dabchick.za.net

Ok let’s hope this actually shows up (I’m setting a future post date…)

Just a note to wish everyone a good Christmas and New Years (I won’t be posting until after then - although I might set some stuff to appear …) - have a good one.

Ah - back home again, finally (yes I will say it … I don’t really like the Vaal that much ;)).

But it was a good regatta, besides certain issues such as camping fees (I might just deal with this in a later post…) the sailing was good and we pretty much had a good regatta. I’ll put up the new rankings once someone decides it would be a good idea to post the results on the internet …

‘Youth Nationals’
It was very interesting listening to SAS’s declaration that this was now the ‘South African Sailing Youth Nationals’ (and that there would also be a ‘South African Sailing Nationals’). While I liked their idea of ‘looking after their sailors’ and sending the top 10 Dabchick (and others from other classes) sailors to a selection regatta to represent the country at Youth Worlds (but how come the oppies get to send 30? :D) I started wondering about what this means for the Dabchick class.

To start with one has to remember that most classes have their own national event, unlike most classes the Dabchicks (along with Optimists) hold this event along with other classes. Previously it was just the Dabchicks and oppies - but now it is moved on to Lasers and other classes.

Because of this simple fact I am convinced that Dabchick numbers are already falling at nationals (some people sail another classes nationals for experience - you will find me at Sonnet Nationals).

This however is not my primary issue - what is the problem is that normally nationals is circulated between each province: meaning that next year we should be in the Eastern Cape. However the decision seems to have been made to move the nationals to the Western Cape on a SAS level.

Firstly what this shows is a complete disregard for the right of a class to decide on the location of their nationals (DASA was not involved in any discussions - SAS should be fully aware at what regatta Dabchick Nationals take place) and secondly it shows that SAS is shifting the attention away from the Dabchick class and to the Laser class (as the regatta is being used as a Laser 4.7 pre-worlds).

I am not sure what the answer to this particular issue is going to be - a separate nationals will simply be inconvenient - perhaps Dabchick and Optimist nationals should be moved away from the Youth Nationals? I’ll try and cover this further at a later stage.

New Sails
Those who were at the AGM will know that mylar sails and full top battens are being brought up again - this time from the legendary Greg Davis camp.  Hopefully in the following year we will see some nice advancements to our class which will make things even better - watch this space for more developments.
Class promotion
It was one of the things talked about at the AGM but not agreed upon, personally I think that a lot of it is up to us as sailors to convince oppie sailors to move onto Dabchicks. However a big part will also involve convincing the parents that the Dabchick is the way to go, again watch this space for more.

Ah - the inevitable discussion - how best to start. Considering that nationals is just a few days away perhaps these two links might be useful to some.

Firstly there is an interesting discussion at Sailing Anarchy has some good advice, but perhaps some which will require a bit more time to practise.
Secondly there is Getting Good Starts, Part One over at SailNet by Zack Leonard which has a bit to say about your priorities on the start line - and Part Two is also useful. Although I haven’t had a chance to look through them yet - SailNet’s other racing articles look interesting as well.

From my own experience from what I have been told by various coaches, a transit is one of the most important things you can know on a start line (especially with long start lines while trying to get the ever important front row start). The Clear Air, Clear Water and Clear Room principle is also important (clear air being obvious, clear water referring to unobstructed water so your foils can grip and clear room referring to room to sail your own race).

A good start almost always results in a good race … so let’s hope the Vaal is nice to us.

Suddenly realising today that some of us don’t actually know were Aeolians Yacht Club is… So after being directed to the SAS website I see the following on the yacht club’s entry:

Aeolians Club is situated on the eastern shore of North Bay, Vaal Dam. Access from Johannesburg is via the N3 to Heidelburg, then turn off through the town to the Vaal Dam road (R549). This road takes you to the intersection with the Vereeniging/Villiers road (R54). Turn left and after approx. 5 km, look out for the (small) Aeolians sign on the right (before the Stilbaai turnoff). A gravel road takes you to the club (take any unmarked forks to the left!). Alternatively, from Johannesburg, take the R26 freeway to Vereeniging, turning off at Meyerton, to follow the Vaal Dam signs past the suburb of Riverside, after which you turn right to Uitsig. This takes you (straight over 2 stop streets) to the Vereeniging/Villiers road and the intersection referred to above. 

Let’s hope that is accurate … that’s how I’m getting there

Using a system similar to the Oppies’ one I have compiled the current national rankings from the WC, EC and NV provincial results - if someone can send me the KZN results then I can include those as well.Basically it works by giving the average of your two best final positions (if you did not attend you get total of biggest fleet + 1) - so at the moment you have 1 discard. The final results after nationals will be made up of your two best provincial championships + nationals.

Here are the current top 15 positions (click the More… link to view them all) - note the average points (positions). A number in italics means did not attend and a negative number means that it is discarded.