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Would you rather have a single fleet of 10 lasers to race against, or a 6 boat "standard" fleet and a 4 boat "radial" fleet? That's what we're talking about here.
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Choose your rig at the beginning and dance with your date.
Even if it means on Sunday the wind comes up and some old guys stay on the dock?
Choose your rig at the beginning and dance with your date.
Is it really that different from something like anticipating cold water and wearing a wetsuit?
I'd venture to say it's exactly the same. I dont make you choose your clothing up front for an entire regatta; you decide what to wear each day based on the water temperature and weather conditions as they actually are.
Also, rig-swapping seems to encourage more overall participation.
I'd just like to see longer starting lines - bump and crash my be fun for some and certainly keeps dealers in business but 3 rows deep with some still unable to find any gaps gets a bit of a pain.
Even if it means on Sunday the wind comes up and some old guys stay on the dock?
A bit off-topic but when I used to do Fireballs, in the Nationals with large fleets they often used gate starts. I have not come across a gate start for years - are they used at all these days for larger fleets ?
In one regard they were great in that they were "easy". Few choices to make, relatively easy to start in clear air. In many respects they took the starting out of the race - it was just a race, less starting skill needed which I guess would be good for some and not so good for others. However, in a large fleet with repeated general recalls, the were a great way to actually manage to get the race started.
Ian
Don't the 505's do gate starts? I read that this has worked well in their big (100+) fleet championships.
I think we need to keep in mind the low-key/social aspect of Laser Master's sailing. Consider the age handicapping system. I could name a few great-grandmasters who don't NEED a three point handicap every race. They do just fine on their own. But there are lots of other great-grandmasters out there who like it. Age handicapping is an important tradition in Master's sailing.