If we want cat sailing to flourish in the UK (and the Holland/rest of the EU - Correct me if I am wrong Wouter) we need a boat that WILL ATTRACT people to it like the 29er already does.
That is indeed my take on the situation. In NL we also have to compete with all the kite surfers around. Those guys have some cool looking gear as well and the stunts they make seem to make the youth drool. In NL the youth classes are opti, lasers and even more so plashes and such dinghies. Cats are rarely featured. It is a mistake on the part of the cat sailors.
With respect to 49-er, which isn't big in NL, I can say that there are plenty options that blow this dinghy out of the water. Spitfires, F16's, FX-ones. Sadly the old EU version of the I-17 simply isn't up to it. Main point here is that we are not talking about any expensive space age catamarans here. Must I remind everybody again that a Stealth/Blade F16 go for the same price as a new race ready Hobie 16 ? It is time to put gut feelings out the window and look hard at the numbers. Modern boats aren't necessarily expensive. Formula boats allow poorer countries to build locally while OD classes do NOT.
Maybe we need to rethink the whole setup.
What good is an OD class when that immediately excludes nations like south africa and Thailand due to the exchange rates ? Is that more fair to the competition ?
Would it not be better to put a formula youth class out there or even a "free-to-use" design out there. A design that every local builder can build for his local market. That will immediately allow more nations and teams to get a youth class going and negates alot of exchange rate problems. Why not have ply-epoxy boat compete with a foam-glass one ? Is the OD fetishm of the big nations more important then the needs of the smaller nations with bad economies. This is what ISAF should be thinking about. Screw a 1% design difference if that also means that much more teams can compete ! In the youth class isn't participation far more important ?
Wouter
