The whole discours about flying boats has calmed down now.
A minority is flying and the majority is not.
Other projects show that it is the future the sport is heading too. See the efforts of Michele Petrucci with his flying cat, the Flying Phantom, the Groupama and Hydros C-class cats, the White dragon, the new NACRA 20, the flying kiteboards, the flying SL 33, the GC32, the almost flying Gunboat 45 and the coming AC 62.
The step is not bigger than going from straight boards to curved boards. Most boats with curved board can be upgraded with some effort to flying boats.
We already see the flying DNA, the flying Exploder and the flying Scheurer. The most succesful A-class builders in recent years have already take the plunge and have both accepted and embraced the new reality.
Sailing the flying boats can be mastered by any good sailor who can sail with the curved boards too. It is more demanding though. It is not more physical than sailing with the curved boards but you have to be more concentrated which is a source of exhaustion too. If you are sailing the flying boats you cannot back-off. You sail the boat or full-on or really slow. There is no way in between. Glenn always tells others that the more you push a high performance cat the less you get into trouble. This is even more true for the flying boat.
You have more control but at the same time you have to be alert as well. No more cartwheels but it is an balancing act the full leg.
It did take several seasons before sailors could do the wildthing after it was introduced by Mith Booth in the Tornado 2 decadeds ago.
It will not take that long to see the majority of the fleet flying.
When the curved boards arrived we also did see mixed fleets and only after the DNA was introduced the class fully embraced the curved boards as it was the first time a competitive boat was availalble to a significant number of sailors.
Let's go sailing now and we will see that the best sailors still win.
The number of entries for the Europeans show that the class is going well and the future looks even brighter.
A minority is flying and the majority is not.
Other projects show that it is the future the sport is heading too. See the efforts of Michele Petrucci with his flying cat, the Flying Phantom, the Groupama and Hydros C-class cats, the White dragon, the new NACRA 20, the flying kiteboards, the flying SL 33, the GC32, the almost flying Gunboat 45 and the coming AC 62.
The step is not bigger than going from straight boards to curved boards. Most boats with curved board can be upgraded with some effort to flying boats.
We already see the flying DNA, the flying Exploder and the flying Scheurer. The most succesful A-class builders in recent years have already take the plunge and have both accepted and embraced the new reality.
Sailing the flying boats can be mastered by any good sailor who can sail with the curved boards too. It is more demanding though. It is not more physical than sailing with the curved boards but you have to be more concentrated which is a source of exhaustion too. If you are sailing the flying boats you cannot back-off. You sail the boat or full-on or really slow. There is no way in between. Glenn always tells others that the more you push a high performance cat the less you get into trouble. This is even more true for the flying boat.
You have more control but at the same time you have to be alert as well. No more cartwheels but it is an balancing act the full leg.
It did take several seasons before sailors could do the wildthing after it was introduced by Mith Booth in the Tornado 2 decadeds ago.
It will not take that long to see the majority of the fleet flying.
When the curved boards arrived we also did see mixed fleets and only after the DNA was introduced the class fully embraced the curved boards as it was the first time a competitive boat was availalble to a significant number of sailors.
Let's go sailing now and we will see that the best sailors still win.
The number of entries for the Europeans show that the class is going well and the future looks even brighter.
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