SCUTTLEBUTT WEBSITE	FORUM INDEX	SEARCH POSTS	WHO'S ONLINE	LOG IN

Forum Index: DISCUSSION: Dock Talk: Will the 29erXX help grow women's sailing?

The Publisher ***** Jan 14, 2010, 3:56 PM Post #1 of 7 (10566 views) Shortcut Will the 29erXX help grow women's sailing? Log-In to Post/Reply Last week the 9er World Championships were held in Freeport, Grand Bahama (January 2-9, 2010), which included the 49er and little bro 29er. Both skiffs, both sporty, with the 49er positioned as Olympic equipment since the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia. The 29er was introduced that same year as a trainer boat for the 49er, and succeeded in attracting a young audience seeking an alternative to the popular yet conservative youth trainers, the Club 420 and Flying Junior. But what about the female skiffies? Enter the 29erXX. The 29erXX is a souped-up version of the 29er skiff, taking the existing hull and foils of the standard 29er and adding a trapeze for the helm, a taller mast, and a bigger sail plan. But how will the new 29erXX class encourage growth beyond what the 29er group is capable of, rather than competing against it? Jen Glass (USA), International 29er Class President, explains: “The boats are aimed at different groups is the short answer. The XX, much like the 49er, was designed with the Olympics in mind. The 29er, while it is still an open class, is primarily a junior boat and a trainer for the 49er. Hopefully we will be calling the 29er a training boat for the 29erXX too if the later succeeds in achieving Olympic status for a women’s event in 2016. “The 29erXX fills a void for female sailors who are looking for another step past the 29er. There really isn't a good platform for women to sail double trapeze skiffs. In order to avoid conflict with the 29er class, we have been targeting the over 18 year old sailors. I don't want to take the youth sailors out of the 29er to create a 29erXX fleet and diminish the 29ers. There are many ex-29er sailors who still own 29ers but don't race them anymore because the existing 29er fleet is younger than them. For these sailors I think the 29erXX is what they need to come out of retirement.” A chance to see this new class in action will be at the 2010 29erXX Seiko Superbowl Regatta on January 31 - February 3 in Miami, FL. Details: http://www.29er.org/index.php/Seiko-Superbowl-Regatta-Miami.html

The Publisher ***** Jan 14, 2010, 3:57 PM Post #2 of 7 (10564 views) Shortcut Re: [The Publisher] Will the 29erXX help grow women's sailing? [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply From Jim Champ: It might be more accurate to call it the Skiff that no-one wants. Whereas the 49er and 29ers flew out of the shop door in very healthy sales numbers as soon as they were available (and long before Olympic selection in the case of the 49er), the XX seems to have only tiny numbers of boats sailing and it appears most of those are boats made available for special events by the manufacturers. Do womens' teams actually want to do twin wire skiff sailing? It’s hard to think of many all female crews worldwide in the established classes that were at the ISAF equipment selection trials, even though they do have healthy numbers of mixed double boats, and folk seem to have voted with their feet that they don't want the XX at all anyway. The GT60 from the trials, racing under Cherub class rules, came 4th last weekend at the big Bloody Mary handicap event in the UK. How many 29erXX did it beat? None were entered. In fact only one has ever entered, and I think that was a "works" team...

The Publisher ***** Jan 14, 2010, 3:58 PM Post #3 of 7 (10563 views) Shortcut Re: [The Publisher] Will the 29erXX help grow women's sailing? [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply From Katy Cenname, Seattle, WA: I have read Mr. Champ's response (in Scuttlebutt 3007) to the 29erXX post and am in a bit of shock. One, this is a man that would not know what it is women want to be sailing. Two, he clearly does not know much about the 29erXX. The boat’s final design has only been completed for a little over six months, and already 25 rigs have been sold. I myself am a young woman who has been competing competitively in the 29er for around two years. I stepped foot in the XX last summer for my first time and fell in love. While the 49er is just simply too big for most girls, the XX is a great fit! Why should we, esp. skippers, have to sit on our butts while the guys get to blast around hanging on the trap? The boat is a challenge but for us skiff sailors, that is what we like. I also competed in the 29erXX gold cup this summer in Lake Garda, Italy which was the funnest regatta of my sailing career. After this event was complete, almost every single rig was purchased. There was a great interest in the boat from the sailors in the regatta and those who were there training for the 29er Worlds and competing in the 49er Worlds. The 49er guys even had a great interest in the boat thinking it was great that now there was an opportunity for girls to sail a boat similar to theirs.

