In a thread titled unwelcome... It's interesting to look back at how the US classes got their start and how the sailors looked at being "welcomed" at a regatta (or not) in the begining.
(IMO Welcome is not personal... it's more about do you and your boat fit in to the racing scene)
So, when you are the new boat on the block... and want to come play... How do you get your start?
Historically, 4 current classes got their start in the USA about the same time. F18 (Tigers) F18HTs, F16s and the Nacra 17.
I think it is interesting to see how the class game plans played out with respect to open class racing and their one design programs.
The sailors formed the NAF18 organization and tried to finesse the measurement rules before getting completely aligned with the international class. Fundamentally, they figured the international appeal of the class coupled with US Hobie and Nacra dealer support would make them a sure winner and the clear dominant class. They held to the traditional approach of "start to race small one design fleets" and grow the numbers through one design racing. In fact, Hobie decided to really enforce this and Hobie Alter jr declared in a letter to the hobie classes... the Hobie racing classes would be the H16 and the Tiger in the future. They put in place their Hobie only policy for regattas they ran a year later. This divided the F18 class into Tigers and everyone else (who were obviously unwelcome). Since the idea was to quickly build a one design fleet... in a sense... if they got their one design group of three or four boats they were self contained and as true believers... they were sure to quickly grow to 10 or more boats. But, in many areas, they were pushed back into open class to race because of low critical mass. When they could not get OD race.. they were welcomed back into the open fleet.
The original class members in both the very new F16 class and the new to the USA F18HT class looked at the USA scene and saw the same problem. No critical mass of racers in most areas of the country. They also thought they were competing for slightly different niches of the US market then the F18 class. They took two different approaches.
The 18HT class thought that critical mass of racing sailors for one design racing on any spinnaker boat would be be very difficult to achieve in any geographical region. (The Nacra 20 fleet had not been able to make it happen after several years) Since they rated about the same as the Nacra 20's, the solution was to race in open class against the other small spinaker fleets and they would also organize an East coast racing schedule of one design HT events using separate existing events. They pioneered the fleet trailer idea (now used by Hobie Div 11 and the West Coast A class Sailors) They figured that the Worell and Little America's Cup initiatives would give the class lots of exposure. So, they welcomed racing in the open class fleet and then tried to add separate new events (EG, St Petersburg and Sail Newport regattas) for one design racing.
The F16 class saw the same problem of no critical mass and since they had no local builders or well funded international dealers. They adopted the grow slowly but surely through open class racing. They trusted that one up and two up sailing, even up would pay off in the long run (just like the Dart 18 class in Britan) and since they rated about the same as the F18... they saw the future as racing in open class and against the F18's even up (or handicap.. whatever). The had no pretense about getting a quick start to one design racing which would immediately divide them into one up and two up groups and were happy to be welcomed into the open class fleet.
The Nacra 17 class grew in Michigan and replaced the 5.5 uni OD fleet and drew from the N20 and F18 sailors in the region and they followed the CRAM model of one design fleet racing but also scoring against the rest of the open class fleet in the CRAM regattas. In most areas of the country, the F17 class is welcomed in open class.
The clear looser was the F18HT class. They could not maintain the energy or organization to compete locally in handcap buoy racing, the East Coast One design Fleet Trailer program and compete in the major distance races and the class cratered.
The F18 class did not take off and become the dominant two person high performance racing class in the USA as it clearly is in the EU. The Nacra 20 and the Hobie 20 maintain regional racing programs and in their core areas eclipse the F18 class. In several areas, the F18's are forced to compete in Open classes or very small one design fleets. They are strong in Canada and the West coast. Its fair to say that the international success of the F18 is very slowly working it's way through the US... eg New England seems to have flipped to the F18 in the last year or so.
The F16 class has more or less stayed with the run what you brung (one or two up)in open class and the more boats on the line the better philosophy. At the class's most successful event (re turnout) to date this year at Gulfport. They started and raced one up and two up in a fleet with F18's (although they did not report the scoring that way.)
Being welcomed at a regatta means that you and your flavor of boat fits in and you are racing against the crowd....
When you hear... Well... even though you started with me on your Prindle 18... I am only racing the other Hobie 18's... You get the idea... you are just not welcome. ditto when you hear... Well... the F18's started with us... but I assure you... the Nacra 20's were not racing against the F18's.
If you hear this conversation around the beer keg... somebody is sure to feel not welcome... (even if you keep their beer cold and topped off!)
