If it isn't our usual distractor.

You can really count either can you.

Even at your home regatta of gunpowder only a hand full HT's (I think is was 5 on average) actually raced instead of sitting on the beach. That was after offering one of the 10 charter boats to anyone wanting to sail one.

Lets be honest here the highest score the HT's ever got was Tybee 500 with 8 boats. Still some 20 % short of 10 I say. That is if your not counting the fleet of 8 HT's which are currently sale-ing (misspelling intentional) the catsailor classified ads. And these don't even include the Alter cup boats that are still on sale. Hell, I think there are over 15 HT's on sale at this time in the US.

I think the T's got 7 at their nationals and around 5 boats at a few other events. We both can't hold a candle to H16 turn-outs at this time. Not even to I-20 turn-outs or Tiger turnouts. And after Catfight not even to Nacra F18 turnouts.

Good for us is that we're not dependent on the US alone. With the other area's like Australia we'll do just fine. And the boats that were on offer secondhand were snatched up within a month. Besides wasn't the main purpose of the F16's to level race against F18's / Tigers. With the F18 fleets growing decisively I think the F16's are looking ahead to a bright future which is hopefully measured in experienced joy, rather than how many boats are around either being sailed or on sale.

Now good bye and till next time. That is if you are still around by then.

Wouter

Hi 49er,

Seems like most of the posts I`ve read from you are inflammatory, like you are itching to start a fight. This is a good character trait, one which I also have, but also one which needs to be controlled a little.
I think Mr. Zenke was referring to his involvement with Performance Catamaran products, as well as the Taipan. I also believe he was referring to his role as a dealer / distributor, when referring to helping to build fleets.
I`m sure you would agree that it can`t be the sole responsibility of a dealer / supplier / manufacturer / agent to build sailing fleets, but rather his role should be to provide support to those sailors who ARE building fleets by attending regattas. I believe he has answered this to the satisfaction of any critics out there when stating that he has driven substantial distances to deliver boats & help the new owners set them up. The rest is up to those owners to build fleets.

You sign on as "49er" a bit of a misleading acronym, do you sail a Taipan 4.9, or a 49er skiff ?(49er is the registered name of the 16ft skiff designed by Julien Bethwaite).
I`m curious as to your intended involvement in the F16 class, is it to get everyone hot & sweaty, or would you like to help build the class, but are frustrated in the low attendance figures ?

Hopefully you will take some time to think over your answers before you post them.
An interesting extract from your post :
"In the Mid-Atlantic,he I-20s only attend distance races as a class and rarely, if ever, show as a class in bouy races."
This, I would presume, is probably due to the fact that the Mid-Atlantic is about a 15 day sail away from the US coastline, and about the same distance away from Europe & Africa. A great place to hold regattas, but logistically a bit difficult !

Regards
Steve

I checked, the Taipan's got 8 boats at their nationals, so were on a par I think. And yes only 4 were present at the F16 nationals a week later. But than the F16's got one at springfever than the HT's and equalled on the Icebreaker and Round the bay races. So I say were pretty much in the balance with regards to eachother while excepting that we both small in comparison to other bigger fleets.

Wouter

Dear 49'er, you seem to know me well enough that I have helped to create the largest Hobie 20 fleet in the USA, and now one of the largest Inter 20 fleets in the country, and again, I expressed the Taipan Fleet is on its way. The HT is not a large fleet, and if you notice 8 of them are for sale on Catsailor! By the way, I just got a call from an HT owner yesterday who wants to trade in their boat for a New Inter 20 to do distance racing; What beef do you have with Inter 20's doing distance races, that is racing yes??? All the same, I am confident the Inter 20's are getting more and more into bouy racing. Lastly, the Taipan 4.9 does not need defending, its a great boat that sells itself. And honestly, I dont' see Taipan sailors as the ego types who care if they have the fastest, largest, most speedy, most popular, largest fleet or whatever. I just find the Taipan a really fun boat to sail and per foot, the speed is amazing. And yes, Taipan sailors can be proud their fleet is truly starting to grow, and as a bonus the F16 Class makes things even more exciting. I'm not going to apologize if this somehow threatnes your sailing class? If you want to get into power games and who has the biggest badest boat on the water; either take up yoga and find peace in your life or go for an Inter 20 and get a little crazy doing the Tybee 500.

How about this--anyone who wants membership "joins" by buying the sail logo. The cost is whatever the logo costs. It becomes, in essence, their membership fee, and membership card is the sail sticker. The international class is too small and too new to be thinking about treasurers, etc. Each country could do whatever they want beyond that.

Lets keep things simple!

Having one person make the logos would help, though. Then we can assure a consistent result. Jake Kohl can do it here in the states, if doing by country is prefered. If more than 10 are ordered, the cost would be $12.

So I'm in favor of the membership "fee" being the cost of the sail logo, and the membership "card" being the sail logo itself.

Thanks Chip. It is good to know that AHPC and yourself have worked out something which will better support all the T4.9 fans in the U.S. I think Kenn had a good point in that there seem to be quite a few potential Taipan owners out there who are waiting and watching to see what happens. Strong support from you and AHPC could make all the difference. It is probably a two way street, so we need to support the Taipan agents also if we want to count on having good technical/parts support locally.

