To say that a single sponsor can have total control of how regatta is run by a local fleet seems a bit extreme to me. I certianly wouldn't let West Marine say that all competitors that use WM sailing gloves can attend and all others can piss off.
If West Marine were doing organising it, why not? It is a simple choice, you wear the gloves & enjoy the regatta or you go find some other regatta to sail at.
As for the "stop whining and put on your own regatta" comment well, it's not all that black and white either. Say the regional Hobie Division holds 4 regatta's a year. That's four events that only Hobie sailors can attend and probably about as many as the average racer would be willing to attend. So the open events and the Hobie only events end up competing for the same small pool of sailors hurting both groups. So, no I don't think the Hobie edict is good for multihull growth, either for Hobie or any other manufacturer for that matter. Dave
Be clear, hobie will do what is right for Hobie - end of story. To be honest, why should they organise events for guys that don't buy their product?? Be real.
Tiger Mike
