Most of the sail I have been doing is in light winds, under 15 mph. I generally lose ground to the F18s upwind but can keep up off the wind under spinnaker. There was a race a few months ago where I was racing in a mixed fleet which included a Hobie Tiger and an I20. Memorial Weekend Regatta The winds were mostly under 10 mph however there was a terrible chop on the water from numerous power boats in the area. I could not make the boat go up wind at all as each wave caused the boat to hobbie horse terribly. The Tiger and I20 being longer and heavier seemed to be able to drive through it and make better time up wind. In flatter water, we may have done better. I know in the drifting conditions at the 2003 Spring Fever Regatta at Lake Hartwell, we started the same time as the F18 fleet and we were generally near the front of the F18 fleet. On the one day we had wind (15 to 20 mph) we were at the back of the fleet.

Speed comparisons between the F18 and F16HP are difficult because they are so dependent on the skills of all the sailors involved. My performance tends to drop off as the wind increases but this may be partly due to crew weight. My crew and I are only 285 lbs so we are on the light side. As the wind approaches 20 mph, racing becomes more of a challange to make it around the course then one of being first to the finish line.

In regards to the times from the JPOR, I don't think there were any times as the race committee only recorded the order in which boats crossed the finish line in the F18/F16HP fleet.

Just my thoughts.

Jennifer