Phill,

I saw the full page of text and though it was Wouter posting.

I fully agree with this though. The F16 as a class is fully in its infancy. We have a lot of momentum (especially in the US) to overcome before people will look at it as a recognized class of racing.

I see this happening in a couple of phases.

1) Lock in the class rules. For better or for worse, it is done and this is how we are organizing the class. Continued changes keep people from commiting, as they are sitting back and waiting to see where it all falls out.
2) All remaining efforts dirrected towards growing the class. If someone is willing to commit to owning an F16 there is no reason they should not be able to become a member of the organization if they wish. The first F16 sold to a guy living in the boonies of South Dakota may have a 12+ hr drive just to get to another F16 owner and that is still not enough to make a valid race, but he may be the emmisary that sells the concept and in a couple of years there is a large active fleet in the state.

Promotion of events and accolades heaped on those who attend and more importantly host organized F16 functions has to continue, because this concept while fun to sail is in reality a performance boat designed for racing, not a beat around day sailer for the novice. Promotion should not come at the expense of excluding any form of participation.

IMHO

Matt