On the West Coast we are getting the most interest in the Formula 18s and the A-Cats. That is for the sailors coming from other disciplines. There is still a very hearty group of Hobie 16s. We do not see very many of the other boats coming out to race. I-20s show up with only about 2 boats, unless we are sailing in San Diego, where we can see about 7 of them. A-Cats mostly sail out of Long Beach, nice fleet, good sailors, but hard to pry from Long Beach format. Formula 18s sail the most (14 regattas/per year) in the most locations (6-7 venues). That means that we are seen by a lot of new people all the time. This is what generates the interest, "We actually sail." Having a lot of the "same boat" (Formula 18) on the line is really impressive to the racing fleets that are struggling. It is hard to beat the numbers game.
Later,
Dan
Our F18 mass in our area has pretty much been maxed out from the current catamaran sailing ranks. There maybe one or two more to be added in the next couple of years. What IS working are where people have infiltrated local sailing clubs and talking up the class to sailors of other mono-hulls. There is a good bit of interest and we think think we could possibly add another three F18s to our region in the next year.
Size-wise, how does the F18 North American event stack up with other NA Sailing Championships in numbers? I bet it's already up there pretty high in the list.
