[quote] What I don't understand is the desire of many (some?) Hobie sailors to race / sail at one-brand events. What is so magic about Hobie?

Tom,

These questions have infinite answers depending on how people respond. I can only give you my personal experience.

For me, Hobie and Hobie Cat have been my connection to the SoCal beach culture that I grew up with. Hobie has been deeply engrained in the California lifestyle for over 50 years. It's where it all started. Being a recent transplant to Michigan, I wouldn't expect anyone from the Midwest to understand this. But there is a certain mystic. I started surfing a Mark Andreini twin fin fish in 1970 before graduating to a longboard of which I now own two, a 9'0" Yater peformance longboard and a 10'6" Hobie noserider. Here is the connection/degrees of seperation. Reynolds Yater shaped and glassed surfboards for Hobie Alter before striking out on his own in the early 60's. Mark Andreini still shapes and glasses out of Yater's Santa Barbara surf shop. One day while day sailing in Channel Islands Harbor (Oxnard, CA), I saw a Hobie 16 glide effortlessly past us. I knew right then that I wanted one. It seemed like a natural progression from surfing to sailing...a boat built by a master surfboard craftsman. I did dabble in sailboards for awhile but catamarans gave me my adrenaline fix.

Living in Santa Barbara and being a new, naive Hobie 16 owner, I wanted to try racing. I found the North American Catamaran Racing Association (NACRA) listed in my local yellow pages (the factory was based in SB at the time). So I called them wanting more information about racing my Hobie 16. They laughed me right off the phone. Not a good first impression. I ended up joining Hobie Fleet 15 just down the coast in Ventura. They welcomed me with open arms, treated me like family and taught me about the quirks of the boat.

I started going to local regattas and found many like minded people. A few years later I started going to Nationals (Continentals) and found many more like minded people from across North America. A few years after that I started going to Worlds and found that this extended family was truly international. This world wide family shared a common vision...one design class racing. Like Jeff Alter said a few posts ago...sailing amongst friends on like equipment. I've met some of my closest and dearest friends through sailing. These, along with the California tie continue to be the attraction for me.

But now there is a new twist in the formula...Formula 18 that is. I bought my Tiger so that I could race Hobie one design or F18. I have never liked racing against the clock and the Tiger affords me the best of both worlds. There never seemed to be enough "like" boats to have a fleet start at many of the open events I've attended. The solution to my problem...the Tiger. I will continue to campaign the Tiger at Hobie, NAF-18 and CRAM events like I did last year. I just renewed my HCA and NAF-18 memberships for 2004. I will continue to renew old friendships and make new ones wherever I sail...whether that be here in the Midwest or on the other side of the planet. I'm not going to let HCA's decision affect that.

So, I hope you can now understand where this sailor coming from, my loyalty to the Hobie brand and my desire to race one design. Some people may not agree or see eye to eye. This is just my experience with the Hobie magic and mystic. Please don't hold it against me.

See you on the soft water this spring!

John Bauldry
Hobie Tiger 1317
Detroit, MI