My opinions.
When are you a professional: When you are racing sailboats full time, and are paid to do it.
What do other amateurs feel about competing with professionals on the racecourse: When I have gone to a "professional" event I mentally "block them out" from the results, studying how we have done against the other amateurs instead.
Fair or not: I know we are not competing on an equal basis.
Good for the sport or not: I dont think mixing amateurs and pros in any sport is good for the sport.


The pros bring both good and not so good to the sport. My thinking is that if we want to grow the numbers in the sport of sailboat racing we should not mix pros and amateurs. We race to win, and amateurs will very, very, rarely win against professionals. We can enjoy and shine in our own progress, but in the end racing is about winning, not how much better you have become. Many say this is not the case, but in the end, honestly, you race to win. Digress: There being only one winner is another reason why we (catamaran racers) should emphasize the social aspect of going racing.