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cammd said..
All good chris249, I misunderstood you, sorry for that

The recommendation mentioned the potential for increased costs due to multiple rigs and fin/foils but in the same paragraph mentioned they would most likely be offset by sponsorhip
.
I don't know how that would play out in the real world but I imagined it may be like the pwa, That is the brands sponsoring sailors, maybe it may only be the top (Gold fleet) sailors but if every brand is selling more stuff then there is more dollars to go around. Possible corporate sponsors, even discounted access to current gear saves dollars and keeps a good s/h market alive. Our current Techno Champion is currently sponsored by a brand to some extent I think, that why he names his Bic Techno "Starboard Rules" at every regatta. That could only increase if every brand is getting in on the action.

That also makes it more accessible for countries or sailors with less funds available than the rich countries.

No worries.

If sponsorship and open supply of boards works out, that would be great. Personally as a compromise I reckon they could go for a combination event, with production boards for the slalom/foiling race (since that's the event that's supposed to appeal to the average spectator) and keep the RSX for course racing to keep costs down. If it's true that the foil/slalom board will get sponsorship support then costs will be low, although as noted I think the rich will get richer.

I hope whatever they do works out, for the sport's sake. Cheers

That's how I understand the recommendation to be, a registered production board like what currently exists in Raceboard or Formula rules, I guess that is the same for slalom as well.

Not sure what that board would look like given the recommendation is for multi discipline but only one board, possibly the RSX convertible style setup from multiple brands.

Wouldn't an inflatable olympic board address the multi-disipline requirement?

Probably OT

Would sit up late to watch an olypics race like this.....



lots of action and colour.... very engaging

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jirvin4505 said..
Probably OT

Would sit up late to watch an olypics race like this.....

lots of action and colour.... very engaging

Brilliant. I think this would be a really good Olympic class.
What is the wind limit for these foiling boards? Would it satisfy Olympic requirements.
This class would also attract PWA sailors.

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Rob11 said..
@Chris249 and @ Windsufering, is there any topic on this forum you contribute to without arguing? Always the same lame arguments as well...

LOL it's a forum

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cammd said..

windsufering said..
Going by the figures shown in that article the LT is the largest class.
and it's only going to get bigger once we start racing them

going by the figures shown in the article the fleet declined by nearly half in one year

not sure if the number of entries in a Nationals constitutes the entire number of active sailors in the country for some of those classes either

I do think the article makes a good point that fun is what gets people on the water and actively participating

Lord Vader Doesn't argue LOL
very Selective Storm Trooper Rob11
Lord Vader is excited that the numbers of WOD are dropping

Having read a bit of the World Sailing discussion there was some suggestion that windsurfers and kites couldn't use the Marina where the sailing media was and had to have their own beach adding to the cost for the host country. I couldn't quite work out why the windsurfers couldn't use a marina though it is easier to understand why kites might need their own area. I would assume that the foil windsurfers wont race if the wind is less than 6 knots, this could also be a problem in some locations and probably favour the lightest guys in the lighter conditions.

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Al Planet said..
Having read a bit of the World Sailing discussion there was some suggestion that windsurfers and kites couldn't use the Marina where the sailing media was and had to have their own beach adding to the cost for the host country. I couldn't quite work out why the windsurfers couldn't use a marina though it is easier to understand why kites might need their own area. I would assume that the foil windsurfers wont race if the wind is less than 6 knots, this could also be a problem in some locations and probably favour the lightest guys in the lighter conditions.

Why wouldn't they race in less than 6kt ? ... if the gear is meant to be multi-disciplinary, then the boards are going to be used in displacement-mode.

I would suggest that if it's a foiling discipline, they need to ensure that it's a foiling race.

If they hold it in marginal conditions, the speed discrepancies between foiling and non-foiling would change the dynamic from a "Skill wins" to one of "The first to foil wins" and all of the associated weight implications.

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azuli said..
World Sailing's events committee votes to retain Windsurfing in the 2024 Olympics and replace the RS:X with a new board:

Men's / Women's Windsurfer:
1 registered production board
Maximum of 3 registered production rigs
1 registered production foil and 2 registered production fins
The equipment must be able to launch from the beach and be suitable for winds from 6-30 knots
and both racing formats and slalom.

