I would most definitely fall into the category of hating Portsmouth racing to the point that I quit going to events that did not have enough boats for one design racing and did no racing in Florida for several years before finding a one design boat that was being raced.
My reasons are: I race not only improve my own sailing skill but to also prove my skill. I want to improve boat speed and tactics. If you are not sailing the same boat that I am on, whatever it might be, then the comparison is mathematical and the race is a drag race not necessarily tactical and I don't enjoy that. Also as accurate as the Portsmouth ratings might be for some boats, they are not good for all conditions. I want to know that I won or lost because of my actions not because of ratings. To most sailors, I appreciate that it is about getting out on the water with friends and having fun and Portsmouth ratings allows multiple classes of boats to do that.
I agree that one design is ideal but how can you say racing portsmouth will not improve your speed and tactics? If anything you need to do these better in case there is a boat that favors the conditions that day. You probably also have a greater chance of encountering more and better sailors than if you race in a small isolated OD fleet. For most cases I would think your position within a portsmouth or OD fleet is probably going to be relatively the same if you actually have good competition in your OD fleet. This is especially the case when the portsmouth fleet is large enough to be split into spin/nonspin and/or A/B fleets.
And as far as the prove your skill thought, who are you proving this too? Do you really care if the guy in the aquacat sailing his first race thinks you are a good sailor, or do you think if he beats you he is going to think you have no clue what you are doing? I know I have never gone onto a race course to assert my superiority (or inferiority <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> ) or seen someone else do that, and if I did meet someone like that I would probably avoid them.
Nothing will improve your skill better than sailing with like boats. If a Supercat 20TR pass you while you are on a Hobie 16 you are not going to learn much about making your boat faster. If a Hobie 16 rolls over instead, you can learn something about how they have set their sails, how their weight is positioned, how they are working the tiller or sails, etc to determine how they bettered you. The Supercat was going to pass you anyway (or vice-versa).
I sailed Portsmouth for the first three years I sailed and I started to get really frustrated because no matter how many books and theory I would read, I wasn't getting any better. Once I bought the F18, I was sorely at the back of the pack but quickly improved to the point that I can compete with the big dogs occasionally. Same goes for my Nacra 20 experience.
You just can't learn to be fast in an open mixed fleet sailing apples against oranges.
BUT WAIT! I'm not saying portsmouth isn't worthy. Handicap racing provides racing for people who don't have a class to support their choice in boat. Versus not racing at all, I will race handicap - but I would choose some form of one design racing any day.