Regards,
Bill Moran
T4.9 #224

Wouter & Jennifer,
You seem to have missed the point of the purpose of the tiller extension on beach catamarans :
It is actually made that long so that the skipper can beat the crew with it when they are not doing what they are told.
I`ve cut mine a bit shorter, as I`ve found it was a bit too long to poke my crew in the eye when she`s not trapezing properly. It makes it a bit difficult to get my weight forward, but it`s worth it.
If you look at the attached picture, you can see that my crew has reached the stage where she is too afraid to come out on trapeze. At this point it may become necessary to beat her with the mainsheet, which is, after all, the main purpose for having a few feet of extra mainsheet on the boat. Thinner line is better for this, never mind that it runs better through the cleats (this is just an excuse most skippers use to fit thinner line, they all know the real reason !)
We all know that the only reason we allow crew on the boat is to pull ropes, act as ballast and obey orders, as well as to pass drinks out between races.
When I have enough money to buy a keelboat I`ll get my crew to clean the bottom in winter, I find that they clean it better when they are shaking from hypothermia.

The above commentery accurately describes my apprenticeship into sailing 18 years ago, so I have no sympathy for crew. I`ve done my time, now it`s their turn.
The problem these days is that crew are too soft, we need to toughen them up a bit. Now mine doesn`t even want to sail in winter ! I can`t see that the fact that our lake is filled from snow off the mountains has anything to do with that.

David Elliot put things in perspective when it comes to crew :

"Dear Taipan sailors,
The problem with crews getting tangled in the jib sheets has nothing to do with the cleat position, the block or which way the crew faces in the tack.
The problem is the crew. Crew are by their very nature useless individuals (that is why they are crew). They all should be drowned at birth! Let them get tangled like a stunned mullet in a net, smack in the middle of the tramp and leave them there. It makes no difference to the boat's performance. Every skipper knows all the boat's performance comes from the blunt end of the boat.
Yours always in assistance,
Slimy."

Now there`s a skipper who knows the truth.

Cheers
Steve.

Wouter,

I am thrilled to see the F16 class making stides on the Chesapeake Bay, where I live! Hopefully, some of them are planning to come to this weekend's Summer Sizzler 5 in the lower Ches Bay!

As far as the HT fleet, we are very happy with our class growth and plan to have 15-20 HTs at the SS5. The F18HT Class had 8 HTs in Rehoboth, 9 at the Midwinters, and 8 at the Tradewinds. After the SS5 we will be averaging 10 boats or more per class 2003 season event. NOT BAD!! We expect an even bigger turnout at the Newport Regatta next month, so the average turnout per class event will rise even more! Our class is structured to attact good turnouts at the class circuit events. The class trailer system is a big plus in this goal.

Yes, there are several HTs for sale currently, as most are related to the demise of the Worrell 1000. I think that this is a great thing for the class, because we have a supply of boats for new members to draw from!

I have offered to let parties interested in joining the F-16 class test sail the BIM F-16 at the SS5, but no one has responded, nor have any F-16s preregistered. The invitation is still open to your class. I had hoped to have both of these lightweight formula classes well represented at the SS5. Maybe next year?

49ner

Obviously you live in the Chesapeake region. Perhaps you would like to take a leadership role in building ANYTHING having to do with cat racing. Contact any local fleet... they could easily provide a list of work that you could do. We are always looking for people to contribute to the organization of the sport. However, your counting ability is useless!

Since you persistently miss the point, let me help you. People purchase boats for reasons OTHER then regatta turnouts...Maybe they just like the way the boat sails, looks and handles on the beach. Taipan sailors may not want to race every other weekend... Obviously, they have the option of reconfiguring their boat as circumstances warrant. HT sailors may not want to go distance racing. I20 sailors may not want to spend their time and money on a buoys race circuit. And the point is... So What.... Who Cares… they are sailing.

Only a one design nazi like your self would trash the sailors and dealers who are sailing in our events for low turnouts. The reality is that 2/3 of Hobie sailors compete in fewer then 3 regattas a year…. And most Hobie sailors are not interested in traveling any significant distance for a race. Open sailors are no different… the majority of the sailors will compete in 3 or less regattas a year. Attendance at regattas is a function of the number of sailors out there. If your goal is to find a class with big numbers… surprise surprise a good bet is the Hobie 16… please don’t bother us any longer… buy one and go sail it…. It’s a fine boat and it’s quite popular in the area. Others pick boats for their class… looks… price… whatever..

Three clubs in the area actually host regattas… From our point of view… we need boats to attend… We could give a damn if they all look alike or we get one of everything on the water. Our concern is that we run events that people want to attend… we do them well and that people have a good time and choose to participate the next time and eventually run something. We need everyone to step up and contribute to the organization. We try to organize the racing to maximize the fun factor. If we got 20 of one type of boat… go for one design starts… if we get 4 classes of 5 spin type boats each… we go for portsmouth racing with one design split outs.

We do not need your BS hyping some ersatz competition between boat classes fought every weekend at the regattas and measured by boats on the line or results between sailors. Nobody is playing this stupid game…. I would appreciate it if you would stop… you contribute nothing to supporting the sport in the region.

BTW
The dealers that you are trashing do contribute to the sport in this region and are critical to growing cat racing in the future. Roger Holmes Supercat, WF Oliver, F18HT and Chip Zenke Performance and Taipan provide enormous help in supporting cat sailing. (The Hobie dealer is beyond awful). They are instrumental in recruiting and assisting new sailors… Racers are not in the business of teaching sailing, holding a new sailors hand, or providing the support needed to get new people into cat racing or cat sailing.