Here in Div 11 we voted on how we wanted our chairman to case his vote. We understood the two visions represented by Nigel and Rich and expressed our opinion through our chairman.

Matt

First the HCA is not a government even though it is acting like one. You are not forced to join the HCA, it is a volunteer membership. I sent an email to my division chair in 2001 and I don’t know how he voted or how anyone voted since the results were never published, that I know of. Was there a vote on the new policy and what were the results? I did not even know there was going to be a meeting or vote, so how could I go to my division chair? I did not see the meeting published as noted in the bylaws. It looks like Hobie Cat Co. is also forcing this new policy from Doug Skidmore’s letter. Hobie Cat Co should not have any say in what goes on in the HCA. If Hobie Cat Co wants to donate money that’s great, but there should not be any Hobie Cat Co employees on the HCA board. Do you not think that with a decision this big there should be a membership vote?

I have been a member for a long time, put on some regattas and have never seen any money or support from HCA. Where does all that money go? I did get some course stickers, but I had to pay for them and they were out of date. It seems like a lot of money is wasted on the HCA newsletters and by the time I get them the event is over or I read it online so I just throw it away.

This will be the first year in a long time I won’t be joining HCA because the members have no rights and the manufacturer appears to be running things. If things change I may come back, but for now I will be supporting catamaran sailing for all and not just supporting a manufacturer.

I've tried in vain to get a quote from the web site for this so called "new insurance". This site doesn't even list Hobies as part of the one design group, nor anywhere else.

I can understand why Hobie Inc wants to drive a wedge between Hobies & the so-called x-boaters. I think that it is a bad business model, but it is at least understandable. What I don't understand is the desire of many (some?) Hobie sailors to race / sail at one-brand events. What is so magic about Hobie? Why will a bunch of Hobie 16's welcome a single Hobie 17, Hobie 18, Hobie 21 or Hobie Wave at their regatta and then shun a group Prindle 16's that they could compete head to head with?

Tom Liston
25 years of "x-boating"

Great Idea Matt, I think I'll vote with my feet and join Namsa!

From the reactions to the edict and how it was decided it looks like more that a couple of divisions feel strongly about this issue.

Why couldn't you have taken a piece of the 40K you had in the bank and created an online voting system instead of changing the bylaws to remove the right? At least we would have felt like we were getting something for our membership dollars.

Dave

Nigel said: "At the end of my tenure as Chairman, there were over 1,200 members in NAHCA, and something like $40,000 in the bank"... That is JUST a bit misleading.

In-the-bank and in-the-budjet are two very different things.

The first thing that Rich had to do when he took office was straighten out the books. There was something like $20,000 in unpaid debt.

Before anybody gets hairy about what the "$20K of debt" was, it was mostly postage that Ron Palmer had fronted for the NAHCA News that he hadn't submitted reimbursement requests for. It was about 3-4 YEARS worth. The beginning of it was noted on the last financial statement that I oversaw (1999?) as a payable.

[quote] What I don't understand is the desire of many (some?) Hobie sailors to race / sail at one-brand events. What is so magic about Hobie?

Tom,

These questions have infinite answers depending on how people respond. I can only give you my personal experience.

For me, Hobie and Hobie Cat have been my connection to the SoCal beach culture that I grew up with. Hobie has been deeply engrained in the California lifestyle for over 50 years. It's where it all started. Being a recent transplant to Michigan, I wouldn't expect anyone from the Midwest to understand this. But there is a certain mystic. I started surfing a Mark Andreini twin fin fish in 1970 before graduating to a longboard of which I now own two, a 9'0" Yater peformance longboard and a 10'6" Hobie noserider. Here is the connection/degrees of seperation. Reynolds Yater shaped and glassed surfboards for Hobie Alter before striking out on his own in the early 60's. Mark Andreini still shapes and glasses out of Yater's Santa Barbara surf shop. One day while day sailing in Channel Islands Harbor (Oxnard, CA), I saw a Hobie 16 glide effortlessly past us. I knew right then that I wanted one. It seemed like a natural progression from surfing to sailing...a boat built by a master surfboard craftsman. I did dabble in sailboards for awhile but catamarans gave me my adrenaline fix.

Living in Santa Barbara and being a new, naive Hobie 16 owner, I wanted to try racing. I found the North American Catamaran Racing Association (NACRA) listed in my local yellow pages (the factory was based in SB at the time). So I called them wanting more information about racing my Hobie 16. They laughed me right off the phone. Not a good first impression. I ended up joining Hobie Fleet 15 just down the coast in Ventura. They welcomed me with open arms, treated me like family and taught me about the quirks of the boat.

