UPDATE :
Worlds preview after the tune up regatta .
The 5 races of the bluewater classic gives a good impression of what to expect.
Not really surprising,but nevertheless still amazing is the fact that Glenn is far ahead of the others .
Scott Anderson also really surprises that he still is best of the rest.
Several other top guys like Luc Du Bois, Pete Melvin, Lars Guck were performing as expected .
Some others were little further down the pace then expected like Mitch Booth and Landy
(but this can be because of the fact both sailors didn't sail the a cat the last months ( or years)
So, catching up will be a steep learning curve here….)
The wind conditions were light to moderate .
Perfect conditions for tuning an rig testing . What sail to use / what wind to expect the coming week ?
Not all boats were in this tune up race yet, not every one was ready ,or just `sandbagging `around, so we will see !
This weekend measurements, and Monday the heat is really on with 100 boats on the line .
Biggest surprise in my opinion is the fact that Ben Hall did really well showing that his wing is competitive. That means in fact the wing is very good , considering it is the first wing build an sailed ever . All the other rigs are highly developed over the years, and this wing is build from scratch! Wow.
Mmm this means much more is possible , and this will worry some people….
Discussions guaranteed………
first snap shots :
smoking to the off set mark during race # 3
up wind fleet during race # 3
still looking odd.... is this the future ?
Ronstan A CAT Worlds TAKE OFF THIS WEEKEND ....
Thursday 8 and Friday 9 yh November warming up / tuning races during bluewater Classic .
Worlds are about to start... Weather forecasts predict perfect , windy conditions......
During the blue water classic things will be more clear about favorites .
Glenn Ashby , who just is crowned as 'victorian sportsperson of the year' ( see www.ashbysails.com) is of course the # 1 rated sailore of the fleet .
Glenn seems unbeatable the last two years.
The strongest contenders will be US' champion Lars Guck , on the A3 , Aussie super experienced Scott Anderson again on The Geltek and Dutch Champion Sjoerd Hoekstra on the Tool.
Off Course the other Aussies,(ex team mates), Andrew Landenberger on the Marstrom and Mitch Booth on the XJ ? or Flyer?? must be considered as serious top 5 candidates .
Among the guys listed above, other favoritesfor top ten are in my opinion : Pete Melvin ( US) , Murray Phillpott (NZL), Luc Du Bois ( SUI) and Eugenio Calabria (ITA)
Difficult to predict how the several US sailors will perform . Some of them for the first time a an international A cat championship.. Big names Like Randy Smyth , Charlie Ogletree ( who by the way was already top 5 at the 2002 A class worlds .....) , Cam Lewis , Howard Hamlin, Robbie Daniel....
really exiting to see how things develop over the next week ....
stay tuned ...
PJ
Ronstan A cat worlds 2007 coming up soon ....
The list of the approved entrants to the 2007 A-class WC is really impressive, no doubt the best ever with four past A class Champion (Glenn Ashby, Scott Anderson, Pete Melvin and Mitch Booth, who comes back to sail a major A class event after 13 years), six Olympic medalists (Randy Smyth, Jay and Pease Glaser, Charlie Ogletree, Andrew Landenberger and Goran Marstrom), a world known maxi-multihull skipper (Cam Lewis), a 18' skiff WC (Howie Hamlin), the current DN WC (Matt Struble), a prominent yacht designer (Mike Drummond) etc.
Very seldom a sailing event has gathered such a various and qualified attendance.
Equally impressive is the boats' roster which includes the first ever A-cat fitted with a wing sail, (according to me Ben Hall's project is worth at least the same deal of attention paid to Rohan Veal's flying Moth), the radical platform designed by Richard Roake for Ian and John Lindhal, (I read rumours about a new type of mainsail to be tailored for it by Randy Smyth), the evolutionary boat developed by Peter Cogan, the new Swedish state-of-the-art wonder (the Marstrom M5) together with the more or less old Flyer Mk2, Bimare/VMI XJ, Tools...
-- Maurizio Giuggioli
To whom it may concern:
I am resending this press release to you for your preview with some additional information.
The 2007 Ronstan A-Cat Worlds was already shaping up to be a phenomenal and exciting regatta, with many of the top A-Cat sailors in the world in attendance, but the stakes have gotten even bigger.
An entry list that already boasted many big names in the sailing world just grew better.
Randy Smyth will be sailing on the new and radical Lindahl & Roake designed LR2 with evidently an equally radical sail that he has designed for the boat.
Robbie Daniel, fresh from the exciting US Tornado Class Olympic trials will make his debut on A’s at the event.
Ben Hall, long time A-Class sailor will be making a start on the newly designed,
Peter Cogan Nikita featuring a rigid wing sail that Ben built.
Also Charlie Ogletree fresh off of his impressive win at the US Olympic Trials securing a spot on the US Sailing Team in the Tornado class for his fourth straight Olympic appearance will attend.
Matt Struble has jumped over from the DN class to try his hand at A-Class sailing and Cam Lewis is putting aside Maxi-cats (Team Adventure) & 505’s for the moment to focus upon this regatta.
Howie Hamlin, a recent convert from 505’s, I14 and other performance dinghies will be on a Morreli & Melvin A3 with a Glaser main.
Goran Marström will be showcasing the new Marström M5 A-class catamaran at the event.
The field is full of former world champions, Olympic medalists and some of the best sailors from around the world.
Adding to this exciting field is the shear amount of design and engineering that is in play at the event.
Glenn Ashby will be on his Geltek Flyer MKII with the latest iteration of Ashby sails.
The new Scheuerer Generation 5, The Tool from Wayne Mercer in Australia, the battle proven Bimare XJ, the Spanish built and designed Balance, the Radical LR2, the Peter Cogan designed Nikita (one with Hall spar & one with Rigid Wing), the European built Aicher/Egner Flyer and some of the other platforms will make for exciting racing on and off the course.
Who will come out on top? Will it be Lars Guck who has dominated the US fleet for the past two years, will Glenn Ashby, current A-Class, F18 and Tornado World champion win or Pete Melvin who’s consistent finishes always rank him among the top of the fleet?
Or will it be Ben Hall with his rigid wing, Randy Smyth on a radical boat with radical sails and a person who has proven he can jump on anything and win? Will it be a world champion from another class, Howie Hamlin, Matt Struble, Robbie Daniel or Cam Lewis? Can Cam make the jump from the 110’ Team Adventure and place on an 18’ A-cat?
The rig and sails will also add a great deal to this battle on the water. Spars from Hall Spar, Fiberfoam, Riba Composites, Saarberg and a few others will be paired with sails from Glaser Sails, Ullman (Italy and US), Landenberger, Ashby Sails, OXO Sails and Goodall Sails to name a few including a new Randy Smyth sail purpose built for the regatta and Ben Hall’s Rigid Wing sail as well. The excitement build, the race is on to see who comes out on top of the A-Cat World!
Thank you,
Thomas T Siders
US-79
some additional info :
http://www.catsailor.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=113917&an=0&page=0#Post113917
http://www.catsailor.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=119274&an=0&page=7#Post119274
http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=18037