Wouter, I raised the point because you said boards need a lot of wind and are therefore innefficient. If you want to talk efficiency then surely you should also allow for the fact that boards achieve high speeds with much less rig and much shorter hulls (and lower cost....) AND the boards normally get higher absolute top-end speeds.

I know people like Bethwaite says boards are innefficient because they need wind, but Frank doesn't know modern boards or performance longboards.

"Two can play this game. We should cats be forced to compare to YOUR specs and not the other way around ?"

Sure, it would be almost impossible to REALLY compare specs. But going on and on about the way a boat with 17m2 of sail can beat a boat with 7m2 of sail seems to be like an F16 sailor going on and on about being able to beat a Hobie Wave. Of COURSE the bigger boat is faster, just like the Tornado is faster than an F16. So what? The smaller F16 is still more efficient.

Actually, given that the old "dart specials" and course tandems were damn fast, a big board that costs as much as an F16 could be damn quick!

"News flash. catamaran design has advanced a little since the introduction of the Nacra 14 sq. and Hobie 16. Cat sailors are not asking the surfers to race us on some 80's surf board ? Apples to apples remember. You can to use the lastest and fastest, we get to use the latest and fastest."

Hang on, I was comparing the Nacra 14 (designed about '87??) sailed by an A Class world's runner-up and N14 national champion, to an IMCO designed about '91 and sailed by #5 in the nation but with a best world's place of 25th. Both are ODs of similar age. Sounds pretty comparable to me.

When I compared the FW board to an A Class, I was comparing a 2003 FW board sailed by a guy about mid-way in the national fleet, to a 2003 A Class sailed by the world champion. Sounds pretty comparable to me.

Sure, a 20' cat is normally faster around a course than an 8' FW board. I have made the same point to windsurfer sailors when they get ****. :-)

I'm not saying boards are better than cats, merely saying that both are superb in very different ways and it's a bit rough when you look at merely one criteria (speed around a course in medium winds with no allowance for size) and then use that to say the cat is more efficient.

Darryl, you're right, this is pretty meaningless. But once meaningless comparisons have started it seems reasonable to give another point of view.

By the way, you mentioned a long coastal race. Last weekend in the 110 or 150 mile Coastal Classic in NZ, a board and a Tornado Sport sailed as unnofficial entrants. The boardsailer had a support boat and switched gear at one stage IIRC and beat the Tornado home. Apparently it was mainly an upwind race. Still not comparable (since the board switched rigs) but interesting.