I started going to local regattas and found many like minded people. A few years later I started going to Nationals (Continentals) and found many more like minded people from across North America. A few years after that I started going to Worlds and found that this extended family was truly international. This world wide family shared a common vision...one design class racing. Like Jeff Alter said a few posts ago...sailing amongst friends on like equipment. I've met some of my closest and dearest friends through sailing. These, along with the California tie continue to be the attraction for me.

But now there is a new twist in the formula...Formula 18 that is. I bought my Tiger so that I could race Hobie one design or F18. I have never liked racing against the clock and the Tiger affords me the best of both worlds. There never seemed to be enough "like" boats to have a fleet start at many of the open events I've attended. The solution to my problem...the Tiger. I will continue to campaign the Tiger at Hobie, NAF-18 and CRAM events like I did last year. I just renewed my HCA and NAF-18 memberships for 2004. I will continue to renew old friendships and make new ones wherever I sail...whether that be here in the Midwest or on the other side of the planet. I'm not going to let HCA's decision affect that.

So, I hope you can now understand where this sailor coming from, my loyalty to the Hobie brand and my desire to race one design. Some people may not agree or see eye to eye. This is just my experience with the Hobie magic and mystic. Please don't hold it against me.

See you on the soft water this spring!

John Bauldry
Hobie Tiger 1317
Detroit, MI

Matt,

You forgot one thing!!!!! The NAHCA owed the IHCA several years of a "boat assessment" ($1.00 per member boat???) that was neglected. That was also a sizable chunk of money. I should know...I paid the bill which put the NAHCA back in good graces with IHCA.

John Bauldry
NAHCA Treasurer 2001-2003
Hobie Tiger 1317
Detroit, MI

JB - it's $5 per NAHCA membership that goes to the IHCA. That's a worldwide requirement (and been that way since the NAHCA first started charging for memberships 12 years ago).

MB - So I had a senior moment. You are right. It was $5.00 per boat. The $1.00 per boat was the divisional assessment for NAHCA.

JB

As a matter of fact, yes, I do know what they're voting on. It's posted in advance for everyone to see, as is pending state and federal legislation. HCA being a quasi governmental body, it makes sense that they would also make important decissions known to its members. It's not expensive or difficult, and the tools are in place. HCA has a Web site, and a printed publication (though terminally outdated), just post important proposed changes and let everyone know what's happening. I'm not saying we need division-wide notice every time HCA votes to buy stamps, but decissions this big should have a wider audience.

Well Bob I guess we'll see you at Tybee Island this fall for Performance Cats Nationals. Let us know what kind of PC boat you'll be sailing, there won't be any Hobie Cats participating, there are not enough Hobies being added to fleets anymore to count. The only fleet additions there are are old Hobies that have been replaced by PC products.
See ya at Tybee Island!!
Cary Palmer

It is actually a great time to move into an Inter20. The boats are relatively cheap for a high end catamaran. They are rock solid and one of the only two strong classes here in the South East. Other class is the F-18 class, and we will see how that all plays out when the dust settles from This foolishness with Hobie Rules changes. Not only is Hobie trying to separate from the X boats, they are also trying to pull the Tigers away from the F-18 Class.
The F-18 class was the first sensible move all the manufacturers have made in all this confusion of "what cat should I sail?"

Who will remember the Flying H If we take it off all our regatta flyers? Many regattas don't even post the name, just the H for directions as we drive down the back roads looking for some new regatta to sail. That was free advertising for Hobie, guess we have to stop doing that too.

Mary:
General response to this whole nightmare of a thread.
[color:"blue"] [/color]
Thanks for the Nigel Pitt Letter. Makes sense out of a lot of this, no matter what spin Matt Miller tries to put on this. I don't pretend to know all the high end politics of this. However, that was my first year as a catsailor. I showed up to Spring Fever for my very first ever race, barely having a clue what a racecourse was about. I do remember Nigel Pitt taking the time out of his extremely busy schedule to explain what the NAHCA was to me, a greenhorn with a 21 year old battered Hobie 16, & why it was well worth my hard earned $20 to join. Nigel even went out of his way to make sure Alex Shafer gave me a forgotten part that day cause I wasn't going to be able to race without it. Sounds like a real bad man to me. Helping out a lost newbie and guide him on the road to an excellent sport he has come to love, Yep, Nigel's a really bad guy. Wish we had a lot more like him, the world would be a far better place.
Nigel explained to me who knew nothing about nothing. Introduced me to the concept of belonging and supporting your NAHCA class organization. He told me what he was trying to do for the class, & made me believe. That's not the same guy Matt Miller is trying to paint some picture of, making some implication about mismanagement of funds. They're just trying to discredit a good and decent man whom they have a point of contention with. Casting blame here is irrelevent. They're just blowing smoke to hide the real issues.

