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Doc,

Why are A cats called "potato chips" in CA? This is not a lead in to a joke (I swear), but he said they are known in CA as "potato chips" and I am not sure why (maybe some vieled reference at being fragile??). I am not trying to debate any boats fragility, just want to be "down with" the vernacular.

I went to the Mississippi coast a few months ago and a lot of people were asking me where the "fragile" sticker was....I thought it was not very funny!!! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> The same ones asked me where the "panic" button was after I capsized twice. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />


I LOVE the Acat - in my opinion, it is simply one of the most elegant pieces of machinery ever conceived of by the mind of man...(plus, i'll be trading tacks w/ these guys for the forseeable future)... I never intended the "Potato chip" comment as remotely critical... Infact, when I asked one of the Acat sailors what it was like to sail his 165lb. Acat in the slop and high wind of a typical Santa Cruz, California afternoon he replied with (something like): " ...it's like a cricket sailing a potato chip out there { pointing toward the lake on which we were racing}"... So,the "potato chip" comment is a (damn clever too ), quote by an Acat sailor and not a criticism of the boat by me - a guy who loves the Acat and frankly venerates every sailor in the Acat fleet...


PK