aus230 said...

I have reopened this thread in the interest of promoting ALSA, It is now established that it is a legitimate national body. So my hope is that we can have positive impute on here in the interest of promoting land sailing. It has been a long time coming but with everyone's help we can all benefit.

Update on our last meeting.
The 5.6 rope rule was discussed it was decided that anything built inside of that size was a mini. no other restrictions applied.This was accepted. Note: if sailors wish to race overseas there are some further restrictions that apply to that class.

The next national event was discussed and it was agreed that it would be held Lake Walyungup in Western Australia in January 2013. Date to be posted.

Cheers
Aus230

Your kidding me right? well that's just restricted the sport even further.....
Wasn't the Mini 5.6 Class an INTERNATIONAL standard ?
So I assume that a carbon fibre, wing masted yacht with custom made large wheels will be the entry point for newcomers to the sport?
Having an INTERNATIONAL standard is so important to encourage newbies to enter the sport and further expanding the sport.

One of the good things of the INTERNATIONAL Mini 5.6 Class was to enable beginners to compete and sail on an equal level with experienced sailors.
With an INTERNATIONAL standard it would lead to the importing and commercial manufacture of local yachts, and where does this now leave Blokarts.... at the back of the field I suppose further alienating that section of the sport.

Think about all school groups we have encouraged and assisted. They have built yachts investing time and money which are no longer in the competitive loop. You need to assume that this level of interest (potential future champions of the sport) would have no reason to pursue this as a school subject.

Or has the decision been made to enable a small few to expand their trophy collection? I fail to see how this decision benefits the sport in Australia, very disappointed to say the least.

Well the fun continues on and on in Ireland ..

Our monthly miniyacht races are proving a real hit with the regulars and with a mixture of yacht types the competition is great.

More Blokarts have started racing with us and the results of the races are always close with Blokart, Ludic,Windbob and Potty miniyachts all sharing 1st positions so the racing can be very close.

Different conditions and courses favour different types of miniyacht but having varied courses with a number of different legs has proven to make the races very close indeed.
Often sail size choice or lack of choice being the only real difference in performance. As we never start in under 8-10 mph we have no need for sails bigger than 4-5 sqm and most sail with 3.5 sqm all the time.

The Pro Blokart set up is very hard to beat but as the number of races increases the Potty's and Ludic's are getting back to the top of the podium more often.

So in conclusion, miniyacht racing here is Fun Fun Fun , is proving popular, is attracting new people to the sport and has also a "serious" side . Most importantly it is fun with everyone showing a competitive spirit.

We have now held 20 races over a few weekends, with 3 more weekends in the series yet to come and the one common thread is everyone smiles and laughs and goes home smiling and looking forward to the next event !!!!

No one here has any issues whatsoever with the miniyacht specifications and the way it is a Keep It Simple & Smile approach.

The weather Gods have been kind with lots of good wind and mild weather , thanks guys !
On 2nd Jan we even managed to get the Big yachts out for a great day too just to remind ourselves of the other more serious side of Sandyachting.

Hope everyone is having fun.

Alan

Some of our recent outings.........