All handicap systems will fail under the scrutiny of a post race debate around the campfire keg. Distance races are even worse as the direction typicaly is slanted away form a ballanced upwind/downwind situation as found in bouy racing.

The US system takes this even further into BS as it is based on results, so as long as there are a lot of recreational sailors on a particular brand, or no one sails them at all the number will be slanted away from its theoretical potential.

If we are to run handicap in the US I would push to switch to one of the systems being used in Europe now. Not only are they based off of a more theoretical calculation, the numbers of people racing in Europe are significantly greater and the relative validity can be judged a lot closer. The calculation system also allows for a much fairer adjustment for non standard set ups. For example now, an addition of a spin to a boat is a single number no matter if I put an F16 spin or one of the Smyth Worrell 6.0 spins on my boat.

As of now, just get some more fast guys sailing the F16 or just enjoy the number. If they bitch tell them to use a different system. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />