Part one of our long-awaited Interview with Hobie Cats founder Hobie Alter

SA: First off, we really want to thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We know you haven't weighed in much on sailing in recent years, so this is a pretty big deal to a lot of our readers.

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SA: So it was all about fun and getting everyone together. What did you have to watch out for?

HA: I had a friend, a great sailor but I can't remember who it was. He said, “do not let the good sailors take control of your class. They’ll ruin it.” So I had a couple of problems with guys that were really tight on the rules, and really weren't well-liked. I told them, “You know what, when you go up to get your trophy, you're going to have 5 people clap for you rather than a hundred. Is that really how you want it?”

Well.... here it is... from the man's mouth.
The origen of the old saw... "Oh you catamaran sailors just don't sail by the rules...": .... Not only true... but also by design!

turns out it ... Hobie Alter was pooh poohing the rules because "you won't be well liked" .... and the monohull world had it right.

So 20 years down the road... Hobie catamaran classes begin to reshape themselves and behave like the standard sailing classes, follow the rules and rejoin the mainstream.

On a board called sailing anarchy... HA could be your first hero. But here is the question... Was it worth it?

It has taken another 20 years to change opinions that catamaran sailors DO play by the rules. The life style sailors are gone and it's been a slow process to change opinions of the mainstream .... Hell... EVEN among the catamaran classes.... Some classes really don't want to share the race circle with Hobie cats.

Could the Hobie explosion have happened in partnership with the Yacht Club structure of the day rather then independent and fundamentally anarchist?