Monday 8/16/2010, was the start of the first ever, RG-65 World Championships.
Via email, I received the following links if you are interested in seeing and following.
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.es/caymcaym/MundialRG65150710#
Race Web Site: http://www.yca.org.ar/Section.aspx?Id=1215
Hi Dick.
I came few days to Bs. Aires and was there…amazing, the brazileans are very fast and some hulls all in carbon weight barely 50 grams or less is hard to believe, but is like grabbing air in your hands!!
the weight of the boats have been rising from 850 grms. to 1.300 grms. the lighter fin and bulb for A rig and the heavier for B and C. fins from 27 to 45 cms. long, what a countless kind of designs and theories…!!!
The french team was very lucky because they came prepared for low winds and the first day was so calm that only 3 races per fleet were achieved.
With higher winds they will have a hard worhk managing long fins and big sails.
That is all for now
Tato Lazo
Hi friends:
Here you will find some photos.
http://www.yca.org.ar/Section.aspx?Id=1339
http://picasaweb.google.es/caymcaym/MundialRG65160810#
http://picasaweb.google.es/caymcaym/MundialRG65170810#
cheers
Maximo
A few more pictures are available in :
http://rg65.free.fr/album/thumbnails.php?album=68
http://www.cvrc.cl/index.php?option=com_…2&Itemid=1
BR
Pascal
Hi, Pascal,
can you post some of your impressions espcially from a European point of view?
Hola Haegar
We were promised strong winds and we sailed rig A all the time.
Chileans came with large (wide) boats, they had no chance.
The rules will need clarification on the number of rigs and keels authorised “for the race of the day”
All sailors were higly motivated, all boats (except ours maybe) were superbly prepared. Not one boat with hard chine, not one abandoning before the end of the races (maybe the registration cost also ?)
Super helmsmen on the water, some coming back fron the IOM World Championships…
Top class organisation, it was more than six months of work (weekly meetings) to set it up, the biggest Yacht Club of Argentina was in support (we should have come with a tie and a blazer ?).
Superb rigs, swing rigs were really superior with light winds, especially downwind whereI was losing 2 to 3 places minimum…
Bresilians boats dominated the upper end of the scoreboard, more a preparation plan than a design advantage. Their boats are narrow and drawn to carry a heavy ballast to stay in “A” longer, it was not difficult that week though.
Teamwork was their strength, with identical optimised boats (3x35g fibreglass hulls, super light RC (mini LiPo batteries)… All optimised.
From my records of the IDM 2009, Europe would have been behind.
No magic in their design though. Although they were trying to sell them at smiling prices, the boats were not all carbon and outrageous materials. Still under control.
Home made boats will soon have no chance if the trend continues however. For the next Mundial (I promised it would be in Eurpoe) we should make a special cup for wooden baots !
I came with a 950cc Apsara and low classic gigs (the promise of heavy winds). The hull was fine, I could hold upwind but the donwind legs were frustrating (and as a result you start sailingstupid…)
A word on the Argentine fleet, they had no-one in the tables bottom.
A few photos on http://rg65.free.fr/album/index.php
Tschuess !
Calou
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Thanks Calou - I believe that as more countries attend these events, more technology and ideas will go back home with the competitors. This in turn will help optimize the fleets in each country, so after a few World events, the placement with be more even. Perhaps the wooden boats will continue to race in local regional and perhaps national events, while the others will show up for the World events. As it should be, the best boats and prepared skippers should be the top of the list. Hopefully the lesser sailor will still attend for the fun, learning, and meeting of others from other countries.
Again, thank you for taking the time to post.
Regards,
Dick Lemke
USA #005
Thanks, Pascal,
this confirms my impression from the last German championship. The overall package has become important.
The upwind parts require a very good helmsman, downwind you have to choose the right combination from hull, rigg and keel for maximum speed.
A good boat alone is no longer sufficient to win, especially because the difference in performance between the good designs became smaller and smaller.
My own experience from Lübeck this year
One mistake - no chance for a result in the upper ranks
Two mistakes - relegation
…
Pascal,
thanks for your comprehensive view on this years worlds. Not having been there, I still have some questions, referring to your points above…
Does that mean, that changing the keel was allowed/practiced during the races of ONE day? This is the way we do it in Germany, and it has a great impact on the performance of the boat, but I was under the impression that this is prohibited by the international rules?
I agree, had the same impression in this years German championship. You can keep up with them while beating, but on the reach or run you wil definetly loose some ground. As soon as the wind picks up, the swing rig looses its advantage…
The fleets in Europe have improved dramatically since the 2009 iDM. This years competition in Lübeck was way harder with tight finishes at the top of all fleets. Having to relegate from the B to the A fleet was not an easy task, I was told.
What does a professional builder do better than a home builder? I would like to understand your thought here, but I currently see no expensive technologies that offer you a significant advantage in terms of the stability to weight ratio…from a material perspective, I would say the home builders have access to materials, that allow comparable weights to the brazilian hulls…vacuum bagging/resin infusion is not a big advantage in my opinion, as there is so little material being used…it of course allows you to build very good quality hulls.
Appreciating your comments, and thanks for sharing your experiences at the worlds…
regards,
Cord
Hi Cord,
Re.1, You had to announce a keek and rudder for the day, it was recorded before the races.
Re.7, there was nothing an experienced home builder couldn’t do. What happens often however is that the better builder is not the better helmsman, and the Brazilian teamwork has been critical to their success.
The are eager to come to Europe and test us, we need to talk on that subject further this autumn !
Calou