www.Dabchick.za.net

by Don Finkle, RCR Yachts
They say old habits die hard and change is seldom easy. When you have people who are accustomed to doing things the same way, and “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, then you get the same thing year after year. This explains why races are typically run in the same place by the same people on the same courses year after year.

Often the organizers and volunteers think they are doing the right thing because it feels normal to them. What we have begun to see recently, however, is declining participation because the sailors themselves want change, and it isn’t necessarily because those running the races are doing anything wrong. On the contrary, the level of RC work is usually very good and those putting on the events are trying hard.

So what is the issue? Lifestyles have changed, sailors are busier than ever, and the whole family dynamic must be considered. Gone are the days when the head of the household (sorry about the term, could not think of a better way to put it) did whatever he/she wanted to on weekends. This puts pressure on those running races, series and regattas to create something that causes the sailor to make the time and financial commitment to sail instead of other choices.

When it is all viewed together it appears that many sailors want something that is different from what they have done in the past. Let’s face it, we are all so spoiled with the variety of choices we have today in every aspect of life and that certainly includes leisure time. Same-old, same-old won’t cut it any longer for many, especially younger sailors.

This topic has been bandied about and we are far from the only ones saying it; the real question is what to do about it? The challenge is to be constructive with the changes so that old relationships and competitive rivalries are not lost and we don’t have to give up going to places we love to visit. It seems that racers still enjoy racing, they simply want more variety, some new twists, maybe an opportunity for a better result.

Some things being tried are different closed course configurations other than strictly W-Ls, pursuit racing, rally racing, short-handed sailing, and gender or age specific helming and crewing. Distance racing is making a comeback too. The HPR is gaining a bit of traction in its small segment of the sport. Sportboats are gaining in popularity.

Is your club, fleet or organization trying new things this year?

Source: RCR Yachts Racer’s News #546

We can do this with Dabbies, come Cape Town what about the waterfront ??

TO SEE THE ACTION CLICKETY CLICK Relay promotional

by Mikkel Thommessen
A relay in the Laser class with two teams and four members on each team – two girls and two boys – was successfully organized during Oslo Boat Show in Norway on April 25.

The idea was to introduce a challenging new format easily accessible to the public, in an arena only 30 meters wide and 150 meters long, with emphasis on the sailors physics and techniques.

The result was spectacular: the regatta was extremely close fought between eight of the best Laser sailors in the country, among them, two ISAF junior World champions Tiril Bue and Line Flem Høst.

For the sailors it was a very fair and physically demanding exercise, and for the audience it was easy to understand what was going on, the fights were intense and dramatic with boats capsizing twice despite the near zero wind conditions. Unlimited body movements and touching of marks was allowed. The sailors loved it and the president of the Norwegian Sailing Federation, Tor Moinichen exclaimed after the race, “This could be a way to go.”

Is this what sailing needs in order to get revitalized and to seek new audiences?

The same way cross country ski sprint, parallel slalom and ski cross has revitalized and revolutionized skiing, sailing needs to seek new ways, not to replace traditional sailing, to add passion and excitement to the sport.

Stop compromising traditional sailing by pulling the course too close to the shore where the conditions never can be fair. Instead design a new discipline, far from traditional sailing, but where elements such as maneuverability, technique and stamina are favored. No wind required… it could even be sailed in indoor swimming pools.

Video produced by Axel Nissen-Lie.

Every Morning I find attempts by Hackers to get into this site.This morning I was presented with an article on hair extensions and a shoes for sale cataloque. Fortunately they are being blocked by the system,but I worry that someone is going to get past the blockers and post some porn or something. It just amazes me how these small minded people waste time in this site when they can test their skills on NASA, CIA ,ANC DA and whatever.

Owen

Results WP Champs

Paul Eccleston has been experimenting with ideas on how to modernise the Dabchick and make it more appealing.

Here is Paul trying out one of his ideas at the Vaaldam (Megan doesnt want to have anything to do with it).

Dabbie Re-design

The International Topper Class Association (ITCA)have made South African sailors a great offer.

…They are giving free charter boats for those South Africans that are interested in sailing the Topper world championship from the 9 -15 of August this year in Wales. There is also a travel grant available.
This ISAF World Championships also includes the Intercontinental Cup for Lady Sailors and the International Masters event.

