Hey, Bob, I think it's great that a top sailor is willing to go back to simple and fun, whether temporary or permanent. It would be great if all the high-tech guys would take a sabbatical once in a while from the speed seek and get back to basics. If Carlton Tucker were still alive, he would be right there with you, because he told me the 14 was his all-time favorite boat. I'm proud of Rick for racing the Hobie Wave as much as he does and helping to get that class going (even if he does soup it up for Portsmouth races by putting on the reacher -- he just can't help it).

I was very upset when, a few years back, someone at Hobie Cat Company told me that they destroyed the molds for the Hobie 14 a long time ago. I just had a feeling that it was going to come back in style someday -- like platform shoes and hiphugger jeans. They told me nobody would want to buy Hobie 14s because it costs almost as much to build a 14 as a 16. But now that there is such a demand for singlehanders and for youth boats, who knows?

Just a question: As I recall, the Hobie 14 was built to fit into the A-class specs. Are there any sailing conditions where a 14 might be able to actually beat a full-spec A-class, boat for boat? Like a distance race that is all reaching? Probably a ridiculous question, but I wonder about a lot of ridiculous things. (On the other hand, probably not many sailors of the modern A-class boats like surfing into a beach and sliding across a hundred feet of sand. Different boats for different purposes.)

And, by the way, if there is a fleet of 14's racing in Central Florida, there also has been good turnout by the Hobie Waves in Florida, and it seems as though they would both like the same kind of course, so maybe they should start together (not scored together). The Wave course is set up for a fairly long reaching leg, which I would think would be perfect for the 14, too, and the Wave course is designed so the other boats don't have to wait for the slower boats to finish, so they don't get mad at us.