Let's be fair here Don. While you do have your Hobie only events, there are also 10 open events in the Pacific Northwest that will have NAF-18 participation. (These are also the events that you have identified for growing the fleet)
Last season, our first with F-18 starts there were more Nacras entered overall compared to Tigers, though there still weren't fantastic numbers. The one event where everyone traveled, there were the same number of Nacras as Tigers. It will be difficult for some Nacras to travel to some regattas as 4 of the Vancouver boats are owned by clubs, exposing many new sailors to the class.
In answer to the original point of the thread, a 2005 Nacra F-18 will be very competitive with current boats. Last year, I was horizoned by older Nacras and Tigers while I also thumped older Nacras and Tigers on my Infusion. There are so many things to learn in this, and other classes, that having the very best of boats is not the most important factor.
OH, I think I am being fair.
If I were to survey the high performance 18' market in the Pacific Northwest right now I would be able to make a strong case for buying a Hobie Tiger.
I'm NOT trying to make a statement of brand dominance.
I'm stating that if I were looking for strong support, and lots of close competitive racing, the Tiger is what is happening up here "right now".
It will not be the same for everyone, in every region. And it may not be that way in the years to follow up here.
We're still in the grass roots building process for the NAF-18's up here.
I would debate whether 1-2 boats at an open event is NAF-18 participation. But it does get the word out to a different group, and that's good for all of us. And good for the sport.
