And now ( without any diplomatic filters...)..
Round The Island Race 2017
I notice that three Van de Stadt, Splinter 21s participated this year, in Div 8D.
Although Edward Hooper’s Amiina, with split JR, ended up as 21 of 46 in that group, she still came far behind the two other Splinters, Elfin and Sparkle.
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Elfin’s elapsed time was 9:51:46 (9.8628h), and was thus 13.0% faster than Amiina
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Sparkle’s time was 10:31:34 (10.5261h), and she was 5.9% faster than Amiina.
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Amiina's time was 11:08:59 (11.1497h)
These are the facts.
They underline my view that the JR is not good for racing. The big advantage of the JR; that we can rig with big SA on a fairly short mast, cannot be used, as it will give a bad handicap. Moreover, on a given SA, the BR can be made more efficient than the JR since its camber can be adjusted under way. The racing rules are, in short, written around the BR.
The only way to start winning (not only on lucky days), is to develop a sail which is as powerful and close-winded for a given sail area, as the BR.
The other method is to disregard rating rules and plant a big JR on an originally under-rigged boat ( like Contessa 26), and then be the first boat over the finish line. That would turn some heads. Being number 21 of 46 turns no heads.
Arne