Ken,

Now before I get flamed (By others), I volunteered and worked on the Hobie nationals 2001 race committee so I'm NOT a Hobie hater and I've seen things up close from the water as a counterstart vessel/rescue boat.

Apart from the Hobie nationals we simply don't have Hobie events in (greater) NL (UK, NL, Belgium). Neither in Australia if I'm informed correctly. The racing scene here is almost exclusively handled by an national organisation for all cats (like NAMSA) and the clubs do their own thing without accepting much meddling from any builder or even some high minded class organisation. At clubs in the Netherlands they will be laughted out the door. In May we'll have a 1-up cup here in NL with singlehanded Dart 18's, I-17's , FX-one's, A-cats and a few F16's. Of the 25 to 30 boats competing ONLY 3 are FX-one. There are NO hobie 17's. This gives some idea of the weight hobie puts in the scale.

Another telling example; 2003 Dutch Hobie Tiger nationals attracted 7 boats ! Of which Gerard loos is a paid crew with a supplied boat. The (yeary) event REM race 2003 at my own club attracted double the amount of Tiger crews. The locations are spaced 15 miles apart.

Pretty much all Tiger crews in my (larger) area will FAIL the tiger one-design rule. They have after market sails or different blocks or have have a non hobie corp tiller or even some non-hobie shackles on their boats. maybe they used non-hobie approved gelcoat to touch up a repair ? Most are not seriously interested in the Tiger class; only in the F18 class AND open class racing like Texel.

That X-classes don't exist in Europe or Aus is technically true since all significant regatts ARE open class (even in France and Germany) and I can't name even 1 Hobie point regatta for my area of North West Europe. We are one big X-class just like the round texel. Start together, race together, finish together and split out the results to class and a single overall open class.

This X-class thing is a US thing as we don't have a comparable scene in the EU and AUS. So your statement "This X-class thing only exists in the United States." seems like a fair statement to me.

>>Is this IHCA mandate only affect U.S., as other areas already comply, or is there a world wide effect here?

The hobie classes would be dead within the year if they tried something like this in my area. Tiger class would be dead within the week. They would ALL choose F18 over Tiger class. And like I said earlier Hobie class would make itself redicioulus by such a stunt.

The hobie 16 class is the ONLY hobie class overhere that means ANYTHING at this time and even that is going. All other classes are non-existant. H17, TheMightyHobie18, H20 are so dead that they aren't even allowed to start on their own Hobie nationals since 2001. Fox and FX-one have to start with Tigers as they are even fewer in number. The H14 guys have split off and hold their own yearly championship away from the class. Australia is very comparable to NL, UK as well.

I think pockets are holding in Germany and maybe France but the important events like Carnac Eurocat, Round Isle of White, Archipelo raid. Texel and such are all open class events. I don't think anybody will cry at all over missing one or two relatively unknown Hobie point regatta's.

Now I don't know the IHCA intentions or plans with regard to Europe or Australia so I can't comment on :

"Is this IHCA mandate only affect U.S."

However, there is absolutely NO NEED to know for me or my friends either as IHCA can talk till they're blue in the face. After all is said and done the core of the matter will be that it is just that; "talk"

I just checked the NFB (our include all organisation) calender for 2004 and there are only point regatta's for the H16 and ALL of these are part of a larger OPEN CLASS regatta, where the points are split from the OPEN class overall results. None are organised by the Hobie class organisation. The only exception is the Hobie nationals 2004; but we know how many boats show up there.

They'll be insane to try a similar stunt overhere.

Wouter