I was one of those involved in making the "erroneous" decision to allow other brands of catamarans at HCA events in the 1990's.

I thought it was in the best interest of the class at the time. The IHCA was weak, Hobie Cat was on the ropes and the NAHCA had been freed from company control. I have to laugh because you know who was NAHCA Chairman at the time? Paul Ulibarri.

When I first read the release this morning, I was stunned. After I got over being left out of the loop (after all, I don't have any official NAHCA position anymore), I had an epiphany:

This really won't change things that much.

Florida will continue to do what they've done the past few years. You don't have Hobie only regattas now and you won't in the future.

Same for the upper Midwest. Other than CRAM, CRAW and OCRA, there's not much else going on.

New England will continue to do what they've done the past few years, too. The only thing they'll have to do is change their name. You can't call yourselves "NAHCA Division 12" and still run multiple brand boat regattas.

Those areas of the country that have Hobie only events (California is the only one that really comes to mind) will continue on their path as well.

The areas that have strong mixed events (Divisions 16, 11, 9 are the ones I'm most familiar with) will have a tougher time adjusting, but we'll live through it.

Personally, I will continue to attend those events where I find "fair competition among friends" wherever I may find them. I've been doing this for so long, I don't have anything left to prove. I don't care about Division Points anymore. I don't care if the event organizer allows other classes of boats in their event, although I much prefer to race one-design. If I have fair weather, stiff competition, good friends, and a good time, I'm a happy camper.

I have asked Paul and Rich to further define what sanctions, if any, would be imposed in the event of non-compliance. Until then, I will keep my head on straight and worry about more important things (like driving home tonight in 6" of new snow).

Matt Bounds
NAHCA Sec/Treas/Newsletter Editor 1990-1996
NAHCA Chairman 1997-2000