The Publisher ***** Jan 14, 2010, 3:59 PM Post #4 of 7 (10561 views) Shortcut Re: [The Publisher] Will the 29erXX help grow women's sailing? [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply In Reply To From Jim Champ: It might be more accurate to call it the Skiff that no-one wants. Whereas the 49er and 29ers flew out of the shop door in very healthy sales numbers as soon as they were available (and long before Olympic selection in the case of the 49er), the XX seems to have only tiny numbers of boats sailing and it appears most of those are boats made available for special events by the manufacturers. Do womens' teams actually want to do twin wire skiff sailing? It’s hard to think of many all female crews worldwide in the established classes that were at the ISAF equipment selection trials, even though they do have healthy numbers of mixed double boats, and folk seem to have voted with their feet that they don't want the XX at all anyway. The GT60 from the trials, racing under Cherub class rules, came 4th last weekend at the big Bloody Mary handicap event in the UK. How many 29erXX did it beat? None were entered. In fact only one has ever entered, and I think that was a "works" team... From Ian Bruce, 29erXX Class Executive: Jim Champ's letter on the 29erXX reads like a sort of personal crusade! It was ISAF that put forward the notion that some women might actually like to play in the Olympic circus in a real high performance boat (read skiff), and it was ISAF that scheduled a test event. It was the 29er Class, spearheaded by both the current President of the International 29er Class and its Executive Secretary, that encouraged Julian Bethwaite to do the XX and the role of the builders was simply to support the Class and build the rigs. Have the rigs "flown out of the shop"? Not exactly, but every rig that has been built is in private hands and no further rigs are available until a new mast manufacturer is up and running (the previous builder retired and closed his shop in Australia). There are approximately 50 rigs out there sailing and events started being staged in Europe in 2009 and are being staged in NA in 2010. Is this some sort of petty crime by the manufacturers? Does Mr. Champ know of any boat that went off without the support of the builder or its appointment to the Olympic fold? The 29er “flew” out of the shop because the 49er was already "there" and ISAF let it be known they were looking for a path to the 49er. And it did not fly out on its own but with the considerable support of the builders. The mere mention of the GT60 shows he has missed the point completely. The Cherub is a Development Class - always has been, always will be - and the Olympic Classes are traditionally anything but as the cost of development moves a Development Class out of the range of most country's Olympic programs. When he says the XX has only "tiny numbers" he ignores the fact that there are exactly as many XX boats out there as there are 29ers! The boat is the same (read low cost to any MNA) and only the strictly one-design rig is different - exactly like the Radial/Laser. Should it ever achieve Olympic status, the cost will most certainly have been a major consideration. So, he asks - "Do women's teams actually want to do twin wire skiff sailing?" He answers the question himself but we don't pretend to know the answer. However, apparently more than a few do want to twin wire like big brother 49er and we think events that allow them to try the boat (and really enjoy the ride as they did in Lake Garda at the 29er World's this summer) is no crime on the part of the manufacturers, or we the Class who actually stage the events. If sailors vote with their feet and no one shows, he will have been proven right. But, as a corollary, if you don't give them a chance to vote, who will ever know!

The Publisher ***** Jan 15, 2010, 5:12 PM Post #5 of 7 (10502 views) Shortcut Re: [The Publisher] Will the 29erXX help grow women's sailing? [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply As a youth female sailor, both the 29er and the 29erXX have given me so many opportunities. Quite frankly, sailing was just another of the many sports I participated in until I started sailing the 29er and became addicted. I couldn't get enough of the speed and haven't looked back. Little did I know, when I had my first sail in the XX, I was in for an even more exhilarating feeling. There was no question - after sailing the 29erXX Gold Cup in Lake Garda, Italy last July, I bought a rig then and there. Fast-paced, physically demanding, and technical, the 29erXX is a challenge, no doubt. But seeing as the 29er is the most popular youth skiff in the world, I know there are a lot of girls looking for that challenge. It makes perfect sense for women to have the next step (29erXX) just as men have the 49er. In actuality, the 29erXX was nearly selected for the upcoming Olympics. Both advisory committees that are meant to choose the Olympic boats chose the 29erXX, and it was only the executive committee that overruled them by merely one vote. This is impressive considering that the boat design has been final for less than half a year. Plus, I actually think people have been holding back to purchase the rigs because they have been in the process of evolution. Yet still, over 20 boats were sold before the rig was even finalized - in my opinion, this shows that someone can't wait to get their hands on it and more importantly, they believe in the class and its potential. Myself included. So, "Do womens' teams actually want to do twin wire skiff sailing?" Mr. Champ, I doubt that you have ever set foot in a 29erXX. Nor are you a woman. I'm sorry, but this leaves you poorly qualified to judge. The 29erXX is exactly what women's skiff sailing needs. I don't know about you, but I'll be having a blast on the wire at the 29erXX Superbowl in Miami in a few weeks. Oh, and my skipper will be right next to me on the trapeze. Pink sails and all! Helena Scutt Seattle, WA

