Hello John



I think the issue is the fun factor of the event. Its not about the party... its about the racing. So.



I don't think the alter cup qualifier can be the only buoy's portsmouth race in your area. If you race in a one design fleet exclusively, the Alter qualifier is very different and probably not fun. The possiblity of racing a wave against a tornado is ridicuous and undercuts participation.



Perhaps you don't think handicap racing is fair, you don't think your type of boat can win, etc etc. or the rock star in your fleet may or may not get hammered in portsmouth racing. Spinaker versus non spin's are not fair.... Uni's versus everyone else are not fair... Whatever the story... You don't take your limited time and money and choose to compete in the qualifier at the expense of one of your one design events or traditional events. You probably compute the fun factor as relatively low compared to your other choices.



I think you have to have one or two other well attended important portsmouth events as prominent events on the schedule, otherwise, the alter qualifier is a very odd duck for many racers. Perhaps if PN racing was viewed as competitive, the fun factor would go up. The model that I think works well is the catfight in Michigan.



A second thought is that perhaps a change in format would improve matters. For instance, If the championships were to be held on 20 foot sloop rig boats.... The qualifier would be open to all 19 and 20 foot sloop rigs... Likewise, uni's, 16 footers and all of the spin boats would be resonable groups.



The marketing for the alter cup qualifier would be your regional championship for similar types of boats. This would amount to virtually level or formula racing. This might raise the fun factor as well by making the event competiive.



As itstands now.... only die hards who can never get enough racing and those who feel that they could win the event tend to participate... everyone else competes at their conviencene, eg proximity, weather.



Take Care

Mark