I posted the following in the F18 forum a few days ago, but with no response, so let me try again here...

I read a comment in the F18HT forum over at http://www.f18htclass.com/ that although there has been strong growth in the F18 class in the midwest, it has largely been at the expense of the I20. I'm curious to know from those of you sailing F18 whether you think this is true, and if it is, what do you think the factors are that are attracting sailors from the I20 to the F18.

Mark.

I'm not sure wether more I-20 sailors went to the F18 over the F18HT. With the Worrell I did notice alot of I-20 sailors going for the F18HT because they wanted to do the worrell and for that they had to sail the F18HT. Talking about a zero-sum game.

Alot of rumours have been and are started lately and I wouldn't pay to much attention to them. Most will not hold up up after more analyses. And some things are spun so fast that I'm dizzy.

Besides, what's the problem with I-20 sailors going for F18's, if these sailors feel that that platform is better suited to them or there desires for racing than that is just okay. Looks like a certain group feels it is alright for them to forcefully zero-sum I-20 sailors (worrell) but not alright for others to convince I-20 sailor to "go F18" voluntarily.

Strange world it is indeed.

Besides some of the growth F18 is also partly due to the grow of the Hobie Tiger class which I think does not attract many sailors from the I-20 class.

I think when you contact people of the public forum you will hear more about this issue.

In my opinion, the F18 class has establish a serious foothold in the US and will not let it go again. I think that any class directly competing with them will eventually loose as was the case here in Europe. They are to well organised and lets face it only the H16, A-cats and Tornado classes put up events with comparable quality and participation. Does anyone really believe that a class that still can't make the ISAF minimum number of boats for recognision can compete with that ? And that includes "my own class", before I get flamed on that. This is precisely the reason why we do NOT compete with the F18 class but align ourself with it.

Wouter

Here in Florida, the I20 is king. Just look at how many boats attended the St Augustine Summer Sizzler this past weekend. There were over 13 I20s racing. A very impresive sight. How many F18's? - one. The opposite was however true in Georgia earlier this year at the Spring Fever Regatta. There was a sizable F18 (Hobie Tiger) fleet and no I20's. I think it comes down to the questions of what are people sailing in your area and do you want to sail one design or portsmouth.

Jennifer Lindsay
Taipan 4.9 #262

First of all, I don't sail the F-18. Of the sailors I know that sail the F-18, all were racers in CRAM or CRAW before they switched. Of the 11 boats that switched over the last two years, the classes they switched from are spread pretty evenly between the I-20 (3), Nacra 5.8 NA (3) and the I-17R (3). One came from the Nacra 5.5 Uni fleet and one from the Bim Javelin 2 F-18HT. I think the reasons varied. From the I-20 fleet, most switched because the F-18 is easier for the crew (smaller spinnaker). Those that left the I-17R fleet moved because of wanting a 2-person boat (2) or wanting to compete with Matt Struble (1). Those that left the Nacra 5.8 NA fleet either wanted to go to a spinnaker boat or to move to the most competitive or growing fleet. The Nacra 5.5 Uni sailor needed a 2-person boat and I don't know what happened to the F-18HT. Most tried both the Nacra F-18 and the I-20 and just picked the boat that met their wants and needs. There is one Hobie Tiger that switched from the Miracle, but he only races with CRAM a couple of times a year. All of what I have said here is MY OPINION...not necessarily fact!

One other factor that is not mentioned is that the Performance dealer was promoting the NAF-18 Class and, of course, the Nacra F-18. That dealer attends the CRAM regattas. He brokered or took in trade most of the racers' prior boats, almost all of which have been resold. He also sold some new I-20s this year.