I'm not sure it is so much about being "competitive" on the water as about being competitive in terms of coming up with innovative ideas.

I think it is a great idea to have everybody use the same basic platform and come up with unique ways to use it. And then have races to test what works best.

Sounds like what the original cat sailors were doing back in the late 1950's, when pretty much everything was experimental and they all got together once a year to test their projects against each other. (Mostly A-Class, I think.)

It's not about who wins the race, but whose innovation has the most potential.

Do any of you guys belong to the Amateur Yacht Research Society?