I was down at Dunedin Causeway (FL) this weekend to help out with the St. Patty's Day Regatta. There were about 15 cats in the race and probably 25-30 total cats on the beach. There was only 1 Hobie entered in the race and only 3-4 total on the beach. It was the first time I can remember that there was fewer Hobies on the beach than any other model. I can see the reasoning of why Hobie has closed regattas and we know it has worked in some areas, but overall Hobie boats seem to be declining in use, at least down here. What ever happened to all of the Miracle 20's that were sold? You almost never see them out on the water anymore. I think maybe at least allowing other brands of boats to race might really be in the best interest of Hobie, even if they score the Hobies seperately, or do a dual scoring of all boats/hobie only. The more events people are involved in will only help keep people sailing and if they keep sailing eventually they will need a new boat, no matter what brand they sail now. For the most part, the people willing to buy a new boat are the ones that are involved in racing. The better they get, or the more involved they get, the better boat they will buy.
Just my 2 cents...