Dave - Not sure I agree. When I was racing intercollegiate, the races were short, very short, and bunches of them were done each day. The shortness of the course made for very agressive starts and mark roundings. Add to this mix the speed of cats, and the addition of spinnakers, and you end up with fast pased, physical, and exciting races that place a premium on boat handling and crew work. Often time is the muti-lap windward leeward races we do, the pecking order has been established after the first lap and it becomes a follow the leader (not allways, but often), the fleet then gets strung out over a longer distance increasing the waitiing period between races. Why not end the race after one lap, and start another? Keep the boats closer together for more "intense" racing.