Elliott 7 Grand Prix Series kicks off for 2011/12 season

by Jim Walsh on 2 Nov 2011 The Elliott 7 class is set for a bumper season with the first heat of the Grand Prix Series this weekend at Jervis Bay. A fleet of 10 boats is expected for the races which includes a 30 mile around the bay course on Saturday followed by Windward Leeward races on Sunday.

The series schedule has some old favourites as well as a return to Geelong Race week and a new venue for the National Titles at Port Stephens during Sail Port Stephens week.

The program of events for the Grand Prix Series for the 2011 – 2012 Season is:
- November: Jervis Bay Challenge, NSW State Championship
- December: City of Canberra Regatta, ACT State-level Championship
- January: Audi Week Geelong, Victorian State Championship
- March: Audi Regatta Sydney Harbour
- April: Port Stephens, National Championship
- August: Airlie Beach Regatta, Queensland State Championship

The class continues to build momentum and recent developments including Carbon Booms and Pole as well as the adoption of a new mainsail profile has ensured the class maintains its status as the largest one design sportsboat class.

The new square top mainsail has been designed to have exactly the same sail area as the present design. Sail area has been taken out of the roach and added to the square top. The foot is slightly shorter, but the sail still fits existing hardware perfectly well. It has been found to be much more automatic in puffs and takes better advantage of the single spreader no backstay rig configuration.

The Elliott 7 Class occupies a 'sweet spot' in the trailable and sports boat community.
- The symmetrical spinnaker remains a decided advantage in the popular windward/leeward configuration for top-level competition;
- Ready accommodation for four adults makes the boat uniquely family-friendly;
- The rolling technology refresh keeps the Class at the forefront of serious developments;
- The strong Class Association and Australia-wide clusters of local boats provide strong support and competition;
- The presence in the class of renown sailors keeps it at the leading edge of national competition;
- Strong support for women competitors reinforces the inclusive nature of the E7 community
- The strong one-design nature of the Class means that older boats can win national championships.
- The light weight setup and easy to rig mast means it can be trailed behind a 4 cylinder car and rigged and launched by two people in under 15 minutes (presuming no socialising).

The attractiveness of the Class is also ensured by the availability of good boats for sale at attractive prices. Why would you pay for a gold mine, when good Elliott 7s are available for $25 to $30k? It’s a 'no brainer'!

More information, contact details and boats for sale can be found at the new website designed by Mark Ward at 'Your web solutions.'

Elliott 7 Class Association website