Hello Mary,



Are you making a specific point about the use of weight corrections?

iI so, I would be interested in your point of view and reasoning.



Mind you, The politics and vigorous discussion underlying that USPN disclaimer were robust. The language used allows fleets to decide their own fate.



No one doubts that weight and its distribution on the boat are critical factors in a boats performance (compare an F18 with an F18HT for a simpleminded comparison). JIm Boyer noted that the Taipain 4.9 was designed to specifically address the crew weight range.. he wrote



" We chose the 2.34m width of the Taipan 4.9 m for many reasons, the most important was that by keeping the boat a little narrow it would give an advantage to the heavier crews which we hoped would offset the lighter is faster characteristic of most catamarans"



A quick look at the teams racing at this years Statue Races (70+ ) boats leads to the observation that a majority were racing over their class minimum's and used a correction factor.



My point... few teams actually racing are able to hit their boats minimum. For many of these boats this minimum is actually the optimum weight to race the boat (See Boyer). Weight adjustment schemes level the playing field when you cannot adjust your sails and rig and still remain class legal.



The facts of life are:

Weight matters a lot..

It matters even more if you can't adjust your rig and sails as per class rules.



In handicap racing, the goal is friendly competition and anything that promotes this ideal should be encouraged.



Take Care

Mark