Don --

Let's put the credit squarely where it belongs. There has really only been one Tiger sailor that I know of that has kept sailing the Tiger in the NW through the lean years, and that would be Jerry Valeske (who, by the way, has won several awards from US SAILING mostly for his teaching and PRO duties). Jerry continues to carry the torch. He takes out anybody and everybody to introduce them to the sport and the F18. If ever there were an F18 ambassador, Jerry would be it.

Mark Jones has done a lot for the sport up in Vancouver. But he is a relative newcomer. For that matter, compared to Jerry, everyone is a newcomer! Jerry bought his first Tiger the first year they came out. He is trading it in for next year's model and he is selling his current Tiger to someone who has expressed an interest in racing. If the guy doesn't want to race, then Jerry will just find another buyer -- simple as that!