Olympics and which one shouldn’t be selected
Ok, I’m flaming myself again, but this is another good cause. Many are worried on one boat being selected.
Already said this many times, and a few weeks ago in some comments.
I was not worried cause I trust the Trials results, but Political influences it is another whole new ball game.
The only boat from the list that could hurt the prestige gained this past years with the growth of the performance classes and the ACup is the H16.
As someone pointed a few weeks ago, the H16 is the multihull used in Brasil, organizer of the 2016 Olympics in Rio, a huge class there although the local distributor has left the fleet without support for years on a commercial conflict.
The H16 is also the default choice in several countries like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Venezuela and many others from the continent and also has a huge presence in USA and Europe. Needless to say these countries have excellent not to say the best Hobie 16 sailors of the planet: Baby Arndt,the Figueroas , Maegli, Hess etc.
These countries National associations along the organizer will push for the H16 along the Hobie Class.
To me this is a huge selfish political mistake that even could hurt Hobie’s reputation in the long term.
You can´t select in 2016 an H16, no matter its popularity and all the good work done.
Again, I entered the multihull world through Hobie 16 Racing in México, and that’s what the H16 does best, feeding other classes and getting new sailors to the game.
You can´t have the pinnacle of the sport on this boat.
I don´t a care a dime about the Laser comparison. This is no monohull sailing.
Just look at Windsurfing, following these parameters they will still be racing the Mistral OD, the Windglider or the Lechner.
Don´t give me the popularity argument against what is the right choice to continue showing the sailing world what is Multihull racing as the AC45s are doing right now.
To put it quite clear: The specs fits the H16 as I remarked when they were out published and also an F16.
Needless to say that all NAs pushing for the H16 have their multihull sailors riding this boat as remarked above.
So I will recommend all involved to stop accusing each other and focus together on the real threat for the prestige and reputation of Catamaran Racing.
If ISAF get this boat selected it will be the biggest political ‘Fiasco’ of the history of Multihull Sailing ever. And all pushing for this option will get marked as an US representative was, when he pushed out the Tornadoes changing the voting procedure in the middle of the vote.
The Trials will show which is the best boat, ISAF & Trial officials should respect the results.
As no matter how many H16 sailors these NAs send, in the water it will be clear that the entire remaining list of boats are best suited for the job.
How many H16s would an olympic campaign chew through every 4 year cycle. Expense and environmental impact would be enormous compared to the "too expensive Tornado" as the US Sailing representative said in Estoril when the Tornado was chucked out..
H16 as the olympic multihull would loose all the goodwill and prestige olympic multihull racing have aquired.
Here Here!! Thanks for telling the truth about the H16. I think in the end we could be happy with any boat other than the H16.
ISAF does not want the H16. They see it for what it is.
I too started my catamaran sailing on an H16 and had lots of fun times, but it is not the right boat for high level competition, despite the fact that the top H16 sailors are highly skilled.
Even though the Hobie Tiger is a little dated, I am kind of hoping it will be selected, as I think its selection would be good for the F18 class. My second choice is the Nacra 17.6.
Right about the h 16
Thats history now , allthough it deserves its plcae in top 50
American Life style designs of the last century
THE most terrible thing that happens to catsailing is not picking the h 16 for olympics ,
But the ridiculous silly ' mixed crew ' rule
A complete JOKE and a disgrace for the catsailing sport
I don't for a moment suggest that the H16 is the right boat boat for the Olympics but it has a lot more in it's favour than the Spitfire S!!
First of all pay all due respect to Hobie ’16, the icon of beach catamarans. It has been designed by a pure genius, Hobie Alter, that revolutionized the surf world (introducing fibreglass) before literally inventing a new segment of recreational boat sailing: multihulls. Many elements contribute to the affirmation that Hobie ’16 is the most prominent in the beach catamaran world:
• An over 40 years history
• The number of boat produced is second only to Laser and of a different magnitude size respect production numbers of any other multihull. You can earn this sort of popularity only if your product brings real value to the owner, in the water and outside.
• The worldwide diffusion. In all of the five continents not only the HC ’16 are present but there is competition at top levels and this is proven by the fact that the Worlds top roster is typically created by enters from the five continents.
• Its great diffusion generates a fierce competition at National, Regional and Worlds level and only very good and passionate sailors can succeed in a class where money have a very weak effect on water performances.
• The design, the appeal of Hobie ’16, its coloured sails define it as a lifestyle object. Is not a case that a very large number of movies and television series feature an HC ’16: it immediately recalls a whole world happiness, sun, fun, etc. I do not remember a single movie with an A class or Tornado appearance, they are simply racing machines recognizable by a restrict number of multihulls sailors.
