Here here.... I second this sentiment. Greg, and Bram alike, have
worked tirelessly in helping bring single handed skiff sailing to the
US. And I for one am very grateful.
As an aside. I want to briefly comment on the situation, and the
venue. After having been to the Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club on a
number of occasions. Sometimes for social visits. And once to assist
on race comity for one of there more famous regattas. I have two
statements to make. One, the SHBCC put on a wonderful regatta, that I
feel honored to have assisted with. And two, I did not meet any one
at the club that was not very excited to see the skiffs "on the
beach". If you are wondering what the sentiment of the club is. I
feel confident that the anonymous postings to this list do not
reflect the majority of the club. (To be precise, they are quite
happy to have us around. To watch us swim, and sail)
Al Pritchard
Swift Solo #069 - Anastasia
On Nov 22, 2005, at 1:30 PM, BDally6107@xxxxxxx wrote:
For some time I've been looking for a way to publicly thank the
members of our class for all the work you've done to help make the
Swift one of the fastest growing skiff classes in the world.
A look at the email on the list server while I was gone is a great
example of the kind of strength and class loyalty that surfaces
when the foundation of a class is built on home builders. The
synergy and brotherhood created by the process of building our own
high performance skiffs has been underestimated by most in the
sailing world—including myself. All of us who have also bought
Swifts that were commercially built benefit from this strong base
of people who have first hand experience (I've built and bought two
each).
I was pleased to see that everyone pretty much ignored the
“wankermail” that was posted to the site while I was gone. Nearly
everyone on the list knows of the work that Greg has done for the
class and recognized this as an attack by someone who is threatened
by the fact that there will soon be a fleet of Swifts sailing at
Sandy Hook. I understand that this guy has been removed from the
list now. As our class grows, we will continue to occasionally see
this kind of attack and we should continue to handle it just as we
did this time.
On the other hand, this guy did cause me to reflect on the things
that Greg has done for our class and for skiff sailing and I have
to admit that his post managed to piss me off more than it did Greg:
Greg and I go back to before the Swift class was being formed.
When I was the US class president for the 49er class Greg was
engaged in trying to help build the 49er fleet in the East. A
number of circumstances had doomed the class and it was the single
most frustrating memory in my sailing career.
At that time if you lived in North America you had to buy 49ers
from the US builder and it had become clear that their boats
remained competitive for only a couple of regattas before they
would no longer hold rig tension and became very slow. This
company was also the only source for 49er parts and they were
making life miserable for anyone who needed parts by overcharging
and failing to ship. They had designed a similar double trapeze
boat that they were trying to market. To compound the problem, the
class had voted to change the equalization system, the outcome of
which made it impossible for any team that didn't weigh 148 kg to
be competitive. These problems were added to the fact that the
boat was difficult to sail when the wind velocity changed because
there were no reasonable on-the-water rig adjustments. Greg was
helping me fight to fix these problems because he realized that it
would be impossible to build a 49er fleet in the East under the
prevailing circumstances. In the end, we learned that the majority
of full time Olympic contenders that controlled the class had no
stake in fixing the problems and refused to help (they were buying
their own boats at regattas overseas and having them shipped back
to the USA and in a short time, teams who didn't weigh 148 kg left
the class, reducing the competition for that one Olympic spot).
Five years after these problems decimated the 49er fleets in the
US, the ISAF joined Julian and went around the class members by
throwing out the equalization system entirely, and adding poor but
workable rig adjustment capabilities so that part time sailors can
now sail the boat in a variety of conditions. In addition, the US
manufacturer's competing design failed miserably. They had quit
building 49ers about four years ago (shortly after their competing
design hit the market) and now import them from the NZ builder.
Continuous pressure from Greg, myself, and Dave Fagen forced them
to start providing reasonably parts service.
I was developing the Swift as a trainer for 49er sailing and had
learned a lot from the battles that Greg and I were fighting. When
the boat was launched, it was clear that the design far exceeded my
design capabilities-- thanks in large part to the frustrating
lessons learned at the helm of the US 49er class. The brilliance
of the Bethwaite’s had become clear to me and I was wise enough to
realize that I should not try to reinvent the wheel that they had
developed so well. Rather, I would adapt and adjust their theories
to single handed sailing. Greg, having witnessed the problems and
helped in the battles, immediately realized that the Swift was a
potentially giant step forward and decided to join the class. More
than anything else, his decision would shape the class into what it
is today. Below is the list of his contributions to the class:
When we ran the US supplier out of 49er launcher throats, Greg came
up with the current core and construction method which is lighter,
stronger, and in the end, less expensive.
When we ran the US supplier out of 49er forestay fittings, Greg
and I teamed up, argued until we reached agreement on the design,
and Greg manufactured the current fittings that are superior to any
skiff forestay fitting that I’ve seen on any skiff to date. The
ideas that make it best are Greg's ideas.
When we ran the US supplier out of carbon 49er tillers, Greg
developed the current method and cores.
When we ran the US supplier out of blades, Greg and I teamed up,
used his cores, and together developed the lightest blades
available anywhere. When the early designs failed, we worked out
the solution together.
Greg purchased and developed the inflatable that the class now
counts on for rescue and coaching with the intention of using it
when the other Swifts in NY are completed and in need of coaching.
His purpose in starting the Skiff League is to promote skiff
sailing in NY and he is well on the way to building a Swift class
at Sandy Hook. He knows that it will take a couple of years to get
his own start but they should have at last three there by mid summer.
This is the short list and fails miserably to cover Greg's
contribution to the class.
Thanks for letting this guys email go by not responding to it. As
we become more successful, expect more attacks on the boat and on
our members. The world will always have a few wankers that lack
the courage required to either build or sail a skiff and find it
necessary to try to bring down those who do.
Forgive me for responding, but if there is one new subscriber that
doesn't know Greg, perhaps this bit of history may help.
Have a great thanksgiving and thanks to all or you for your help
while I was gone.
Best regards,
Bram
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