DISCLAIMER: These comments are directed at the reach/no reach debate overall, not a specific person or event...

In my experience, reaches started going the way of the dodo several years ago, mainly because they were considered to be "non-strategical." In other words, reaching legs tend to be follow-the-leader. The only way boats can pass one another is by better boathandling, and the assumption is, everyone at a championship is excellent at boathandling. Note the word "assumption." <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Spinnakers have been around for much longer than this mindset, so I don't attribute that as the cause.

The other consideration about reaches is that they require additional safety and mark boats. You have a mark at a different place on the water, so making a change in response to a wind shift will require another mark boat. Competitors are far more likely to capsize on a reach, so you need more safety boats.

Personally, I agree with this idea for major events, but we all sail cats because we like to go fast, and reaching is the fastest point of sail. I feel pretty strongly that reaches should be used at all normal (non-championship) regattas, especially if the sailors want them.

Which is another thing that can't be understated, a good PRO really needs to listen to the OA and fleet reps to be sure he is providing the racing they desire, not the racing he prefers to provide. Sometimes, this is hard to watch, for example, I have no idea why big mono sailors want to race two or three races per day and throw away several hours of beautiful wind and racing conditions. But, as their PRO, I'm not going to start a fourth race just because that's what I'd want as a sailor. That's how you don't get invited back (on a good day), or get ripped apart on an open forum... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Mike