Yes it’s a little late but at least here is a little sample of what is going on up in the PNW. We had our first showing at the S.O.C.K.S. Regatta, Care of Seattle Yacht Club. They put on a great regatta, and were very impressed by the boat. 9 A’s showed up (not bad for a first time event). We had light to light/medium winds and were still showing off the boats speed.

The skiff guys were really impressed and it was the point of discussion at the Saturday dinner. With 3 different A’s out on the water (Aussie Flyers, WaterRat, Bimare) it was a great opportunity for us all to get together and “tune” and see how our rigging looked compared to the other.

Saturday after the first day of racing, a gentleman approached us with excitement and proclaimed that he was unaware of other A’s in the area, as he just picked up a new Mk V from Australia. (which means Seattle now has 5 A’s, Bellingham has 3, and Portland has 5).

Last weekend, care of the Vancouver Lake Sailing Club, was our 2nd regatta, and unlike the first showing, we were fewer in numbers, BUT we had wind! Mid teens to mid 20’s gusts. WOW…what a ride. All of us at one point or another was able to see our boat on its side and try out the righting system. Again, the laser sailors and dinghies were quite impressed, especially at the downwind speed and point!

Our learning curve is great, but the sailing is getting competitive, leader changes, tuning theory, and beer drinking! With lots of sailors in this area really excited about our presence, we are getting invited to future events, and lots of people are thinking about purchasing A’s in the coming year.

Anyway,…I just wanted to announce that we are alive and well…and the Pacific Northwest is now a region that can proudly say has an active A cat fleet!

Thank you,

Michael

USA#187

You guys better be careful.
If your A Class keeps growing, PU Diddy will find some other way to attack you.

Ah!Much ado about nothing!

So far... I haven't heard of any fleets making or planning on making any changes this year or next....

Clubs seem more interested in increasing the numbers of boats racing rather then what particular flavor goes racing at their events.

JMO
Take Care
Mark

Mark...

Not sure what you mean...

Our new fleet is very busy planning events this year and next.(planning on attending existing events) In fact, we all came from different boats/backgrounds and jumped on with the A's. Some were Hobie sailors...some were Nacra sailors...some were 505 and skiff sailors....quite a diverse background.

We are "using" the YC venues as we are not big enough to staff our own events. And quite actually, the YC scene is just perfect for us. Its the reason there are clubs...to host regattas...and in return they get recognition...volunteers...and (obviously....$!)

Anyway..this is a positive post...showing that people got together to form a fleet...and it will continue to grow and attract othter sailors...

Cheers,

Michael

Hello

My point was also meant to be positive. Every Yacht Club, Catamaran club and Hobie Cat Club (that I know) are all looking for support, members and participation at their events.

My point is that from what I have seen the overwhelming majority of Clubs (Hobie, Cataraman and Yacht) welcome fleets (A boats, F18H's and Hobie one designs) and cat sailors with one-off or rare cats to the majority of their events (given their resources)

I suspect that most of the traditional cat events in your area would also welcome you to their event. (I don't know) My guess is that you probably have more potential events to attend and not enough time and energy to compete in good numbers at most of them.

The A fleet on the Chesapeake participate in events hosted by Hobie, Open and Yacht clubs (And the A class and all of the other catsailors in the area have a full schedule)

The huge upset that was generated in the winter appeared to start in reaction to your growing A boat fleet in the Northwest. My observation was that not much has changed or appears to be changing in the future at clubs which run events and want good turnouts in order to make all of the work rewarding.
(So my comments were really directed to Sam)


Take Care
I am still recovering from the upwind to reach in 30 mph at Bloody Point this week at the C100

Mark

I was being sarcastic.
Supposedly, it was some A Class sailors in the northwest who sent PU over the rational edge(remember his "you will not be allowed to attend" letter he sent to those A Class sailors?) which later lead to his NO X-BOAT edict.
Since his attempt to crush and demoralize the A Class and other X-BOAT sailors has failed, there is no telling what he may be planning.
Many of us will NEVER forget or forgive him and Rich McVeigh.

It is true that most H-Fleets have chosen to ignore PU/McVeigh and their memos, but I'll bet if someone had told you last year that NAHCA was going to make such a drastic mistake, you would have said they were crazy.
Look at history, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
At little skepticism and paranoia is needed.

I think it is great that the A Class is growing in the Northwest and nationwide.
I would love to buy one but the nearest one to race against is a five hour drive away.
Maybe next year.

Here in the mid-atlantic, catamaran racing is dominated by H-Boats and Fleets.

maybe next year here too.....