"ONDE VAMOS PARAR...?": críticas de Torben Grael aos duvidosos rumos da vela

REVISTA SEAHORSE PUBLICA AS CRÍTICAS DO VELEJADOR TORBEN GRAEL AS MUDANÇAS RECENTES NAS REGRAS DA VELA

Torben Grael: maior medalhista olímpico brasileiro e velejador com maior número de medalhas olímpicas da história da vela mundial.

DISCUSSION: Dock Talk:

TORBEN GRAEL - WHERE ARE WE GOING?
 
Brazilian Torben Grael has the highest number of Olympic medals in his country, and holds the highest number of medals in the history of Olympic sailing. A lot has changed in the sport since Torben won the silver medal in the Soling class at the 1984 Games, and he is not certain about much of it. Here are his remarks, republished from the July 2011 edition of Seahorse magazine:

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As an Olympic sailing veteran I ask myself this question very often. Since I started my Olympic career so much has changed in our sport; some changes were great as the introduction of female classes but some others were nonsense:

Rules

It took me 25 years to learn them (at least the ones we used most); then some clever people decided we should have more simple ones. The idea was great but the reality is not, as simple rules left many holes that were slowly amended and now we are back to the same complicated set of rules with one difference: they are different and I won’t even bother to learn them again as they keep changing anyway.

Starting sequence

We use to have something simple that worked pretty well: 10 minutes, 5 minutes, 1 minute and start. If there was a subsequent start the RC could opt to go straight to the 5 minute. Then some clever people decided that we should go straight to the 5 minute. As a result you have only 1 minute after the attention is given and many times people don’t manage even to make it to the line. So now either boats stay very close to the RC or the committee has to improvise with ways to advise you that they will soon start a sequence!

Finally why bother trying to start without the black flag? It is such a waste of time, especially these days when we spend more time hanging around than racing.

Coach boats

In the past we had an equal field with each team on its boat. And that was it. We had to sail to and from the course and it was the same for everyone. Then some clever people decided it was ok to allow coaches and coach boats. The result is now we have more RIBs out there than boats.

And now some teams are investing fortunes into America’s Cup first-shift technology. Is this what we want? More costs, more people travelling, more costs, more housing, more costs... and what for? Didn’t we sail back safely, even in a windy place like Pusan, a light place like Barcelona or a distant place like Savannah?

Courses

We used to have fair, long races with a good balance between the start and the rest of the race. We used to reach. How boring are these endless windward/leeward races no matter how much it is blowing. Once you spent 3 hours on the water and raced at for at least 2 hours. These days you spend up to 8 hours on the water and consider yourself lucky if you race for the same 2 hours.

Medal Race

There were 7 races. It wasn’t easy to win before the end but it was possible. Then we went for 10 short races. The more you have, the more likely it is someone will win in advance.

Then some clever people decided that winning in advance is bad for the sport and came up with the brilliant idea of the medal race. A short sh!tty race that counts double. It is good for media they said. What I see is that people still win in advance (Robert Scheidt in Miami and Hyeres; Iain Percy in Palma; Ben Ainslie in Hyeres and so on). On the final day I see nothing but coach boats out there. But then when you arrive ashore there’s nobody left in the marina. Everyone else has packed and left already.

Classes

Classes should be decided now for the 2020 Olympics, not for 2016. We need stability and changes should be well thought out. There should be merit and a technical reason for a class to be at the Games. They should represent the reality of our sport. Laser and Finn are exactly the same kind of boat. 470 man and 49er are not that different either.

Stop the politics! How did you ever take away the multihull when the whole world seems to be going that way? Stop the nonsense before it is too late. While there is something left.

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Seahorse magazine is available in several formats for consumption. If you would like to take advantage of a special Scuttlebutt promo rate, here are the information links:

Print - http://tinyurl.com/6db3tjg
Digital book - http://tinyurl.com/66tyouy

Fonte: Sailing Scuttlebutt

Leia outra entrevista de Torben Grael sobre as mudanças na vela.