Just two weeks ago a Spanish couple visited me at the Zandvoort sailing club to get a test ride on an F16. They became aware of the F16 class through the internet and after following the discussions on the F16 forum for a while they decided that the F16 was the best boat for them. And we had many go through this route.

I can give names of many F16 sailors and sailors still looking to become F16 sailors who were and are attracted to the F16 class by sole virtue of its internet presence and specifically because of this forum.

We would never have sold boats to sailors in locales like Arizona, New Mexico, Dubai, Shanghai, Finland, Sweden, Singapore and a score of other places not being UK, NL or Florida if we hadn't had this forum.

There is a reason why FX-one and I-17 are doing badly despite having much nicer full colour brochures, well establish dealor networks, vastly superior brand familiarity (who has never heard of Hobie or Nacra ?) and significantly superior sailors like Booth, Curry and Vink showcasing these boats.

I don't just think the forum is the most important tool in attracting new sailors, I actually know it for a fact because I'm still answering several mails a week where people tell me that. And the only place where you can get my personal e-mail adress is of my catsailor.com forum profile.

Wouter