Eric,
You can thank John McKnight for the fact that there is ANY catamaran racing going on in Miami right now. He has singlehandedly built the fleet back up from almost nothing.

If you and others want to do fun sailing in an organized way with the group, then ORGANIZE it. John has been doing this all by himself for several years and he has to build the fleet racing schedule around his flying schedule. Nobody offers to help him with the newsletter or putting on the races or anything. So now you want him to somehow come in off the water and provide beer and barbecue so you can have some camaraderie afterwards?

John organizes the racing because he wants to have people to race against. So, if you think there is too much emphasis on racing, why don't you take over the task of organizing fun-sailing days? Or why don't you organize a fun time for after the races? Things like that don't just happen in a void. It takes a catalyst and helpers.

As far as why there isn't more social aspect, that is a direct result of the fact that women are no longer involved, either sailing or on the beach.

The women left along with the Hobie 16's and the Hobie 18's. So, yes, the Hobie Way of Life is gone in some parts of the country because it was built around male-female teams and one-design racing.