I will bite one last time. I dont have a presentation tomorrow so everyone can feel free to "Dont feed the trolls" me at work.
1 - You raised a query regarding my sources on a public forum. You removed it a little later, but it was there nonetheless.
2 - I have never passed the written works of another as mine. Give me one example. The only time I quoted a document was my last post where I quoted an excerpt of the America's Cup Deed of Gift, and I put that in quotes to indicate it was a quote.
3 - I didn't make any remark until the third page of this thread - how could I be condescending to the person who started it?
4 - To be accused of some sort of intellectual plagiarism because I gathered knowledge from books and first hand experience, and then to be told that I am condescending is a bit rude too if you ask me.
5 - To be questioned because of the style of my writing! Honestly, there is no conspiracy here.
It just happens that the AC is a pet subject of mine, among many others. I am not a bad person - really. I am willing to admit when I am wrong, and don't ever hold grudges. But I will stick my nose in when I believe incorrect information is being offered.
I will happily forward you my sailing resume if that is what you require to establish that I have first hand knowledge and am not just sitting at my desk hastily pulling information from books and paraphrasing it for your benefit.
I am sorry if you felt aggrieved by the content or tone of my posts, it was not my intention to put you or anyone else offside.
Can we now get back to normal programming?
JB
I thought you had seen my error and was waiting to be appropriately chastised. I will plead guilty on the charge your honour.
JB
Select to expand quoteWannabe said...
Laser, 49er, Soling, 420, 470, Windsurfer OD, Tasar, Elliott 6, Tornado, Finn, Europe
I know i shouldn't bite here, but the people who sail most of these classes probably wouldn't agree that, although being one design, they are the same.
Lasers, for example, have two rather different sail makers. One of which is considered to be far superior and the only choice if you want to win in top level racing.
Tornados are one design in concept, however (correct me if i am wrong) the sails can be made by any manufacturer to fit within a sail area. One team (can't remember who atm but was skippered by an ex-aussie) turned up to the Olympics in China with a spinnaker designed to be used upwind.
The 49er has just had a major rig upgrade, changing to a carbon-fiber mast, square top mainsail and i believe a larger jib. From all the fleets i have seen since the change (excluding world titles) the majority of the class is still sailing with the old rig, which is considerably slower, and considered to be more difficult to sail.
Tasars ( a class i am close to) have their differences. Walk around the boat park and you will not find two identical boats. Over their 30+ years they have been made from several different moulds around the world, the position of the centerboard has been moved, the materials have changed (the original boats were made from Kevlar) and the sails have recently had a major upgrade where each batch of sails made has their differences from the last.
420's have several suppliers, with only one (German i believe) being seen as the 'choice of champions'.
Im sure i could go on if i put the time into researching the other classes if i had time but the point i am trying to make is that there is not really any racing with identical boats. One design is a great concept in reducing costs, but it still doesn't make completely fair racing. People will always spend more money to try to improve their performance.
I agree completely, but that does noy make them any less one design. The laser is a "Strict one design" where the class tries to restrict every aspect of the boat. while other classes allow rig variations. Every class boat suffers from manufacturing tolerences (up to 10% in some aspects of the hull) but the intention is to build them all the same.
If you showed up to a Tasar Nationals with a 29er they would probably notice straight away ;-)
My point in the above post was to demonstrate that with AC boats there is no intent to build the boats identically (hence they are not one design).
JB