While all you critics are at it, leave Sam Evans the hell alone. You can't find a better guy more dedicated to catamaran racing, and he does a fine job of promoting the sport at every level. Got something bad to say about Sam, come to my house & I'll straighten you out. Be glad to bandage you up afterwards, too.

The real issue is that they aren't selling as many Hobies as they want. They think they can make some damn ruling and pull all the diehards back together. They don't seem to have a clue that the Hobie owning Diehards are in extremely short supply, not enough to make up a class or regatta big enough to be worthwhile. But they're just screwing up and making everyone angry about their shenanigans. Sailors have already made up their minds. If Hobie thinks they control the local fleets, they're crazy. No one to my knowledge has ever seen anyone from Hobie show up at the local fleet races. I don't think they could legitimately stop anyone from advertising a regatta with the Hobie name on it. They can stop publishing our races on Division Websites, or allowing Hobie Points regattas or maybe disallow a Fleet as a Hobie Fleet, but that will be cutting their own throats, the regattas will go on regardless. The only loss will be the gradual disappearance of the Hobie name recognition, and the only ones who will lose in that will be Hobie America. The real racers just want to race. I love Hobie Products. Although I don't own one at present, I sail Hobies with my other Brand-H catsailing friends regularly. Hobie just doesn't make a multihull that meets my wants at present. But if I had to make a choice between buying a Hobie Boat and another manufacturer's product at present, Mr. Miller's attitude, misdirection, and blaming has sure talked me out of buying another. And many others. People are looking at dumping their Tigers in the wake of the F-18 controversy, and that is the only thing Hobie has going for them in the USA right now. People bought their Tigers to finally be able to have a class where they could race their friends on a Brand X boats and still be class legal.
Hobie is trying to screw that up, and it's the first smart move they've made in years. The whole of Division 9 is in an uproar, we are not about to give up our regattas, nor our friends who sail multihulls of many flavors. We would all like to be able to work out something amicably, but to do things under the new Hobie rules would dissolve the racing fleets. There just aren't that many Hobies around to be able to hold a one design event of any magnitude. We have a large & growing local fleet in terms of participation. The local fleets have worked their collective butts off to promote catsailing, and we're not letting Hobie Cat or anyone else's misguided micromanagement stop our racing fun. Racing doesn't happen at the Hobie Cat Factory, they just build boats. Maybe they should just mind their own damn business, stick to building good and decent boats, and leave local fleet racing to the people who do it.
Cary Palmer
Hobie Fleet 141 www.seacats.org

Zuhl: I agree with most everything you're saying. Except that I doubt this will lead to the demise of the Hobie company. I can only guess, but the event currently scheduled in Mexico will probably turn a profit and sell some boats. Think about it purely as a sailor wanting to take a vacation. A "turn key" package with no hassles, just write a check, show up and have fun.

I hope NAMSA picks up on the idea. I think it's the way to go.

I'm letting my feet do the walking. Joining NAMSA today.
Nevermore,
Edgar

Here is the letter that started it all...from the hand of PU himself....sent to myself and others....This was back before the holidays (late 03)...

Take a look:

Gentlemen,
I understand that you are all purchasing A Cats for the coming season. A great boat. I had the privilege of managing the 2002 A Cat World Championship in Martha's Vineyard. If I were 20 years younger 30 lbs lighter and tall I would be very tempted to race this boat. It is very quick in most conditions. I noticed that all the top competitors were under 175 lbs so I guess at that level, like most boats it pays to be light.
Hopefully you will all still retain a Hobie Cat so that you will be able to come and play with us at Hobie Events. We would hate to miss your smiling faces. Best of luck in your new endeavor.
Please be advised that the A Cat will not be permitted to race in Hobie events anywhere in the world. This will include North America and Division 4.
Regards,
Paul Ulibarri,
President, International Hobie Class Association