On behalf of the F16 class, I'd just like to echo what Robi has said. We in the F16 class are all very grateful to Wouter for all that he has done for the class. It can legitimately be argued that the class might not exist now without the work that he put in. However, Wouter stood down as an officer of the class earlier this year, his views are not necessarily the views of the F16 class and should not be seen as such.

The F16 class does not have any view on the rule set of any other class, the methods of any particular manufacturer, or the dominance of any one particular design or class over any other. It is not helpful to denigrate another class or design in any way as we need all the multihull sailors we can get and need to remain united as sailors with a common interest to further the cause of multihull sailing worldwide.

So, whilst respecting Wouter's right to a view, to dissent, to criticism, please do not think that he is representing the F16 class as a whole. Nor should anyone be under the impression that we are 'casting Wouter adrift' he was, and is, a valuable asset to our class and multihull sailing in general, with his enthusiasm and analytical abilities.