I love my catamaran.
I love racing my catamaran.
I love racing my catamaran upwind & downwind.
I love racing my catamaran a long distance.
I love *sailing* my catamaran back & forth on a reach as fast as I can, but I almost never get to do this in a "race".

Why? How come there aren't more catamaran "races" that have nice long reaches, or fun (crazy?) slalom shaped courses?

Here's some reasons which I think are used as explanations against courses with reaches, and I will debunk each of them.

Strategic
Explained : the strategic aspects of (windward/leeward courses represent the "pinnacle" of sailing skill.
Debunked : This explanation is a load of cr**. The pinnacle of sailing skill is demonstrated by whoever wins the sailing race. Everyone has the same rules, the same course, and the same chance at winning.

Handicaps
Excuse : handicap numbers are derived based on W/L certain course configurations and are therefore invalid for courses with reaches.
Debunked : With the exception of Texel, every open cat race score that I've seen posted (mostly in the U.S., I'll admit) uses the same Portsmouth numbers, even if it's a 300 mile downwind course, or a 50 mile course around an island, or a true windward-leeward "round the buoys" course. Therefore, the database of race results used to generate these D-PN handicap numbers in the first place, already includes data from races which are not exclusively windward-leeward. If there were separate sets of handicap numbers used, maintained & published for “reaching” courses that were different than for W-L courses, this reason (excuse?) would be more believable. But there isn't, and it's not.

Race Committee workload
Excuse - its too hard to set up a reaching course.
Debunked : well, it is an extra mark to set. So buck up and do it. I've worked race committee countless times, and it's only a little more work to set up a course to include a reach, compared to a windward-leeward. Think of all the fun you're providing the competitors and stop being selfish.

Consistency
Explanation : when you host a regatta, you want participants to be able to plan correctly, and compete fairly. If every club had crazy shaped courses, no one would know what to expect until they showed up.
Debunked : home court advantage already is built into lots of races. Local sailing conditions on a lake or bay (or river ) is just one kind of home court advantage. Many yacht clubs, and even catamaran clubs, use permanent buoys in lakes, bays or channels, as marks of their races. Unless you have a GPS and program in the waypoints, locals will always have advantages. (What course is an I-7? Where the he** is K mark? Is a "X" mark an obstruction or a mark of the course? Where's ICW74? )

So, with all the above reasons debunked, I've reduce it to one reason that I just can't explain away : “everyone's doing W-L, so if I don't, they won't come to my regatta”.

What do you think, and do you like sailing on reaches? (I know you do!)