Guys !
IMO the rating of the F16 is ok and that is in any condition.
I'm sure in lighter winds/flat water the F16 is even in favour.
What Gill is not telling you guys is that he was pretty sceptical when we took along on a F16 demo ride some 18 months ago. The fact that he has come around really says something. In my view he only allowed himself to be convinced by real results and personal experiences.
It seems that now that has happened.
And it put a smile on my face.
There is part of me that actually enjoys the situation where many are very sceptical to the F16 idea and performance only to come about after having sailed these boats themselves at demo's, Alter Cup like events and such.
You know you have a good thing when people step onto the boat absolutely wanting to see their believes confirmed (and poke Wouter in the eye!) and then having to change their opinions. And it guess it is enjoyable to them as well as a new world of possibilities has just opened up to them. How many times in life are you really being surprised or discovering something new or unbelievable ?
I also think of Gary Maskiel in this respect. He sailed all kinds of boats for decades and pretty much had seen it all. Then he steps onto an F16 and singlehanding the spinnaker make him fall in love again with sailing. Isn't that a thing of beauty ?
Same with mr DUH, see his recent posting here. I know what feeling he is talking about. When I raced with Geert on his Alter Cup Blade on the second day of the NAM-REM race I discovered the same thing. That there is a groove in big wind where the Alter Cup Blade suddenly "clicks" and start hunting to windward; then it just skims across the water. We were a tad over 160 kg together and racing several 1-year old F18's sailed by comparable and lighter crews. We kept our place and in some cases extended the distance on them.
That was a WOW ! moment for me. For me that was the moment where the result that I'd found in the mathematics 6 years ago merged into a single feeling, merging into a proof of concept.
Now only tad more development work is need to get the downwind ride in big wind fully up to specs and then we're there.
Wouter
