Before I start, you have to take into consideration that these championships were held mostly in mid to top end A rig conditions with a small but significant chop. The other thing to consider is these are my thoughts and my thoughts alone based on my observations at the worlds.
If you look only at the numbers in the top 20, three hull designs dominated, all beginning with the letter V but other designs had their moment as well.
Robert Wilson had an outstanding period with his Britpop in A heat proving that this design has life in it for the future.
The Alioth again had its moments. Personally I found it very fast upwind and downwind on the flatter water but under pressure in a chop on A rig or B rig I struggled for pace downwind which maybe a reflection of my sailing skill or lack of it. This is no excuse by the way for my abysmal decision making and poor results. The boat is perfectly capable of a top 20 finish against the best in the world given a competent skipper.
That leaves us with the dominant designs in the top 20 beginning with V and it was no surprise to see the designers of the VISS, Zvonko Jelacic first and the V12 of Ian Vickers second and only one point between them. Close behind them was the Venti of Xavier Liger in 4th. The designer of the Venti as far as I am aware does not sail IOM’s.
There have been a few slow motion videos of the boats moving through the water and personally I love the way the V12 cuts through the waves but the VISS and Venti are very similar in their motion through the water.
Starting with the Vickers V12, I knew these would be fast in choppy conditions I have raced against as V11 at Datchet and it showed remarkable turn of speed in windy, wavy conditions, both upwind and downwind it was unbeatable. There were 2 V12's in the top ten and 6 in the next ten.
The VISS is slightly harder to evaluate as the design is relatively new. There were 4 in the top 10 but all sailed by quality skippers. Zvonko, Ante, Peter Feldman USA and Paul Jones Australia
As I understand the VISS concept started after the last world championships. There was a search for more power and the result is a fascinating design with a great focus on getting air into the rigs. In lighter conditions, its performance was outstanding and had an excellent high mode, however it was hard to make a judgement in the breeze. It has a different look to other IOM's and looks so well thought through from bulb to mast tip.
The Venti (winner of the last world championships) is tried and tested and an equal of the above designs. It is an elegant shape, has the touch of Italian style and has been around for a while now and just looks great when sailing in any condition There were 4 in the top 10 and 3 in the next 10.
I must not leave out the fact there was one K2 in the top 20. Like the Britpop there is much life left in this design.
At the end of the day it did not matter which of the above designs you had, it was down to the way you set it up and sailed it.
If you go on entry numbers for the designs in the top 20, there were 20 plus Venti, 20 plus Vickers, 7 VISS and 9 K2.
So if you are looking to compete in an international competition you may want to buy one of these designs. If you do, you have roughly an 18 month wait for a Venti or V12 or an 8 month wait for a VISS, but remember a fast hull will only get you so far as rig setup is critical as is your sailing skill. I proved during this regatta that a boat capable of a top 20 finish won’t do well if badly sailed.
Of course if you are club racing, a Britpop, Alioth or many of the designs from this century will get you to the front of the fleet if well rigged and sailed. Mostly we sail on flat water. The difference at the International events is that the legs are long, usually in a small chop where variations in design and boat setup and speed can make a huge difference.
I leave you to draw your own conclusions and thoroughly recommend you have a look at the videos taken at the worlds.
The V12 (61), VISS (30) and Venti (91)
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