Seems the F16 class in S. Africa is starting to grow slowly, albeit in the Preformance Class 1 category, ie equal to H16 with spinn. Unfortunately the full F16 boats would cost way too much to grow a decent class, so we are concentrating on getting Mosquito, H16 & Dart 18 with spinnakers together. This has proven difficult to date due to geographic locations of the various fleets. In the Cape Town area, the Hobie 16 class is quite strong, but are not buying into the spinnaker concept since we often sail in strong winds and the Hobies fall over without spinnakers. The Mosquito fleet have grasped the spinnaker concept & run with it, more on that later. The Dart sailors are keen to add a spinnaker after watching the Mozzies sail past them at double their speed.
Inland, the Hobie fleet seem to be adding spinnakers, with 6 or 7 sold to date, as they sail in lighter winds. There are virtually no Mozzies inland, as their small sailplan lends itself to coastal sailing. The Dart 18 fleet is very strong there and unlikely to convert to spinnaker sailing, as they have their own exclusive regatta circuit which works well for them.
These issues make it quite difficult to arrange open F16 events, since most sailors prefer One-design racing where fleets are big enough, and the classes are split geographically.
The Mosquito class has 15 spinnaker boats now, and recently held their National Champs, although not open to other classes, so not strictly F16. We have intentions of holding a F16 PC1 Regatta at a central venue in 2005, incorporating all 3 classes, and hope to attract at least 20 boats.

That`s all for now, see "Smaller is better" for more news on the Mosquito Nationals.

Cheers
Steve

Hello Steve.

That is some wind you guys got there. A little bit to much 27-30 knots (force 7) is sailing in survival mode on any catamaran.

With regard to Fully Blown F16's; the offer for SA licensed building remains open for both Blade F16 and Stealth F16's. However I think none of us look down on the PC class 1 that you guys are building there. I just hope the Dart 18 try is out first. I did hear the Dart 18 was not really suited to the spi package but then again this could just be a rumour that was spread by a malicious opponent of the spi packages.


>>but are not buying into the spinnaker concept since we often sail in strong winds and the Hobies fall over without spinnakers.

You really mean "without" or should that have read "with". So what are the wind conditions where the H16's sail.


>>>These issues make it quite difficult to arrange open F16 events, since most sailors prefer One-design racing where fleets are big enough, and the classes are split geographically.


Well, no haste, easy does it. Make sure you have fun yourself and over time things will come together. We have had our share of setbacks and yet will have continued to grow nevertheless. The concept is just that good as you are well aware. As the Taipan sailors say. Give it some time and let the venom (or virus) do its work, we have yet to find any sailor that has proven immune to its effects. Sometimes it takes weeks sometimes it takes years.


>>We have intentions of holding a F16 PC1 Regatta at a central venue in 2005, incorporating all 3 classes, and hope to attract at least 20 boats.

That is good. With the second NSW challenge planned for this winter and the Asian Formula 16 challenge I think we can look forward to this winterseason. Even when halve of our boats are in winter storage (like mine)!

>>That`s all for now, see "Smaller is better" for more news on the Mosquito Nationals.

Thanks for the report !

Cheers,

Wouter

Hi Wouter,
"That is some wind you guys got there. A little bit to much 27-30 knots (force 7) is sailing in survival mode on any catamaran."
This is what makes the Mozzie a special boat in Cape Town - small rig with forgiving bows makes it possible to still sail in these conditions, even with the kite up (as long as you are willing to swim !)Actually we found it quite manageable, and push the spinnaker to higher wind limits with surprising results. The only reason I pitchpoled is the short steep waves that develop on the Bay, and I flew over the top of one into the back of the next one at twice the speed of the waves. The Hobies have long since packed up & gone to the bar in these conditions. This is not to say it`s always like this, but when the South-Easter comes through it blows this hard for 3 days in a row. If you have organised a regatta over that time, you have to sail in what you get, or cancel the regatta. As you can see, we held the whole 6 race series of our National champs in one day,when the wind "dropped" to 20 knots in the morning, but we ended up sailing in 27 in the last race anyway, which is better than having to re-schedule the event.

"but are not buying into the spinnaker concept since we often sail in strong winds and the Hobies fall over without spinnakers.You really mean "without" or should that have read "with". So what are the wind conditions where the H16's sail."
No, I meant they already fall over WITHOUT spinnakers, so are hesitant to add them. Ask any Hobie sailor if he needs a spinnaker in 20 knots plus, and he will look at you like you`ve just escaped from a high-security mental institution. They have a lot of sail area to deal with already, and, unlike more refined rig designs, cannot do much to flatten the main & twist the top off, other than add more mast-rake which makes their main even fuller. They are great boats, but find their limits sooner than we do - more sail area & less forgiving hull shape.

Wind conditions in False Bay from September to March are ideal for sailing - just a glimpse of this week`s forecast here - Thursday : S 20knots, Friday : SE 15knots, Sat : SE 10knots, Sun : W 15knots, Mon : W 20knots, Tues : SW 15knots. Hobies will sail in probably up to 22-25knots (but won`t hoist a spinn !! ) A lot also depends on sea state. False Bay can get a bit nasty in a South-Easter since it`s an on-shore wind, making big surf & launching on a beat difficult. Bring a spare mast & rudders .
In December, bring a small windsurfer with 3,9sqm sail (smaller than your jib) - it often blows 30-40 knots for 3 or 4 days at a time, with a few days rest before the next big one.

"I just hope the Dart 18 try is out first. I did hear the Dart 18 was not really suited to the spi package but then again this could just be a rumour that was spread by a malicious opponent of the spi packages."
I believe they are not wrong - I owned a Dart and never admired it`s steering, the long narrow deep V-shaped hulls act as tram-lines and prevent rapid bear-aways which are so necessary with kite up. But there are Dart sailors here willing to try it, so we will see how they go.

Remember, your winter storage is our summer sailing, so there are always F16`s sailing somewhere !!

Cheers
Steve

I don't think the D18 is a good candidate for a kite :

1, Very narrow hulls up front
2, Not good steering (hull shape and rudders)
3, The mast is not going to last long unless the Kite goes no higher than the hounds.....

18's are a good giggle when it blows (had one for 10 years; comedy steering and not much up front) and onlt really need the kite up to about F4.... It would get very messy if you tried to fly the kite in a 6 methinks......