Dear Rick,

I am posting from the HAVAMEGA. Just wanted you to know how disappointed I was to find out that you were not going to be here:<.

I was hoping to learn tons of stuff from the Main Wave Man. Not to mention, I was looking forward to having a glass of wine with you and Mary.

Sincerely,

Mimi Appel

Not my fault.., as you know, we were uninvited. And that was after I had registered.
Sorry, but have fun anyway. Come on down to the Tradewinds and we can tip a few.
Rick

why were you uninvited?

The be honest... there was not an un-invite on this. It has to do with the Hobie Class Association not accepting "Wave Class" rules. Boats have to sail stock at HavaMega. No custom sails or other alterations which are allowed under Rick's rules..

99% of the wave racers I know do not race their boats stock.

Actually it had more to do with pressure from the Hobie Cat Company than anything else. Let's be honest.

The Wave Class (IWCA) has a well established set of rules that have been in effect for virtually all of the Wave events held so far. These are not "Rick's Rules"...they are the official Wave Class rules.

The Hobie Cat Company (not the HCA-NA) recently dissallowed those rules and mandated that HAVAMEGA follow manufacturer's specs on Wave participation, contrary to the IWCA rules.

Most active Wave racers have chosen to attend the Wave North Americans this weekend in Melboune Florida instead.

We all wish HCA-NA and the Hobie Cat Company well with their new Wave class.

You can re-read the 20 something pages of posts about how this happened (last spring) if you like:

http://www.catsailor.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=181470&page=1

The factory's input was related to altering "our" charter boats.

Matt Bounds summed it up pretty well...

We are happy to be picking up two of the Factory Waves after the Event. Looks like there will be no danger of having the sails "blown out".

Caleb Tarleton
Sail Sand Point, Seattle
www.sailsandpoint.org

Yes, we (the Active Wave Class, knows as Intl Wave Class Assn. IWCA) were un-invited. That is honestly the truth and everyone knows it.
The only Active Wave Class in North America was invited to the Mega using the rules the Active Wave Class have been using for a number of years now (at least 10 years, I believe).
And then we were told we had to sail stock everything. Most of us have aftermarket tramps and some have sails, so everyone in the Active Wave Class opted to not buy Hobie Tramps, Hobie Sails, and decided to go elsewhere.

Would have liked to have been there.
Again, Sorry,
Rick

I don't see a issue either way. (And I have read through the posts.)

One group wanted a level playing field for the reasons Matt B states: Nor did I want to deal with measuring sails. Another group opts for tweaks. So both went in different directions.

There is really nothing else that can be added to that that is not begging the question.

All of the recent discussions about regatta problems is simply about problems of communication.

As a new person to racing, nothing turns me off more than having information about the regattas confused and poorly laid out. THIS is what's wrong. If you can't say it succinctly for everyone to get quickly and understand clearly then continue to expect what you are getting for regatta attendance...

Really the end of the story.

No, not really. Keep racing HCA and you'll pretty much only have one event (or less) a year to go to.

Absolutely spot on!

and not just new racers.... even old racers want to know what to expect!

Most racers check out the Who's Coming list and it influences their decision to go race.

Heck... look at the OP... Mimi was surprised and disappointed that Rick White was not attending.

It's all about accurate timely information so that people know what to expect.

(I have always thought that the lists of folks who have expressed some interest in attending the regatta are very poor substitutes for Paid and committed to coming lists.)

Good Morning, from the windless Havamega:<

It was not my intention to stir up the hours of discussions from before. I never read any of it at the time. I'm glad I missed out on the drama, because it breaks my heart when Hobie people don't get along. (I was a Division Chair during the Comptip years)

The Wave is a WONDERFUL little boat.

Two words should be kept in the forefront of this discussion....

ONE DESIGN

It's OK to have after market things; your boat, your choice. It's all good. Pleasure sail and race Portsmouth or PHRF.

But I think a level playing field produces the best winner.

WISH YOU WERE HERE

Frankly I'm all for one design. Laudable goal.

But I'm against manufacturer controlled one design. That's a slippery slope toward monopoly, inflated price and a company control over my sport. Like evolving boats one year over the other, some sail being better than other or sometimes not even the same dimensions.

Formula classes have good things going for them (simple box rules, multiple manufacturers) and bad (This year boats are better than last year, hence an arm race). This is not one design, but if the box rules are good enough, that's a close as it gets.

