Sorry for the confusion JC, I was traveling up to ATL when I responded to the posts, from an airport computer connection, didn't have time to go to the web site, and right now I am still in ATL. It is 12:30am, I just got out of a 6 hour simulator session, now I'll be snoozing in a chair at the airport until the first flight out, 06:55am, back to MCO. We call it "living the dream."

I just know from all the years I've spent trying to "sell" sailing to other families (and cats in particular the past 10 years) the parents need to be "on board" if they are going to write a big check like that, vs. a few grand for a "Racing Opti".

When the Wave first came out, I had high hopes it would replace the Opti, as most of the complaints I heard from kids in Opti's were: 1. "It's too slow!" or 2. "It's too small."

Well, the Wave fixed both those problems at once. The problem for the Wave was, and still is, there is no follow on cat class for the kids to move up into, at most Yacht Club settings. The Yacht Clubs go with what they know, what is simple to store, what is cheap, thus they use Opti's, Lasers, 420's etc.

The Hobie 16 is still very popular today, because there are so many used ones out there, cheap, anyone can get into cats via the H16 if they can find a back yard beater cheap, and fix it up.

That's the only way I was able to get into cats (it was a $750 Hobie 18 in my case).

With the H16, the parents can race with or against their kids. But any of the newer cats? Not too many used ones available, and none of them are what I would call cheap, so if you want to sell a brand new, expensive (relative to a used 420) cat, you had better have an 'angle' on Dad and/or Mom being able to sail it too. They are the ones who write the check.

Now, they may only sail it once in a while, but it makes it easier to part with that much money if Dad knows he can get out some time too.

It's going to be a tough sell in this envrionment, no doubt, but I think if you get to the clubs where the 15y. old kids are, who have been sailing slow bathtubs, they will be -hooked- when you get them out on the wire in some wind. And if you can get Dad out too, he just might write that check.

Tomorrow, if/when I finally get home, I'll check out your website.

Be good!