Roger,
I am just catching up with the IC Forum!

It is good to see you are about to race your new rules IC in Germany. In the UK there are no more new rules ICs on the water than there were at the time of the Worlds (4) but at least one is being built. Are you the only one in Germany so far?
You and I have in the past very similar racing records (9th and 10th in the Worlds, etc). This year, when I have raced against the new rules boats in my One Design, orange, Nethercot IC, on windy days I have beaten them as they were having trouble in what seems a more tippy boat. Oxford, our last open of 2008, was in winds about 10 knots, I beat Phil Robin in the first race as he had a terrible start, but he nearly caught me by the finish. He won the remaining three races and when I was sailing well (in Race 3) he was, I estimate, about 4 to 5 % faster round the course. A few years ago when Phil sailed Nethercot ICs he would almost always beat me on windy days but on days like we had at Oxford I could beat him in at least some of the races. No times were taken, but I guess the new rules boats are about 5% faster round a course than the One Designs if sailed by those with similar abilities. This should be reflected in the handicap.
There are few results to go on as I have done far fewer open meetings this year than in the past. In April, after our return from Australia, my wife developed a rare, auto-imune illness (Temporal Arteritis) that has to be controled from now on with several different drugs, which have some unfortunate side-effects. Often she has not felt well enough to travel with me or she has been having treatment clashing with an open meeting so I felt the need to stay at home. Our 40th wedding aniversary also clashed with an open so that too had to take priority! We shall have to see how things develop, but I have done nothing about getting a new rules boat, though I did take delivery of a new foiling Moth in May, ordered before my wife became unwell. We just might make it to Sweden for the Europa Cup but a lot will depend on how Barbara is getting on next year. It is however a long way to go for just three days of racing, or even fewer if any days are lost to too much wind as has happened in the UK, all too often this year. There are no longer any direct ferries from the UK to Sweden, but Tor Line (Commercial) has a freight service which will take motorcaravans and boats, provided they have room, and provided passengers can tolerate some uncertainty over departure times and even dates. I need to see the Notice of Race as there may be lay days in the programme which can be used if any other days are lost during the series. Are you intending to go to Sweden?

Who else is going from Germany?
Best Regeards, Colin