bring back ior?
Most of us think the IOR rule is exactly where it belongs, dead. But not everyone feels that way. Then again, not everyone is sane…
Prompted by the anti geezer post that arose last week, and having mulled the current state of racing in my area, I propose that IOR be reinstated as the paramount rule. Aside from snide verbiage about bumps and tortured sterns, IOR during the ’70’s/ early 80’s created the best racing for the most people. The middle class could field a racing yacht of new design due to many nearby builders and they were always in the 39 foot to 50 foot range. The racing was close and spectacular with large fleets from A division on down.
The fights over rating were glorious. Now what do we have? Middling dinghies with fractional rigs and one design raison d’etre since without one design racing no one would want them. And, they are all small boring little wannabe floatables. The middle class has been dumbed down into Melges mentality crap. Regattas this weekend were full of junk. I can’t think of one boat in our area that wouldn’t have been accidentally dropped by crane back in the 70’s/80’s. They look like crap and are built like crap and are throwaways designed for sailors with 2 foot arms and 4 foot pockets.
The youth of today only think of speed which is a relative concept. It is more fun driving up wind in a 46 foot IOR boat beside a competitor at 7 knots given the power of such boats, than perhaps going upwind in a Melges beside a Melges because speed is relative and is tempered by power. The upwind power of a 46 foot IOR boat makes a Melges and their ilk, seem to be better used in your bathtub. There are huge numbers of old IOR boats waiting for new owners at insignificant cost and what great racing could be had. Come on geezers, stand up to these young whelps in their toy boats waiting to inherit enough money to buy a real boat. Lets get back at it. Jump in the thread.
