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Our Foreign Correspondent Reports - The world is in dire need of Liberation
Our Globe-trotting Foreign Correspondent, last heard of on Vancouver Island and since then recorded as possibly MIA, has at last filed a slightly inflammatory report on the state of skiff sailing around the world. If you think that hiking is fun or that reversing while tacking is acceptable, this may not be the article for you.
THE WORLD IS IN DIRE NEED OF LIBERATION..........ONLY YOU CAN HELP. THE WORLD NEEDS YOU!!!
by Daniel Wise - Buster Bloodvessel
Its official. After traveling through 11 different countries I can report that the state of skiff sailing in the world is up shit creek. We don't know how lucky we are in New Zealand with a strong skiff class such as the R-Class. VIVA LOS RCLASS!!! It seems that the world outside of downunder is obsessed with those king-sized posturepedic futons that we love to call the H@#$e Cat. In saying this, however, I did happen to note a rather irate letter to the editor of the US based Pacific Yachting magazine bemoaning the sailing skills and downright ignorance of the sailors of the afore mentioned popular class of so-called yacht. Sound familiar anyone??
As if this was not enough, dare I mention the words, Olympic class boats are also sailed in relatively large numbers. Could anyone think of anything more exciting than sailing a single or no trapeze (except of course the rather infamous 49er) yacht and actually having to Hike Out on windy days?? I shudder to think what must be going through the minds of these hardy individuals. Obviously, they don't have the agility, or down right ignorance, for their own health that is required to sail a skiff.
I happened to be reading a prominent US outdoor magazine a couple of months ago, which advertised on the front cover an exciting exposay on an exciting new class of skiff. Well, of course this caught my attention straight away, as it would any skiff sailor with his heart in the right place. Well, this boat in question was promoted as being the next best thing to sliced bread. On the cutting edge of technology and required a highly skilled sailor to master. Ah ha! I thought, there is hope for the world yet. Reading on, I found the yacht in question to be a 29er. While I was impressed with the large story and outright enthusiasim for the boat expressed in the article, I couldn't help but think "what would happen if they saw an R-Class wave hopping with the big kite up at 22 knots??" No doubt they would devote an entire monthy magazine to the class.
So unite R-Class sailors. The world needs us. Only we can bring liberation to the down-trodden masses. The oppressed dinghy sailors of the world need us. They just don't necessarily know it yet. And then, The World Is Not Enough. But one step at a time eh??
Daniel
