"And the same thing may be true of the Hobie 16 -- they are the most numerous and most affordable, but are not necessarily the cat that youth sailors would choose if given a choice. "

Mary, the thing is that if you`re racing at that level ie going to a worlds, whether it be junior or senior, you want to be sailing & practicing on the best boat you can. And just to QUALIFY to go to these events you need a fairly new boat. No-one wins a Nationals on a 6 year old Hobie 16, unless all his competitors are sailing 7 year old boats. SO although a Hobie 16 can be bought cheaply because there are a gazillion of them around, doesn`t change the fact that at a COMPETITIVE level you need a new boat. New Hobie 16`s are anything but cheap when compared with other classes that far surpass them in level of specification. If I lived in the UK and had to decide whether to buy a Stealth or a Hobie 16 AT THE SAME OR SIMILAR PRICE, there would be no contest. I sail a boat with spinnaker that`s quicker than a H16 at HALF THE PRICE.

I think the issue most people have is that a new boat selected for ISAF Youth Worlds won`t give as many folks the opportunity to sail the chosen boat before the event. Sailors in smaller countries are not going to rush out & buy the new SL16 just because it`s the new youth boat.

SA sent one team to the last youth worlds, imagine they now bought one of these boats - who would they practice against ? So they will qualify on H16`s and sail the boat first time when they get there.
The last Youth Worlds in Poland, they had not sailed with a spinnaker until I took them out for a sail on the Mozzie to get them to get the feel for it, for about an hour. They only bought the spinnaker kit a few weeks later, which was only a few weeks before the event.

I have to say two things here though. Hobie is probably the most qualified company to be able to provide boats and equipment for such an event, and have proven their ability in this regard. And anyone who feels the need to constantly criticise the boat obviously hasn`t done 4 years on one sailing in ANY conditions. They are like Mack trucks, granted, but OD fleet racing them is great fun, and they handle offshore coastal conditions most people would be sh*t-scared launching their lightweight new-technology boats in, including me.

Steve