Don,
I don't want to open the old can of worms again... but you seem to want to suggest that this is a Positive Reality in the northwest.... therfore... choose a Tiger for this area.
So, it should be noted.
The Tiger Only F18 racing is STRICTLY a function of clubs CHOOSING to not allow the other F18's to participate at their event.
What are the actually pro'as and con's for the sailors in the Northwest?
IMO, It sounds like it's a bit problematic.. It sounds like you have a large number of events that are Open and a similarlly large number of Hobie only events. Unless you guys sail every weekend... It sounds like your sailors choose the four or so events a year that they want to do and you don't develop the critical mass of F18's at the events on the schedule. (a certain disappointment for someone looking to go F18 racing)
If the poster wants to race in the nortwhest.... He can now evaluate your claim... "get a Tiger if you are in this area" from a different perspective.
Had you left it as... Well in the north west... we have X # Tigers of all flavors and we have Y # good sailors and we work together to get up to speeed. Getting a Tiger in this area would allow you to join this group and and dial up the Tiger's settings to quicklty get up to speed ... Pronto... You should really get a Tiger if you are in the Northwest.
I would not have gotten my nose out of joint.
Take Care
Mark
Mark,
I owe you an appology If I've let my enthusiasm get to your nose joint. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> I've been enjoying the discussion. Perhaps a little too much. I appreciated your feedback.
I've not sailed in the parts of the country where there is a lot of open class multihull racing. Most of mine has been with the Hobie Regattas. So from my perspective, when I look at racing the Tiger it's either at a Hobie Regatta, or an F18 start at a yacht club.
Right now, we do seem to sail every weekend. Or at least that's what my wife thinks. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />
So, when we decided to try making a few Open/F18 events to help promote the class, it was with an already tight schedule.
We have a pretty packed schedule already with our Hobie Regatta Schedule. We've added a couple of youth only events, and some community activities to help grow the sport.
The Hobie Classes are still very active up here, and seems to be on the upswing. I don't particularly agree with the exclusiveness, but it is this way right now.
It's true I guess that we could choose to go to all of the Open Regattas, but that would come at the cost of a negative impact to our One Design events. And there's really no real benefit in doing that. Most of the Open Events that are alluded to in the posts are club dinghy races. We picked the couple that we thought we could support in strong numbers without conflicting with our current calendar.
I guess I never stopped to view the negative perspective. From where I sit it seems that because I own the Tiger, I can enjoy a full season of well run, well attended multihull events, and also have the option to particapate in a few highly visible F18 events.
If I owned one of the other models (which I think are awsome looking boats) I would be somewhat limited in my event choices.
Perhaps the situation will change over time.
I've tried my best to convey my perspective here, and not sound too partisan with regards to the brand of boat I sail.
Hopefully, we can continue to have an open dialog. I think it's in all our best interest to understand how the rest of the world works.
Cheers,
Don
