Well, there were only 6 in the catamaran class, so it's not saying too much. But it was great publicity for the class--lots of questions from the hundreds of sailors there. I enjoyed sharing a start with about 12 I14s and 8 29ers. We had only 3 races, but they were each, especially the last, long races (like 2 laps around a 7 mile long lake).

As Paul says in the other post, We had the closest race finish in the history of F16 racing in California--impossible for anyone but the camera--on slow motion replay--to determine who crossed first. That was some fun racing! After miles and miles of sailing on a very shifty and technical course (Start 5 7 5 6 8 Finish), Paul was only 100 yards ahead. I made up significant ground at the last mark--Paul on port snuffing and rounding the mark whilst I barrelled in, wild thinging, on starboard, only dropping the hull, snuffing the kite and jibing at the very last possible second. Then as he tacked off on the normal route to the finish, I took a gamble by short tacking up the shore, playing a shore shift. Lo and behold, by the last tack we were absolutely dead even for the last 100 yards and crossed the line with him inching me for the win. Amazing, considering how long the race was. Also a testament to the versatility of the boats--we differ in weight by about 45 lbs--not a trivial amount as there were many he was trapped and I was sitting in releasing downhaul.

Of course, the other races were very close too. Paul has an incredible new main by Glaser and a fairly new spinnaker. Put his tuning savvy to those assets, and Paul has an unmistakable boat speed and pointing advantage on me. Only through the most cunning tactics and diligent play of the shifts was I able to take 2 of 3 from Paul.

As for the I14s, the top boat were usually near us at the top mark, but that was the last we saw of them. The 20 foot cat without spinnaker always just beat us to the top mark on the first lap, but that was the last we saw of them too.

We've decided the venue would make the perfect spot for the Inaugural F16 Pacific Coast Championship next summer...anyone interested? [photo attached shows spectator view of the start/finish.]