As the foundation president of F18 in Australia, the formation of which, was a catalyst to formalization of NAF18 and international status of the F18 class, I would like to make a few comments:
I am a Tiger sailor
I am I even a Hobie dealer
I have stood on the podium in most F18 events here.
With help from some others, I formed the Australian F18 class in the hope that all keen competitive catsailors could compete together and enjoy camaraderie. It worked for a while. In the beginning, I used to encourage others to purchase Nacras and even the "fledgling" Capricorn, in the hope that the class would grow and prosper. There was no aggressive marketing. Hobie won EVERYTHING here for a long time and even still does win most events. We never used the F18 class vehicle to deride other designs. Sure we would spruke of our achievements on our own commercial sites but we never berrated other manufacturers or their choice of boat in the public arena. Call it integrity, call it pride or dignity but it was a genuine attempt to build a class in which we could all benefit, by way of competition and boat sales.
I am well known for my "pie" theory here in Australia where we al help to grow the pie and benefit from increased participation.
The quote from Jill Nickerson appears on the Capricorn website. I find it offensive. Whilst it is a private opinion,Obviously it is endorsed by a manufacturer whose primary motivation is increasing market share.To date, official Capricorn involvement in positive promotion of the F18 class here has been zip! Yet they think it is appropriate to slag the opposition.
I've had a gutful of over-enthusiastic zealots who do nothing for the common good. Some see criticism of the opposition as a means of advancement.

I have other options which are far more enjoyable and much less work than F18. They are looking better by the day!

Mal Gray