The state of catamaran sailing and or racing Reports only please… leave the discussion in the other thread!
Please UPDATE your region’s status in this thread!
We are interested in
OD fleet status/ Racing schedule
Open class fleet status/ Racing schedule
Trends in participation.
Yacht club/ Paper club status.
Junior Sailing opportunities (B fleets?)
Recreational Sailing sites.
Any other burning observations, trends or issues.
Florida Report aka Area D South
Now that the Florida sailing series is in its forth year, with attendance on a slight increase (about 10% in the first three years), the trend seems to be that we are consolidating to specific fleets (Wave, H16, A, F16, F18, I20).
There are some new folks, but in general I believe what we are seeing is the consolidation of the bulk of existing sailors that have been in the sport for a while.
Im optimistic, but Im getting this feeling lately that our pool of sailors is shrinking.
Curious how others are feeling about the state of catamaran sailing?
Brian Karr
Carolinas AKA Area D North
We're not growing in Dn. EMSA is starting to track regatta attendance, and though Spring Fever was strong, we're not seeing any new faces at our local regattas.
One a fun / good note, our assembly manager came up to me this morning and said that he could understand how I was so addicted to catamaran sailing. He had gone on his honeymoon at a resort that had Hobie Waves and got some good instruction...they had a ball and he was amazed at how fast they were! 🙂 Yes, I'm inviting he and his new wife out to a regatta though I'm not sure he's ready for a spin boat.
Jake Kohl
Chesapeake and New Jersey/PA/DE AKA Area C
I divide Area C up into two Regions. Chesapeake and Division 11 and New Jersey, PA and Delaware
The Area C Alter Qualifier moves from the south (three years) to the north to SHBCC. All cats are invited with about 15 boats average turnout. The good news is that Hobie Open class edict of several years ago has had a minimal impact on cat racing in the region. Schedule coordination and the growth of several YC cat racing opportunities has compensated for any upset.
New Jersey, PA and Delaware Div 11 Fleets and Racing
The New Jersey and Delaware region is the core of Division 11 and this is the second largest Hobie division in the USA. They have 7 of their 9 events within Area C in this 3 state region They combine these 7 Hobie events from May to October in NJ\DE plus 2 Chesapeake area Hobie events plus 4 more Open class event for a full season of events.
See Ron Laportas Div 11 Report on the division reports
Hobie 16: is the largest OD fleet in Area C. 60 boats??? Most events have 15 boats… some can grow to 30+. Trends, one or two new racers and several returning racers with a child as crew a year. Trend, holding steady overall.
Hobie 18 hard core of 8 boats, usually get 5 to 6 at events…2 new B fleet sailors in the last year or two. Trend,… holding firm with a little bit of growth.
Hobie 17, Hardcore of about 15 racers… getting about 7-9 boats or so at most events. Trend, numbers are slowly declining.
Division 11 High point competition in Hobie classes. National High point formula as well.
Chesapeake Region Fleets and Racing
A class; 22 boats ( Va Beach, Md and PA.) North Jersey (Lake Hopactong) 30 boats
The Major fleet is 16/22 boats at West River Sailing Club. Trend… rapid growth over past 3 years…. Now adding about 2 new sailors a year…. mostly dinghy sailors coming over and older cat sailors returning. 4 event Atlantic Coast High point schedule. + 6 event local OD schedule + 3 open class events = full schedule of events
Nacra 20; 11 boats at West River Sailing Club trend growth is from open class sailors moving up to available Nacra 20’s. 2 buoy regattas 4 distance races plus 4 open class events.
Hobie 16,17 18 The southern region of Div 11 has 12 or so active boats... most do not travel the Hobie div 11 circuit. The clubs Host two one design events for Hobie 16, 17 and 18. Gunpowder Open and Rock Hall YC Hobie Only.
Open Class + F16 fleet: 4 active F16 boats out of 6 in area. Compete in Open Class Regattas. Open class has about 10 or so (Nacra 6.0’s, ARC 22, Hobie 20’s Prindle 19’s, Mystere 6.0 and assorted members of the Dead Boat Society boats. Average one event a month for open events Includes 6 buoys and 4 distance races. Open Regattas draw a few of all of the OD classes., eg. Hobie’s, A’class s and F16’s to make the numbers work for the regatta
High Point championship series using best 4 events. (CHIPS High Point Scoring)
Chesapeake Region Clubs
West River Sailing Club ( host several weekend events). 30 cats on site.
West River Catamaran Racing Association host Tuesday night racing 10 cats on site
Potomac River Sailing Association 10 cats on site.. Host Leukemia cup Regatta and club racing events
Southern Maryland Catamaran Sailing Association. Tuesday night racing 10 cats on site
Rock Hall Yacht Club Hosts two cat regattas (open/A class and Hobie only) 2 cats on site.
Paper Club, Hobie Fleet 54 hosts an open regatta on a beach from their trailer.
Paper Club Hobie Fleet 32 hosts an open regatta plus a few local l one day events. Associate more with Area D North then to Area C.
Div 11 Venues.
Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club Hosts host 2 buoys and the Statue Race. 100 + boats on the beach. Active weekend club racing
Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association Hosts host 2 Hobie regattas + club stuff wtih 15 boats on the beach.
Spray Beach YC Hosts Hobie regatta 2 boats on site.
Shore Acres YC hosts Hobie regatta 2 boats on site.
Paper Club Hobie Fleet Barnegat host beach regatta.
Paper Club Hobie Fleet based in Wildwood. Hosts huge beach regatta.
Junior Sailing opportunities (B fleets?) Working on a joint regatta with 29ner fleet. One junior only event for the past thee years. At least 4 or 5 Junior teams competing in a year.
Recreational Sailing
The public beaches on the Chesapeake which used to be a home for recreational cat sailors still exist but are not used much at all. EG Sandy Point State Park. Public Marinas have beach access and are used by the occasional recreational sailor.
The Jersey Shore has 100’s of recreational Hobies on the beach. Reports are.. they secure a beach locker more then go sailing. Sigh… Wildwood drags out old time B and C fleet sailors for a regatta party once a year. PA has a couple of lakes which have some recreational cat sailors
WHAT TO NOTE
Tuesday nights have been key to attracting new sailors who enter with older boats and lower skills. The Steeple chase type races are less intimidating . Experienced sailors are attracted to the mast up storage and big A class fleet.
A key is to make sure you have an Open Class schedule … New cat racers are unlikely to hop in the deep end with an A cat or Nacra 20. Entry through the Hobie 16 class is preferred but hasn’t been as successful as you might expect. We do not run Wave friendly events… nor do we have Waves showing up to play.
Our outreach to recreational sailors depends on them finding us!
We have a HUGE Special Olympics Sailing program which gets 25 special Olympians on 25 boats on the water for a 2 month training period and a Regional Championship at St Mary’s College on Hobie and Prindle 16’s. Several teams competed in China this past year.
Mark Schneider
Recreational sailing is alive and growing here in the Florida Keys.
People and kids spend their entire frazzled weeks competing, in the workplace, sports at school, etc. When it comes to the weekend they want to play and have fun together in a relaxed environment.
We've had groups like Biscayne Bay Sailing Club, people who usually just go for sunset **** sails on somebody else's big boat, step onto Waves and have a ball taking command of their own boat. Racing? Heck no! They just want to have fun.
Kids & racing around here? Again, a collective
heck no!
from the kids. I've asked. That is the literal answer I've received.
We just want to have fun
is the most common explanation.
Fun events are bringing people into the sport, not racing. Eventually some of them wind up racing. But most find it very intimidating and difficult to get started racing. I've seen it and heard it first hand on the front lines.