Tradewinds coverage pics of ARC17

[thommerrill]

While waiting on an inspector to finish; I went through the pics of the Tradewinds both on the Catsailor site as well as Florida Multihull Sailor. I found three pics total on both sites. Two of which appear to be shot at the same time. Is it me or do these Florida guys appear to be boycotting the SC/ARC boats. Even on the last race Roberts won with the ancient SC20TR there's ONE pic. Now the supposed Great Texas Cat race excludes any boat over 8'6" wide. As a matter of fact last year the "Texas Catamaran Challange on Lake Lewisville which is open to all catamarans' I was told that I would be racing by myself if I brought my ARC22. There would be no point.

Was something said or done to cause this reaction other than passing them by?

[thommerrill]

Oh yeah---I think this sucks!

[Mike]

Tom I never took it that they didnt want us I really have always felt it was a matter if ingorance. That is they really dont know what we do since we are sucn a small part of the sailing scene. You know the media goes where the majority is. Dont take it personally just get out there and make a difference !

Great boats, great sailors, having a great time !

[thommerrill]

Mike-

Do you really think limiting LOA/beam width is an "ignorance" scenario??? Why do you think the 21' LOA/8.5 beam width was adopted. To keep the 22s from taking the wins away from the advertisers/dealers. If its an open race then the scoring software should even the results out.

It appears the 17 has been ignored for a reason to me. If it was an F18, a new boat would be all over the photo pages. As a matter of fact on one site there about 20 pics of a red hulled cat with white decks while the 17 is shown in one straight on pic behind a H16. How many pics of an H16 can anyone want to see?

I really don't have an answer either.

[Mike]

Still the same thoughts on my side. ARC gets no press because they dont have the bucks or staff to promote their song. Besides they build a highly specialized product that has a limited market due to the buckaroonies it takes to get on the water. No problem for enthusiasts like you and I ....but the coverage goes to the advertisers/mfrgs that target the masses. I guess its the Ferrari concept on the water....same marketing strategy. As to why they limit the size on regattas you would have to ask the organizers. Go for it and make a difference !

[Bill Roberts]

Hi Thom,
You are seeing what I have seen for years. It is called "passive suppression".
The reason Eric and I sailed the old SC20TR in the Steeplechase this year
was that the max length boat allowed is 21ft and I wanted to test a 1978 technology boat against all the new hi tech boats. Now why would the line be drawn at 21ft when it is common knowledge that a high performance 22ft boat exists? Hmmmmmmmm....
The one picture of the SC20, Rick White's comment was that the boat was "stuffing the bow" and that the boat pitchpoled during the race. In the picture you can see that the sailors are not diving for the rear beam so there must be no concern for the sailing condition shown in the photo and as far as pitchpoling, this did not happen. What did happen the second day was that the 20 did turn over after breaking the only rudder in the water off as the rudder ran aground in a hard over position. Several other boats in the race turned over in the 20 to25 mph winds and some boats turned over two or three times. None of this "other boats" stuff was mentioned.
At the Tradewinds the 17ft boat by Aquarius was called everything except an ARC17. It was registered as an ARC17. There was no comment about it being a new boat or a boardless boat with spinnaker or anything like that. There was no acknowledgement that the boat was at the regatta and that an ARC17, a new US built boat, won the open class.
It is called passive suppression, Thom.
Bill

[Luiz]

It is called passive suppression, Thom.

It's called passive agression, actually.

[Peter Kirschhoffer]

Is this issue part of the reason for developing the ARC 21? Has anyone raced the 21 in some of these Regattas? How has it performed in these or other races?

Peter

[Eric2101]

I am a B class Sailor and have an ARC21. In light air I kill every one on the course every time. Last year in the Miami Key Largo Race we finished second in class and 9th overall. The 21 is a freakin rocket if you sail it to its potential.. Beyond that, the extra bouyancy up front allows much confidence when sailing on deep reaches and downwind. You cannot stuff these bows.
Put a A class sailor on this boat and I am certain that this craft would be very effective against the nacras and hobies. This is the best boat that I have ever owned and I have owned a few. H18, H21SE 10' beam. H20 Miracle and a Nacra 5.7.
All the best,


Eric