The Publisher ***** Jan 17, 2010, 2:24 PM Post #6 of 7 (10445 views) Shortcut Re: [The Publisher] Will the 29erXX help grow women's sailing? [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply From Liz Rountree: Jim Champ is absolutely right. The XX is not widely sailed, nor is it widely available. Surely this is because nobody likes twin wires. They are so drab! Give me a smaller rig and rounder hull so I can hike my butt off any day! Going slow is sweet! It is true, the 29er and 49er "flew out of the shop door" as Champ observes in his January 14 article, whereas the 29erXX has yet to flourish. Champ attributes this disparity to the "fact" that "no-one wants" the XX and naught to do with the actual fact that the 29er was picked up by the ISAF Youth Worlds and the 49er, not yet ISAF, had the Grand Prix world tour. When up for Olympic bid both advisory committees in charge of class selection elected the 29erXX, but the executive committee overruled the popular vote by a single count. This sent sailors scrambling back into displacement dinghies in time for London, and manufacturers back to the shop floor to tune up the new product. US Team Alphagraphics member Molly Carapiet was one of those sent scrambling. She explains her class choice, "I was against the XX [because] I had just bought a brand new 470 - but that’s about it. I liked campaigning in the 470, but I want to sail the X-rig again." The popularity of the XX was stifled by the ISAF decision, but still holds rank among the people. Rolex sailor of the year and Olympic gold medalist Anna Tunnicliffe is not about to step out of the Radial, but she says, "The 29erXX is a great boat, and I hope it makes it to the Games." Yale University sailing coach Zach Lenoard agrees that all the Olympic events should be symmetrical: "if there are two male double handed classes, there should be two female." Archie Massey, current and 2-time i14 World Champion agrees, adding, "Why were there only 22 campaigning in Ynglings? Because they're dull and expensive." 2009 ISAF Youth Hobie 16 World Champion Lisa Darmanin has just graduated from Junior sailing, and is not sure where to go. She is one of many women sailors in Australia - a hotbed of skiff enthusiasm - looking for the next step. Lisa loves high-performance sailing because, "They have this unbelievable sense of power when you sail them. Although you may get the feeling of speed and exhilaration in such classes as RSX, there is a different sensation once you hit the groove, especially over waves in 20 knots and the adrenaline is pumping." As much as she loves the sport, she sees the roadblock looming ahead: "Currently the skiff is not something women can take to the international level. The sport loses interest because there is no major path [beyond youth sailing], espcially for those who aim to do Olympic Campaigns." Fellow Aussi and 49er sailor Sean O'Rourke summarizes her dilemma, "I mean, what do you do if you’re a chick and you don’t want to sail a Laser or an Eliot 6?" Obviously in order to be considered you needed to express your concern by sailing the Bloody Mary handicap last week.

The Publisher ***** Feb 2, 2010, 12:28 PM Post #7 of 7 (10063 views) Shortcut Re: [The Publisher] Will the 29erXX help grow women's sailing? [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply In Reply To A chance to see this new class in action will be at the 2010 29erXX Seiko Superbowl Regatta on January 31 - February 3 in Miami, FL. Details: http://www.29er.org/index.php/Seiko-Superbowl-Regatta-Miami.html Daily reports posted here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/...m.cgi?post=9027#9027 - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt

Viewing the Forums: No members and 887 guests   DISCUSSION     Dock Talk     Event Reports MARINE INDUSTRY NEWS     Products and Services     Businesses and Personnel     Boats     Clothing and Accessories CLASSIFIED ADS - FREE     For sale: Products and Services     Wanted: Boats/Gear/Jobs     Available Jobs         Coaching/Instruction         Sailmaking         Other     Boats for sale         Sail: 25-feet and over         Sail: under 25-feet         Power

Search this forum this category all forums for All words Any words Whole Phrase (options)

Contact Forum

Forum FAQS

Markup Tags

Forum Rules