Phill Edw. allow me to clearify my post :
I never said that the mozzie class was doing better then the Taipan class (viable fleets etc). I just said that upgrading a mozzie with a spi is better then spending the same amount of money in upgrading to a One-design Taipan without a spi. This is a simple cost-effectiveness weighting.
Phill, it is true that that several mosquito F16's are around and attending events just as much as it is true that you don't even see such numbers of Taipan sailors with a spi. We will not go into detail about why that is. From a spi perspective, while the Taipan design will take to a spi upgrade well, one will find more companions and understanding in the Mosquito group.
In addition I would like to underline that I talked about the extinction of the Taipan One-design, not specifically of the short-term extinction of the Taipan sailing in Oz. As always I look at things from a World perspective, not from the perspective of any local area. I hate to bring it to you but on a world stage the One-design Taipan is a dead as they come. Of the 70 or so Taipans outside of Australia 90 % is flying a spinaker and 100 % have only F16 sailing as a viable option. Australia is the last straw the Taipan OD has, but sales are declining and sailors are moving out of the Taipan class to F18's and A-cats. How many Taipans were present at the last Taipan Worlds ? Now answer the same question with respect to F18's, A-cats or even Hobie 16's.
Indeed I do see taipans sailing for a long time to come, Hell I love my own Taipan to bits, I just don't see the Taipan One Design setup going anywhere in the future or even maintaining its position as part of the AHPC product listing. A pessismitic view ? Yes, you can call it that. I'm just connecting the dots. Hell, last year we even had a well attended Hobie 17 championship ins Oz but that doesn't change the fact that that class is dying as well, without a hope of revival. It is a bit like a guy falling off a tall building and congratulating himself that he is still doing great at each level that he passes. And at those very moments he is, of course, absolutely right. Still ...
The taipan had the second biggest entry of all cat classes after the A class (48 entries).
That is just nonsense. First the Taipan had 19 (1-up) + 22 (2-up) = 41 entries, not 43, and the Hobie 16 class, with their venue in far away in Western Australia (think rivoli bay) had more entries than the Taipan nationals as well. So at best Taipan is 3rd. And maybe, just maybe a few other classes will claim that their attendence beats your 22 (2-ups) as well as, think F18 although I hear 2005 attendence was down from 34 crews at 2004. But an argument can be had there.
Wouter is also confusing healthy debate within the taipan class with "bickering", particularly when the majority viewpoint does not agree with Wouter's opinions freely given from afar.
Last discussion was a debate od sorts, all others were bickering where the OD sailors used all the tricks available to shut the discussion down. You know this, I know this. How many times have I not heard that I should shut up as I'm not an Australian sailor even though I'm a Taipan boat owner. Apparently the Taipan class is only there for Australian sailors. Your comment about " ... Wouter's opinions freely given from afar ..." is yet again right up this ally. Don't look at the content of his statements, ohh no, the fact that these are coming "from afar" is sufficient grounds to ignore them completely. Well, you guys did exactly that over the last view years and the Taipan One-design class outside of Australia is more dead now then the dinosaurs. I'm sorry, to be so reality based on this but that is the simple truth. By being close-minded and totally focussed on the Aussie scene the class pretty much garanteed that the Taipan OD had absolutely no chance of making it outside of Oz. This is going to break you up further down the road. Penny wise, pound foolish.
Now I totally accept that others will have different opinions, that is to be expected and to be accepted. But I do invite everybody to look at the bigger picture and look at it from the builders/suppliers perspective. Look at economical viability. A class can be the best thing on earth since sliced bread, but when it single supplier drops out because it is not viable to them to sell the design anymore then the class is a dead man walking.
Maybe the supplier is still selling enough of these boats (to only the Aussie market) this year (Not sure that it is), maybe even next year. But with the decline of cat sailing in Australia right and without a chance of reviving the sales (of the OD version) abroad it is, in my opinion, just a matter of time before the sales drop below the threshold. Maybe the introduction of a really competitive design is all that is needed to tip the scales. I don't know, but walking so close to the line any small hick-up can tip the scales. And that is what the Taipan 4.9 class did wrong. They never diversified their markets, thus building up sufficient demand and sales so that a domestic (Australian) hick-up will not trip the class altogether. That the class would always survive on other regions in the world. Currently the class can only survive on the Oz region and that will now never be different in the future. I call that a gamble.
Some say that they will win the gamble. I say that it is more like a recurring gamble that you can't loose a single time. And there will always come a time, sooner or later, at which you will loose it. That in my book is the definition of "just a matter of time"
Trust your daughter's love of the taipan. I had 8 great years racing with my son on one without a kite. Sure a kite is a challenge and maybe even addictive, but not essential to having fun and still being competitive. This is apparent when viewing the results of the top taipans against F18s and A class in mixed fleet racing.
But I will end on an up-beat. Taipan is an excellent boat and design, I agree with Phill Edw. on that. That spi is not essential but well worth the extra expense. Also this essay on the future of the Taipan One design setup is not directly linked to the question that spawned this tangent. So I will propose to move along and just let the future determine who was right to wrong.
Best regards,
Wouter