What Rick and the others IWCA members are doing is a one-design *not* controlled by a manufacturer class. Best of the best. All the power to them. Hobie Cat corp is not happy about it because they lose control. Not to mention that Hobie Cat never gave a **** to the wave as a racer, for them it is a "buy 15 for rental on your beach" kind of boat.

Hi Mimi,

O.K., let's keep those two words, ONE DESIGN, in the forefront. That is a good idea because many people think that if it is supplied by Hobie that it is automatically one design. Not even close! First, the boat started out with two very different kinds of tramps, so what difference did it make if owners developed something that they personally liked when a replacement was necessary? (except they got something they liked better for less $)Second, which HOBIE rudders should the owners have brought to the HAVAMEGA regatta? The ones the boat came with when they purchased it or the cheap plastic ones they are supplying now that also come with a shorter tiller that makes it harder to race the boat? Even with Hobie supplied equipment there would be many possible different versions on the beach! For a while Hobie supplied heavy white rudders that broke easily and then started supplying lighter black rudders that were much better. Now the cheap plastic ones. ONE DESIGN? Not even close. Hobie supplies whatever is good for their needs at the moment without ANY consideration or input or consultation with owners. Does that really sound like such a great idea to you? Owners want a say in their class which is why ICWA works.

Staying on focus; ONE DESIGN. Let's discuss sails. Years ago Rick White worked with Calvert sails in the Keys and I worked in Toledo with Greiner Sails to develop better sails for the Wave. We made good progress and it was important to have sails made by another vendor to your specs to race well as they had a clear advantage over Hobie supplied sails. A few years later, the Hobies supplied for the IWCA Nationals had much fuller sails and were about even with anyone else's sails and there was a competitor there who described how he had worked with Hobie to get a better sail design. Most of the long term successful one design classes open their sail making; besides keeping the boat moving better and getting something that is best for each competitor, you also get many more people interested in the succes of the class.

ONE DESIGN? That seems to mean to Hobie that it is one design ONLY IF THEY SUPPLY it, regardless of the design or shape of the part. Your comptip mast experience is just another example. SO everyone, this whole discussion about ONE DESIGN is a red herring. It is more about ONE SUPPLIER.

I could write a whole lot more about the Hobie NA Wave Class not even being a class but that is not on topic. This was all about ONE SUPPLIER, oops, ONE DESIGN.

Those last two posts are so on point. Hobie wishes to control it all. They wish to dictate and control, giving them the edge when a replacement is needed. Its good for business but not so good for the sport. It should make no difference where replacement parts come from as long as they are approximate duplicates of the original. If Whirlwind builds me a standard sail whats the difference between it and a Hobie made sail, except for the cost? In fact Whirlwind is run by the same person who used to work in the Hobie loft. I just don't get it!
And god forbid the Hobie factory people ever admit they might have made a mistake, their **** doesn't stink and they walk on water!

I was sorry to hear about this thread from Mimi while we were on the beach in AZ. Obviously, there will always be strong feelings on both sides of the issue. For my part, I love the boat and enjoyed my years in the class. I also sincerely enjoyed seeing the boat raced at a Hobie event where some participants were surprised at how sweet the design really is.

I can say unequivocally that efforts to get US SAILING to choose sides between these two classes will fail, and I strongly advise anyone taking a hand in the matter to drop it. The Multihull Council was unanimous on this issue when it first came up years ago; there will be no exclusion of one class association at the request of another.

Hi John, I was GREAT to meet you the last week and you are truley a fantastic PRO and made the event on Charley really fun and we appreciate your working it.
I love the Wave, you all know that, and I think it solves most of the problems we (all of us) have with numbers, crew, age and $$$ and will continue to beat the drum on the 'tupperware' boat. Someone asked my the other day if I have to 'burp' my boat before I take it off the beach.
While I am the class chair this year, I don't necessarily love all the rules for which I am asked to abide by, but I am certainly aware of both sides of the coin in regards to the Wave. In private emails from people I don't know, I have been told in capital letters (I assume yelling!) that we're wrong and they're right and blah blah blah......
I am with Mimi, its too bad we didn't have the IWCA there (I wanted them there, I really did) but maybe sometime down the road a-piece, after we actually put a group of racers together, we can all meet on the course and have a smackdown. The boat is fun, and we should enjoy it and not get hostile about any of it. I think the IWCA is a good deal and I hope they continue to grow, just allow me (us) to do the same. I hope to bring some Waves to Indiana next May, maybe we'll see you there.]
cw

i think all this can be worked out and a solution can be found using the tried and true method... greased watermellon races.. first team with 3 in their basket win!

PS. CW.. great comments.