Letter from the Maricat Manufacturer

[ZAX]

The following letter has been addressed to the Maricat Association Secretary.

I agree with everything said about the boats and boat weights by the manufacturer. Would love to be able to get one of the Limited Edition 30th Anniversary boats being built now.

I am personally in support of having the next Maricat National Titles in Queensland for a number of reasons including the fact that if we wish to continue to call the Maricat a National Class then we should be having events outside the State at least occasionally and particularly since there is an offer of support on this from the Manufacturer.

____________________

The secretary,

Maricat Association NSW.

12th April, 2006.

Dear Judy,

Just a quick note to cover a few points.

Firstly, Nationals 2007. We need to know if the Association is still wanting to come to Queensland in January 2007 (RQ Manly). Time is moving on. We need to prepare. Could you let us know ASAP.

2. 30th . Anniversary. This is a great achievement. To celebrate this we are building an anniversary model. It will feature black anodising castings i.e. ,

Rudder castings, mast ,beam ,and boom castings. This I am sure will make the Maricat something special. Will be available May 06.

3. Boat Weights.

This area is of some concern to us. As the manufacturer of Maricat we are well aware of the class rules and we do everything possible to maintain the rules and build boats consistent to a standard to help maintain the "One design class". New boats are built to the class weight of 95kgs fully rigged. (cat rigged). Any boats not reaching this weight must carry the correct amount lead to maintain the weight.

Any talk of handicapping people who have new boats should be stopped immediately. It is counter productive and will destroy the class. The biggest problem is that 95% of the fleet have boats that are 20 years old or more. A problem that time has created. Unfortunately this is a problem with all classes. The boats get old, stressed, heavy and loose their competitive edge.

The improvements in the quality of materials and building techniques over the last 30 years are many and it would be an insult to the class if we did not take advantage of them , and refine the product and make it desirable in to-days market place.

The racing sailor must understand the class rules are in place. We build boats to the class rules. If he or she wants to compete ,they must give themselves the best chance.

Peter Brock doesn't go to Bathurst with retreads on and expect to win.

Do not handicap people who show faith in the class and have new boats.There is no class in the sailing world that handicap people or boats because of their age. The last thing a class should do is to change class rules to suit a few people.

4. Class Rules.

No changes should be made to any class rule without the proper communication with the Manufacturer.

Hope the state titles go well.

Yours in sailing,

Roscoe Guinea.

PS. The class web site looks good . We hope to have a separate "Maricat" site up and running soon