Accidentally on purpose

photo by kind permission of Thierry Martinez


In the late 1800s, people suffering from asthma might have been told by a pharmacist to smoke a cigarette. Daft now given what happened to the Marlborough Man and even though the recent smoking ban was designed to make the world a better place, you might argue differently if you were a shampoo manufacturer or a dry cleaner, where in these markets, business has declined as hair and clothes now need to be washed less. But there are some unlikely advances that really have had a significant and unforecasted effect on the world being a better place, even if at first they were viewed as a huge threat.. Nuclear Weapons come to mind here, built for mass destruction yet somehow managing to create an (albeit) uneasy peace.

But the most recent one in our world must be the unlikely liaison between the Wing and Rule 42.

I’ll explain. For the last few years the most popular debate just prior to any big championship event was how many times you are allowed to pump and/or wing bounce to promote foiling. Hardly any and none are the current answers but everyone did and the rule 42 discussion, which threatens to divide opinion, encourage protests and, in a bid to monitor it, lumber us with associated jury costs has now been made completely redundant.

Why? Because you can’t pump a wing. It’s true, and one of the greatest exponents of relaxing rule 42 informs me that it makes absolutely fuck all difference.

Interesting isn’t it to think like that? So if it proves to be the case that pumping et al are not needed. What does that mean for the class? Younger sailors? Older sailors? More women sailors? Who knows, but consider this when you form your view of the Wing, as again we differentiate ourselves from normal sailing dinghies by getting rid of a potential problem through elegant solutions and not silly little red flags. Even if it is by accident..