(follow)
(see preceding comment)
Having clarified this concept lets come to the Olympics. The choice of the classes that represent the sailing world depends on the chosen criteria for the judgement. One possible criteria consists in choosing technical classes that represent the highest expression of a certain type of boat, another is recognizing popularity and diffusion. Very often the logic adopted by ISAF and Olympic Committee, is quite elusive, contradictory and dominated by Politics and leads to irrational conclusions (Elliot, Yngling, women match races, two singlehanded dinghy represented, multihull exclusion, to name just the latest).
My favourite criteria are:
• Large diffusion spread on a worldwide basis
• Regattas presence (National, Regional and Worlds) and attendance
• Quality of sailors in the classes (validated also by what are doing today past champions in the class, i.e. Americas Cup, etc.).
For me the boat test system events in which apples and pears are compared is unuseful, and I do not appreciate as a decision rule the degree of “technicality” of a boat, often approximated with the number of controls and sheets present.
According to my criteria I would have chosen for the 2016 event:
• For multihull open (male or female): A class
• For 2 people multihull: F18
• For mixed multihull: HC ‘16
• For female multihull: HC ’16.
My best of best would have been two classes multihull (as are for all the other type of boats). Male in A class (which I prefer to F 18 because its express a technical state of the art, while F18 is similar to the boats constructed 30 years ago); female in HC ’16. By the way females have been present always in HC ’16 either in mixed crew, either in all female crew regularly disputing Worlds events. This can be said for few classes only.
Coming back to reality. From the actual list of contendents to the 2016 Olympics status I save only Tornado and HC ’16. All the F16/17 are of very limited diffusion, and if practically nobody buy and uses that boats there would be good reasons. One is that F16 is difficult and costly as an F18, so why do not go with the big guys? Hobie Tiger is a superseded F18. Tornado is very costly and the necessity of a mixed crew request fishing on a little pool few wonder women capable to dominate the beasts. This would bring to a competition reserved to 20 or so crew in the world. Is that what we want? An Olympics reserved to few pros that can afford a campaign in Tornado or that are ready to buy a boat that in real world nobody uses o races with? With the actual constraint HC ’16 would be the most sensible choice.
Biased opinion and you need a reality check.
You are part or were part of the H16 Class, I was too and promoted big time and work hard for it while in Mexico, you can confirm this any time you want calling them.
Read the post, all the good work and incredible history of the H16 has nothing to do with it being Olympic.
Here you have one unbiased opinion no one can match cause all have biased interests:
Best option right now?
Nacra 17
It is going to be selected? Don´t think so.
Move on and start thinking for the gral interest not for a specific class or brand.
Nothing more to say. Not many , to say a few or none (Nor Hobie or Nacra or AHPC class official/class sailor/builder or even NAs rep with medal interests conflicting with what they are actually riding locally) is capable of saying what I just did.
…in public of course.
…..at least with a H16 it will remove the "Female must helm to be competitive" argument that the other classes have….Helm can run the mainsheet as easily as the crew.
I actually don't mind the H16 being the olympic boat. High performance cat sailing has gone forwards in leaps and bounds since being ejected from the games (in reality, the womens match racing was probably the most exciting part of the ISAF worlds in Perth….).
If one of the high performance cats gets selected then the focus will fall on it and create an inequitable view of what's available – a 14 foot skiff is sooooo much better than a 49er – in fact, other than the 29er, the skiffs in the selection trial for womens skiff all look better than what the guys will be sailing on (have a look at the pics on the isaf website).
Anyway – other than the top 2-3 sailors in each country it doesn't matter what's selected…..it's just biased opinion.
We all think the selection of the next cat for the olympics is going to be our saviour – we already have the AC72's…….the olympic boat will never get the coverage this will.
Let it be a H16 where the skill of sailors worldwide can be put on show. Accessible, universal, promotes developing nations. It ticks the boxes. I know you don't agree Martin and that's ok. I just don't think cat sailing needs the "best boat" at the 5 ring circus. Save that for something better where we can get the coverage we deserve.
Or stick with T's which are tried and prove in the olympic cycle.
Look at Rio-2016's main page image for the sailing event, sigh. I really hope the H16 is put out to pasture.
https://www.rio2016.com/en/the-games/sports/olympic/sailing
How can you say "Best option right now? Nacra 17"
At the moment its just a rendered drawing, it might not even float. Something tried and tested please!!
The 17 will certainly float, and is being built in the same factory as the rest of the nacra range and even the Viper, so there are no issues there.
The biggest concern for nacra is the financial package they can offer. greedy dutchies don't have a good track record to make long term partnerships work. ISAF will be looking for a builder that understands how to build a class and support it worldwide. Hobie have always been very strong at this, and more recently AHPC have done a good job.
Greedy dutchies ???.
Let the Brasilians have their Hobie 16 in Rio (as a choice and right of the hosting nation, so to say).
After 2016 the olympic cat-racing class then can switch to a boat of the 21st century… if they still want to.