"The disciplines should include slalom and may include a long distance race and/or short course racing or other suitable disciplines, with a combined score determining the places."

The equipment must be able to launch from the beach and be suitable for winds from 6-30 knots

The above is what was recommended by the events committee but the equipment is yet to be decided

Not Olympic class racing

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elmo said..
Not Olympic class racing

I'm a muppet didn't see the vid further up the page

I'm a course racing fan so most likely biased but I thought the best part of that foil race was the upwind legs.

VMG came into play and the guy coming third or fourth at the end of the first lap went higher on the second upwind than the leaders and when they all tacked onto the layline he was right back in the mix. Watching the fleet split onto different tacks after the start and all come back together at the first upwind mark was a highlight as well.

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jirvin4505 said..
Probably OT

Would sit up late to watch an olypics race like this.....

lots of action and colour.... very engaging

It probably all goes too fast for RB and OD fans hahaha

It was a great race but the video quality when I watch it goes on / off for a split second numerous times.

Quite a few of the sailors lost it when reaching and went over the handle bars so to speak.

I thought foiling was supposed to be easier?

Watching closely the boards lift high out of the water but if you lose the lift and iit's choppy or there's big swell - a catapult is on the cards.

They look better suited for light wind where the water state is likeky to be calmer. Suited to the lighter conditions that the Olympics usually gets.

Never tried it but it does look like a lot of fun.

In 15 knots and above do not think they'll ever match a windsurfer for speed across the wind.

The size of their fin and foil produce too much drag in comparison to say using a 32 cm fin on a 100 litre.

Longer fuselage would allow foil to compete with slalom sailors. They decrease wing drag with smaller wings and the hull stays clear of the water.

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petermac33 said..
It was a great race but the video quality when I watch it goes on / off for a split second numerous times.

Quite a few of the sailors lost it when reaching and went over the handle bars so to speak.

I thought foiling was supposed to be easier?

Watching closely the boards lift high out of the water but if you lose the lift and iit's choppy or there's big swell - a catapult is on the cards.

They look better suited for light wind where the water state is likeky to be calmer. Suited to the lighter conditions that the Olympics usually gets.

Never tried it but it does look like a lot of fun.

In 15 knots and above do not think they'll ever match a windsurfer for speed across the wind.

The size of their fin and foil produce too much drag in comparison to say using a 32 cm fin on a 100 litre.

Video was from live feed from a drone, a bit more of a challenge than a fixed, on shore camera. They were foiling in over-powered conditions with a decent amount of chop. Foiling in these conditions is harder as you have more axes of motion to deal with and board trim can trim significantly with board speed - the wing is developing a lot of lift at those speeds. Not sure where you got the impression that foiling was easier. It's more efficient for a given sail size especially in lighter winds.

Windsurfing foils (currently) are not as fast on a reach - foil drag is dependent on speed where planing board drag is mostly independent of speed. Roughly, above 20-22 knots, the planing board has the advantage and foils hit the wall around 25-30 kts depending on wing size, design, etc. This, though, is upwind, downwind racing. Foils do much better in these conditions compared to a smaller slalom board.

And, yes, it's a lot of fun.

LeeD, I'm not really clear on your point. Could you perhaps explain it more?

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cammd said..
Why can't foilers work in Sydney Harbour?

Judging by all the foiling moths that seem to be permanently on Sydney Harbour they should be fine. Might get one myself.

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evlPanda said..

cammd said..
Why can't foilers work in Sydney Harbour?

Judging by all the foiling moths that seem to be permanently on Sydney Harbour they should be fine. Might get one myself.

Just to be clear, what I said was that it's hard to see where windfoiling fleets (ie regular racing fleets) could work in Sydney Harbour. The regular foiling Moth racing fleet on the main harbour is, I believe, only about eight boats, and Moths would be far faster than foilboards when they are not on foils. Regular Formula and Slalom racing has never worked there - even occasional Slalom racing didn't work, and I tried getting it going. Even the cat fleets have all given up. That seems to indicate the problems of racing many types of high-performance craft on a fairly fluky area with enormous amounts of traffic. Since boards are banned from the main part of the harbour they would be forced to race in the bays, which are flukier still.

I might add that I'm not saying that the classes I personally like and sail would necessarily make good Olympic classes. Most of the classes I love and sail would be crap in the Games.