As you can see this Topper event is for ages and sizes.
For anyone that is interested to make use of this great opportunity please contact Elfie on info@sailingrsa.co.za or 0828263825. Visit www.topper2014.com

SEE THE PROMO HERE CLICKETY CLICK Topper worlds promo

Wooden Dabchick 3078 completely refurbished and upgraded to the new “fibreglass” look.
Hull is sound and dry.
2 sets of sails, one old and one fairly decent set.
Two sets of foils, rudder and centreboard, one older style and one new style.
Foils bag, sail bag, wooden dolly and spares. …
All proceeds go towards Milnerton Aquatic Sailing Development Fund.
R5000
Contact Andre at 0828551000 awollheim@tarsus.co.za (Cape Town)

Dabchick

Its often said that many of the greatest racing drivers started with Mini-Coopers, and the same is often said of sailors and Dabbies. The Dabchick turned out to be one of the best sail training boats ever. This is the purest sailing you can imagine, although it helps if you have warm water! They are very sensitive boats and equally rewarding. Anyone sailing a Dabby develops strong instincts for the key elements of sailing viz. boat balance, sail trim, concentrating on the helm, anticipating the waves, weight distribution aboard etc – and a sense of how these can make you go faster or not. I think the element of single-handing comes into it as well, which in turns brings a level of resourcefulness and self reliance that is natural to Dabbie sailors. People who learn sailing on keel-boats often don’t get this experience easily.

Dabbies perform uniquely well, especially in fresh winds. Their flat scow shape makes them quite controllable when planing at speed, and their well-balanced rig – main and jib – is fairly predictable and orthodox. Off the wind, they go like blazes, easily planing, and bouncing over the back of the waves as you surf over them. When beating, they can be heeled over to an extreme angle – ride on the vertical gunwales – although this isn’t the right way to go fast it did seem like fun at the time! Dead downwind – they can bury their bows and submarine while lifting the rudder out of the water if one had a fair load on board.

Dabbies are about the simplest boats to build and were very cheap then … made of three sheets of ply, a few bits of meranti, Aerolite epoxy glue, a strip of fibreglass on the keelson, decent paint, and brass screws. No power-tools used. By comparison they seem quite high-tech now. My first Dabby had no bought components besides the mainsheet blocks and the stay wires, excluding the chainplates. All other fittings were simply fabricated from stainless steel off-cuts. The mast was wooden, with a track routed into each of the meranti halves. The sails were “K” sails – made in Dacron by Jack Koper (well I seem to think his wife made the sails). The whole effort cost less than R100 in 1967.

Besides the low cost – the simplicity of Dabbies made them so attractive. The flat topped hull was light and easy to move and lift – making them manageable for even quite young children. Lifting onto car tops, storing in garage etc was also easier. Not to mention that the hull can’t hold water – they were also relatively safe in that respect.
The hull-design of scow dinghies is another fascinating point. Every boat needs a fine bow to soften the waves it hits. The bow can be soft in plan view or in the side elevation – i.e. pointy when viewed from above, or flat and tapered when viewed from the side… They each have pros and cons. For keelboats and displacement vessels, the pointy (plumb) bows seem attractive because they offer a longer waterline length, and create smooth lines to deep wineglass hulls. They usually track well. If waterline length isn’t the key factor as in planing boats – then broad bows are good because they create a smooth run for water under the hull plus no sharp bends near the bow. When a V-bottom scow dinghy heels slightly – it is running on a flat underside which offers maximum lift and minimum wetted area.

Key measurements:

•LOA 3.6m
•Beam: 1.2m
•Dry Weight 38.6 Kgs
•Sail Area 5.6 sq.m

Note the length is exactly 1.5x a standard sheet of ply, and the width exactly equal to one sheet. No wastage here!

It is fantastic to see how the class is thriving in at least Cape Town, Hermanus and Mossel Bay at least – though I understand there are active classes all over the country and in fact many Dabchicks around the world now. Total numbers over 5000.

There can’t really be a better boat for kids to learn sailing on….

Clickety Click Latest Sailing Magazine

If ISAF actually wants to promote sailing, it needs to enable kids around the world to find out for themselves that sailing is the ultimate sport. It needs to realise that its Key Performance Indicators are not about Olympiad TV viewers but the number of people, around the world who participate in sailing, whatever the flavour, whatever their age, gender, ability, or shoe-size. And it needs to get the message across to the masses that sailing is not a sport exclusively for the rich but can be enjoyed on a shoe-string by pretty much anyone.

Oh, and put team racing in the games – now that is a a thrilling watch
These comments in my view sum up why we battle to attract youngsters into sailing. From a Dabchick point of view we need more “Go Pro” footage from you guys on screaming reaches and in other hairy situations. We need then to market these videos on this site, facebook,you tube and anywhere else where we can get an audience. Some of you have already put together some great footage – we need more so lets get to work. This is the era of Social Media, this is how we communicate, the days of posters presentations etc are gone.

Owen