Hello Peter
you wrote
if the hobie events are open to x-class, the tendency is to draw sailors away to non-hobie boats, thereby depleting the one-design racing. this is due to the claim made earlier -- non-hobies tend to be faster boats.
Just for kicks, which one design hobie class are you talking about with this great one design racing and which faster boat is causing the demise of this hobie one design racing in your area?
Wave
Bigger Wave
Hobie 14,
Hobie 14 sport
Hobie 16
Hobie 16 with spin
Hobie 17
Hobie 17 sport
Hobie FXone
Hobie 18
Hobie 18 with wings,
Hobie 18SX
Hobie21
Hobie20
Hobie Tiger
Hobie Fox
Using your logic... the problem is not X boats racing on the course provided by other builders... Its the Hobie cat company that has split and split and split the racing market that you should target for blame.
Your solution for growing or preserving one design racing is even more interesting.
If you believe in your darwinian model of promoting one design racing... you should as a member of the largest one design fleet in your area decide NOT to invite the other Hobie AND X boat classes to your regatta circuit. Since these other classes are much smaller, they probably won't be able to survive .... (who would want to join a 5 boat fleet that also must organize and run their racing circuit). IF the other classes survive... great. But you really hope that they don't and will dump their class and join you on your favorite hobie cat for one design racing.
Well... its a plan (and used by yacht clubs all the time to preserve one design classes for as long as possible)! You might loose some friends over it though.
You conflate the Hobie Cat company's interest with your interest as a one design racer. Most one design racing classes have names like "A cat Class association" and they promote racing of their class and don't worry about asking their hosting clubs to exclude other classes. When you lump the aforementioned classes into one huge class association, organized in a completely undemocratic structure, and pretends that a one size fit's all solution is good for the aforementioned sailors in these classes you wind up banning the wrong things, like other cat racing classes supporting your member club's events.
Ah well, I guess, we should not have loaned our X class fleet marks to the Hobie club at Rehobath for the Hobie 16 Nationals or support their regattas with up to 20 % of their attendance. (NOT)
I hope you don't take this comment as a personal attack but the NAHCA logic you espouse is just absurd nonsense.
Take Care
Mark
