I have a vision for the DragonFlite 95 in the USA .. really the world!
I think the DF95 is the perfect boat/class for a serious racer to embrace as a "go-to" one design racing class.
It is about as "one-design" as it gets , considering identical rig components, a tight one design rules developed by John Tushingham , single panel sails, and that out of the box, there aren't a lot of "mods" or fixes necessary to get it tuned to an optimal racing trim. It relatively low cost for a fast, competitive, easy to sail boat!
I feel completely comfortable handing this boat to even the newest person and confident they will have a great sailing experience and be racing competitively in fairly short order if they have ANY sailing knowledge! ( as we all know THAT learning curve can be steep
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To make this a premiere racing class we need to make sure we abide by and race by the RRS. I think this is really important to establish fun competitive racing.
In this class I would like to set the tone as regatta director of the upcoming US National Championship regatta with our regatta management.
I have already secured the awesome Fred Rocha as our RD/ Principal Race officer for the NCR . Freddy is certified as an International Sail Judge, US Sail Judge, and has a LOT of experience running HMS in multiple fleet regattas. We will also be running the Observer system used in many International and larger fleet regattas. Contact and mark contact will be called and the rules will be enforced. This is going to almost instantly help folks be aware and cognizant of the boats around them and their approach to sailing.
I have been racing radio sailing regattas for over 20 years, and its been my experience that regattas that are well run, and where folks sail by the rules, are where classes and fleets grow by leaps and bounds! The IOM fleet would be a great example of this over the last 15 years.
I think encouraging a fun racing aspect of this class is where we will get a new class of skipper into the sport, and keep them coming back for years to come because its competitive, exciting, and most importantly a fun friendly experience .
If you arent comfortable with the rules there are a lot of resources available, and even on this forum its a great place to discuss racing situations we often run into. It can also start locally within your club. Take the time to get to know how to race, and you will be more confident on the race course. You might be surprised how fast you move up in the fleet!
