Combined Events at Marazion

Marazion will see course racing and slalom events run at the same race site and other events in future if the concept works.

Most competitors tend to make a holiday of this event and spend either the week before or after in the beautifully picturesque location of Marazion overlooked by St Michael's Mount.

So this year Marazion reverts to a four day event.

You may think you've seen this before in the shape of the Warrior series from 2004, but there is a fundamental difference with the way we will do things in 2006.

The Warriors were very much; light winds equals course racing and high winds equals slalom.

Well there are those course racers that like strong winds and there are slalom sailors who like competing in light winds. Those of you who competed at Eastbourne and Isle of Wight will know that modern slalom equipment can plane in 8-10 knots.

So the committee was presented with the challenge of catering for both disciplines in the 11-15 knot wind range that we all love:

Each discipline will be allocated an equal amount of time over the course of the event to ensure that both disciplines are catered for.

Briefings will be called early in the morning and the race officer along with selected delegates from each discipline will decide on the format for the day based on the weather forecast and what racing has already been achieved.

This will allow those who want to do one discipline the chance to do the touristy thing with the family or those who enjoy the local ales to shrug off their hangovers.

If you are a typically a course-only or slalom-only sailor there will be nothing to stop you competing in the other discipline. As with Free Formula there will be an upwind mark that is not as far upwind as for the Formula fleet, so slalom sailors can opt to sail this course if they wish rather than sit on the beach when it's not their slot.

To make this work we need everyone's support so please don't dismiss the concept until we've had the opportunity to try it out.

Both disciplines will count for their respective series ranking points over the year.