I am told there will be some strong new teams for next year lets hope the new boys, Fiat, Club and the Rag gives the 7 boys a run for their money…….Lots and lots and lots and lots of their money!!!!!

What you guys have done with the 7 boys over the last two years has been awesome. I hope it continues on for a lot longer.

I agree with what you’re saying about trying to implement rules to limit improvement. Like I’ve said elsewhere, there’s no way to guarantee a level playing field, despite attempts to do so and the good job the League has done to keep the fleet together.

Winning at the highest level is what it is about, and it’s unfortunate for the guys with businesses, careers, wives and kids who can’t devote the time, more than the money, to get to their full potential. People have to be realistic about where their priorities are and what that means for the results come the end of the JJ. I don’t think the lowest common denominator is what we should be aiming for.

Anna sends her regards

At no stage did we ever cut off our training relationship with the Fiat boys. By mutual consent, we dropped some planned sessions in the lead-up to the JJ. During the worlds, both teams had on-water support and opted to tune separately for some race days. It was not a planned thing to tune up separately. It’s just the way it worked out. The respect between the two teams (Fiat and Seven) remains very high. The seven boys will always look up to the achievements of Cocko, Aaron and Nath. To top things off, the Seven boys hit the water early yesterday to tune with Fiat in a symbol of support for them to go and claim 2nd overall. From day one the agreement has always been to share what we learn, but when the race starts, it’s every team for themselves.

I would also take issue re the “ruthless” comment. Between the boys, they have ticked all the boxes in the lead-up. Simple as that. We did not spend big money on getting the foils faired. We purchased a new set of foils from the class builder out of the class mould. This was because the foils supplied with the boat last year were horribly asymmetric and the boat sailed with massive lee-helm on one gybe downwind. The boys spent an hour wetsanding the slight orange-peel texture out of the spay job and then Teflon polished them. Another box ticked.

You are correct in regard to the details the boys attended to. If there was any sort of wear or tear, it was attended to immediately. They had a swage pull out a week before the JJ. Upon checking the dimension of the rolled swage with an accurate guage, it was shown to be over-size (not pressed enough). This resulted on every single swage on both rigs being re-swaged. No big deal, but there are twenty similar circumstances of preparation. Sam deserves credit for leading this. Rob and Seve help where they can.

Thanks for paying tribute to the way the boys sailed. It was a very tricky week. No matter how much training you do, you still need to execute when it counts. There was no miracle comebacks. No brilliant tactical calls. Just very solid SAILING. The boys on Seven made a lot of supporters within their camp very proud last week.

Yes mate, the racing this year was at another level. I hope this is not a reason for teams to get despondent. The Seven team hopes there will plenty of teams “aiming-up” for 08-09. It is impossible to frame equitable rules to limit the amount people want to improve. Just remenmber that having rules preventing rapid improvement is a deterrent to young teams wanting to climb the ladder. Every class needs to attract young up and comers. That being said, the no-training-in-work-hours rule being discussed is sensible.

In the Seven “camp” we are very respecting of the skiff traditions. We are very aware that a lot of hard work and investment has gone into making the class and the racing what it is today. Whilst we have goals to perform well on the water and on the land, we do make efforts not to step out of the “amateur” code of the class. Maybe that fails to come across in the right way at times. We are hopeful that people understand that we are in this for the right reasons. That is to compete in good spirit, to respect the rules and traditions of the club and the class and to continue to earn the respect of the sailing fraternity. Whilst Iain and I are very proud of the results the boys have achieved, we hope it can be seen that all three of the crew have further developed into decent young blokes over the past two years.

The 18 foot skiff scene is the best sailing package in the world. I mean this in terms of the total package. Great boats, great blokes, a physical challenge, very well run, magnificent spectacle and backdrop, the spectator ferry with bar, bookie and commentator. It does not get any better. Add to this the traditions and the characters. It’s fantastic. I am having a ball being involved. Winning something is nice once in a while, but being involved in my own small way is very rewarding.

I pay tribute to the Asko boys and it is sad to see them depart the scene. I have said all season that if you beat Asko, you win. Not always correct, but this demonstates my personal admiration for the way way they sail and the way they hold themselves as sportsmen. We can all learn something from them. They may not have won a JJ, but who cares? They have the respect of all.

Well done to yourself, Pete and John for showing character through the event and sticking at it. Go the green for 09.

Well done on the 5th, would’ve been nice to go better, but 5th isn’t too bad

Congrats to 7, well deserved and a very comprehensive win.

Would be interesting to see Nath (Outteridge that is) on a well funded 18 campaign.