I think that to a large extent I'm indeed saying that.

I found out many many times that pure sailing skill is ten times more important that the downright performance of the boat itself.

There is no "spend alot of money and go to head of the fleet way". Actual time on the water and lots of training are what makes a crew win or loose.

Just today I talked to a rather good skipper at my club. Last year he would regulary beat our club champion, this year he doesn't. His explanation :"I simply haven't put in the same amount of time as I have done last year." We talked some more about our racing the last weekend and I mentioned that his first race was mediocre while the second race was alot better. I asked what he were the causes of that change. His first reply :"First race not going too well was because of me personally, I wasn't making good calls or concentrating enough on what needed to be done". Second and third reasons he named was some stuff on the boat like a loose rudderblade and 15 liters of water in one hull (he sprung a leak).

My first thought was :"Wow, this guy not only showed that straightening his head out was seriously improving his result despite the mishaps on his boat, but he also actually mentioned it as the first and biggest reason for not doing well. He could have easily hid behind the loose rudder and 15 liters of water.


But I'm side tracking here.

Back to topic. So yes indeed spending time on the water and doing a significant amount of training and discussing methods and tactics with your crew is by far the most important factor in getting good results. Boat design and design related boat speed are just the remaining 5 %. So with this basic principle in our minds I say : by a reasonably good boat (New or Second-hand) and concentrate on training. With enough time on the water you WILL regulary finish near the top of the score board. Most sailors, recreational sailors and recreational racers, often don't put in enough time and so buying a go-fast boat will do very little to improve their results. So why spend a large sum of money on a negigliable improvement ? First build up skill and when you are in the top then it will become wise to by the best boat around and make sure that the remaining few % aren't holding you back.

Why do recreational sailors still spend more to get the top-of-the-line boats. Simply because they want to have the same type as the true racers (professionals) because they like the looks and the estatics or because they really like the way a top-of-the-line boat feels (sails).

Personally I drive a Toyota starlet of 14 years old and I'm loving that car too bits. Others won't be seen dead in one. It is all how you lay your personal priorities. I of course think that doing groceries in a Porsche is a bit over-the-top and unpractical.

To finish this post up. I believe that the Stealth F16 is a fast boat and well capable of taking line-honours. It is stiff and it has a great landenberger suit of sails. I was especially impressed by the Landenberg spinnaker. The T-foils are indeed a great help in the rough stuff and the snuffer system works very well. There are also downsides but I found that no boat is without them. For 11.000 Euro's (this includes European taxes, so it will be cheaper for non-Europeans) it is definately a very good buy for the majority of the sailors.

I do still expect however that alot of sailors will still opt for the other makes. Simply because of looks and because the other do have a very good feel to them. Stealth is a good boat, but looks and refinement in production and systems is not its forte. Which does NOT mean it is bad in these respects, it just means that the others just better in these respects. I have plastic on my dashboard and a Porsche has leather. You pay more so you get more. This is law cast in iron. Many people like leather dashboards so I guess many people will be willing to pay more to get the other cool stuff as well. And this is great as a class needs both parts of the spectrum to grow and develop.

Wouter