We're cat sailors, not mono sailors, so naturally, we want our kids to sail cats.

But, it's hard to beat this (from Scuttlebutt):

The Garda Easter Meeting, already in the record books as the biggest single-Optimist Class event in the world, has this year moved up several gears to record an entry of 999 Optimists from 29 countries. The logistics are incredible. Three race courses run five simultaneous races, three for the 866 under-16 "Juniors" and two with shorter races for the 133 11- and 12-year old "Cadets". As well as the three race-committee teams, over 200 support boats, each because of local law with a qualified driver and tightly controlled crew, are involved. --
http://lakegardameeting.fragliavelariva.it/

It's one of the many reasons I race a Hobie 16 although I've surpassed the weight limit years ago. There's power in numbers...

Mike