I'd love to se a combined Hobie/Alter cup regatta, but with the hobie only edict how could that happen? already here in division 3 we had 12 races this year, add the 40th and we're up to 13. And i was doing the alter qualifier but it was postponed. If its on a good time for me then i will do it this year.
John, Kevin thanks for the hard work and we appreciate all you do for us multihull sailors.
p.s. John did that tape work at the 40th on the hot stick?

OK, one start, portsmouth, 30-40 boats. If I show up with my P15, or a H16, do you have a sound suggestion for where am I going to get a clean start? I'll be buried from the git go. Guess I'll park at the committee boat and then tack off to the right. I'll be digging out of a 20 to 30 second hole at the beginning of every race, if I'm lucky. Doesn't fit this sailors idea of a Division Championship. Guess I'm sailing the wrong boat/s, (although I could show up with a Hobie 14)

Not sure how Hobies are going to fit, or want to fit, into that equation. Except for possibly Tigers and 20's.

This is a common problem in mixed fleets. The boardless boats get screwed every time at the start. You fight your way into position and an A-cat below runs you almost in irons and then an I20 drives over you leaving turbulent air for several minutes. Then, when they are gone you can try to sail in clean air, and occasionally pick off some of the wankers. The shorter the race, the more exagerated this effect becomes.

Where I live this is the way they do it and they seem to think it is fair and the handicaps will sort it out. The porstmouth numbers don't have a way to accomodate this inequity at the start.

Hey Rich - the tape worked perfectly. I blame your rigging tape on the hotstick for our port start. Great meeting you and thanks for digging in your box to help out a stranger.

ah hem? (throat clearing sound) The FXone does pretty well.

You're also in a world of trouble going downwind not having rights on the boats with chutes coming up at speed. Not so much with the 20, but you'd definatly be a speed bump on a 14.

helping a fellow sailor is what this sport is all about. Not like I could do anything else at the time.

It’s the start
It’s the course configuration…
It's too many balanced courses
It’s the rating
It’s the F16 rating.
It’s the N17 rating
It’s the spinnaker boats
It’s the damn slow hobie 14…

I have heard em all… I have been there on my Dart with a nacra 5.5u below me…. Solution… find clear air… it’s sailboat racing. And run 40 minute races where the start does not dominate the finish order.

The EU has large single start regattas… they think we are crazy for running 6 five boat starts at regattas . Basically we need to grow a pair once a year.

My proposal won’t fit all regions.

The danger is over scheduling the racing and burning out the sailors and suffering low turnouts. In California… you might need to compromise or do something else.

In Area C We could add the one regatta (Cambridge) and probably be OK on the schedule. (2 events in July… One event in August)

In Area B … there is a very strong Hobie fleet in Syracuse and Rochester, They also have a Multihull open at Lake Canidauaga every fall which is run by the Shark fleet. It has been well supported in the past by the Hobie sailors from Syracuse and New York. If you declared this event the qualifier and gave highpoints out to the Hobie sailors for their Division results as I propose.. it’s a win win.
see
http://sharkcatamaranclass.org/raceresults.html#20087cmor

In Area A, The Nacra Fleet is running Open and F18 one design races. Meanwhile the A class is trying to build out of the Bristol Yacht club and this year they supported Wroten Point’s 49th Annual multihull regatta.. (wow.. 49 years… that’s history) . and a new event at American Yacht Club… (very very Gucci club). If the two organizations worked together and supported an additional regatta in New England the A Class would add another regatta that would give New England sailors an attractive regatta option for their fleet and they could begin to grow the class in NE.. One idea … they run an 800 sailor regatta at Sail Newport that Cats could race in… For reasons that could be simply financial and I never understand… it just doesn’t happen. Perhaps as the Area Qualifier… the doors might open.

.... Nobody suspects the H14 ... whose two main weapons are; a portmouth rating from hell .... a cruel ability to go straight downwind .... and an old fart at the helm ....??? ...... Nobody suspects the H14 ... whoses three main weapons are .....

Here in Area "C" the Hobie sailors on "SLOW" H16's and H14's have won the event beating alot of "FASTER" boats a majority of the time in recent years.

Harry Murphey
TheMightyHobie18/#9458, Fleet54/Div11
P19MX/#86, CRAC-Open Class

Good point Harry. I guess I need another boat...started out with a 14 (#86), might as well finish with one.

Mark,
Your PM box is full, please contact me

It would be nice if we could do something about the no modifications allowed in the qualifiers. I understand why that is, but it does keep quite a few people from participating.

The best thing you can do in this case is to make sure that your local regatta results are submitted for evaluation by the Portsmouth group. If they get enough data on a boat, the brackets go away.

Jake the mods I think he's talking about are things like the mods that allow you to carry a spin, non stock sails stuff like that. I don’t think he’s talking about boats with provisional numbers.

Adding the mods will only exacerbate the lack of fairness issue.

Yup, that's what I'm talking about.

MHRA used to run the Area G qualifiers at one of its regattas. A big problem was that several of the most active club members had non-class legal boats. So then there had to be a start for the Alter Cup qualifer and then another start for the 'illegals', which mucked up the club's point series.

And now that the G qualifier is a stand-alone event, the most active MHRA racers can't go because they don't have legal rigs, and the casual racers aren't inclined to go because the usual suspects aren't going.

Too many people think that the faster modern cat designs sail themselves.

In the past I have refered to a little thing we tend to do at my club when slow boat sailors mouthing off about fast boats.

We take them along on a ride in a club race on one of these unfair racing machines. Before the first race it over they are out of breath, out of depth and practically begging to be dropped off at the beach.

It is forgotten too often how crews on modern cats tend to typically practice more and work harder at getting all the go fast stuff right. Racing a modern spi boat 1-up is even more tiring/challenging.

Wouter

Wouter

I wish there was an emoticon with that j...... off motion.....

Yep, that's the one.

Karl, you are killing me! So I burst out laughing and my wife looks at me like I'm nuts.

See here Honey, what does that look like to you?