Wouter and friends



I hope my comments were not viewed as inflammatory…they were not meant to be. I was under the impression that Michael and I were having a very civil discussion…especially considering we have such varied points of view. We even complemented each other for our focus on the issues instead of name-calling or other personal attacks. I would go so far as to say, compared to the all out wars I have seen on the open forum, Michael and I come off looking like the very best of buds…LOL…and I am sure we will confirm that, the first opportunity we have to sail together…No one here can tell me that they never had a difference of opinion with their friends…LOL…I would hope that we could all consider each other friends….



As far as the Sail size/mast height interplay and the misunderstanding of it…it seems to me that something like this will always be present in a Class called High Performance.

I was under the impression that this was suppose to offer sailors a chance at a truly advanced sailing platform in a size that had been ignored…one that offered more affordability and versatility while keeping the performance second to none. Was that the original intent? Or am I mistaken?



Since these misunderstandings will always be with us in one form or another, are we to simplify or educate? I like to think all of us here are capable of understanding the rules as they are laid out, assuming we take the time to read them. In conjunction with open, meaningful discussions, we can deal with any ambiguity, and keep almost every one happy and on the same page.



If you are going to worry about a misunderstanding about the mast height…how do you explain allowing the differences in grand fathered boats, differences in beam…Carbon VS Aluminum masts…and a host of other design factors? There is always going to be some one who doesn’t understand something…Are we going to be a fresh new High Performance class? A clone of the Taipan 4.9 one design rules? Or are we going to be moving towards the simplest platform that everyone can supposedly understand? This is the first step in deciding…



This is one of the reasons I stated in a former post that this could be a cross roads for the class…At this point we are plotting our future course…Are we truly striving to be High Performance?…If that is our goal than we must acknowledge that High Performance often comes with a perceived increased level of complexity, if not in application…at least in concept… it’s the Nature of the Beast…



Thank you all, for letting me share my point of view…I wish more of our class would share their perspective so we can see if we all have the same vision of what the F-16HP class is destined to be…



Bob Hall