Let's get this straight -

The Comptip was introduced in late 1984 and announced in the Jan/Feb 1985 HOTLINE.

NAHCA came into its own in November of 1988 when Coleman sold Hobie Cat and an NAHCA chairman was elected (Wick Smith) at the first NAHCA AGM in Corpus Christi (16 Nationals).

The rule change requiring Comptips for class racing was proposed by Jeff Alter and approved at the 1989 NAHCA AGM in Chicago.

I was the Division 10 rep at both meetings. The Hobie Cat Company had nothing to do with the rule change, other than supporting it.

Now for more practical matters - the class rule will not be changed or relaxed in the forseeable future. However, it's not the class that will DSQ you from an event, for the class cannot file a protest at a regatta. Only the R/C or your fellow competitors can do that.

For a novice who's just getting started, it would be nasty introduction to the sport be protested for not having a Comptip, but they run that risk, nevertheless. I would consider the chances unlikely, especially in local fleet racing.

However, once they start beating people on the race course, they had better start think about complying with the class rules - the better they do on the race course, the higher the risk of protest.

In A fleet, it goes without saying. That's a competitive crowd. You might get your one exemption, but that's it. Even some B fleets are like that (upstate New York, for example).