HJS
Your American story needs some updateing
The Taipan 4.9 showed up with Jim Boyer and his daughter and Peter Coogan sailing a sloop 4.9 and a uni 4.9 at Cambridge. Later, Lars Guck was the importer and sailing a sloop 4.9 making quite an impression in the Steeple chase with his wife.
The 4.9 was a modern design irrespective of its birth day ...(or well ahead of it's time compared to the US from nacra and prindle and hobie ) (Shheesh... any chance to bash Wouter for no reason) In the US... Jim was the face of AHPC and nobody cared much about the partnership arangment between the two principals. They had an outstanding rep.
Spinakers were becoming the rage... the market for the sloop 4.9 just did not develop in the US.
Glenn Asby came over and raced the 5.7 with chute... made quite an impression... Lars Guck and PJ Shafer raced a C100 on a 5.7 and kicked butt...(only smart ones to tie down between two trees and survive a huge microburst.... BUT... this is america... bigger is obviously better.... We had done the 19 foot boats... WE DEMANDED 20's.... ergo the nacra 6.0 and then the Nacra 20.... Hell.. we wanted NOTHING to do with the F18.... it took YEARS for that to get a start.
NEXT YEAR.. maybe two..... Jim Returned for another marketing campaign and they started playing with my Bim Spin on his 4.9 in Michigan with me... (road trip,,, grin) .... He got some interest in the spin again ..YES he was skeptical about the market. He really thought the sloop 4.9 filled the niche perfectly. At any rate... going with the US market Flow... I believe he returned home and then took the actions you relate.
As a one up F16... the 4.9 is a pretty nice little package.
The F16 guys were oportunistic and leveraged the 4.9 with a spin as an F16... High Profile critics... (Remember Sam Evans) were quite offended at this leveraging... as you seem to be as well.... Jim Boyer did not seem to care.
The mere fact that an Aussie 4.9 sailor brought up the spin for the 4.9 class this year... (unless you guys think Wouter flew down there to pretend he was aussie and lobby the class) speaks to the natural fit of the 4.9 with spin into the F16 class.
just sayin
