper does not understand spinnaker sailing is baseless and insulting.
- Just because my boat isn't rigged with a chute doesn't mean that I don't understand how a spinnaker changes a boat's sailing angles and speeds. Please don't impugn my intelligence.
- I'm responsible for controlling my boat. You're responsible for controlling yours. As long as we both do that within the rules, the presence or absence of a spinnaker shouldn't affect our safety at all.
To keep the sport of sailboat racing alive, we need to include new sailors - not exclude them.
Sorry for the rant - this is a sore subject for me.
Regards,
Eric
