If we're truly at the point where we have no youth boat, and need a grassroots upheaval to get the F12 (or pick a boat) going, then we have absolutely no business comparing ourselves to the developmental programs that have been established by monos.

Like it or not, the current state of affairs in the US exists simply because there isn't a critical mass of youth yet. We bring our kids to sail on our boats out of necessity, not preference. I would love to see huge numbers of double-stacked boats coming to regattas so kids can sail in a youth class.

As to the spinnaker debate, that's a can of worms that can only hurt us in the big picture. I'm not sure that there's a "right" or "wrong" side to this debate, but at the current time, we don't have enough critical mass to support two H16 classes (spin vs. non-spin), and too many of us lived through episodes where classes were fragmented and are now completely gone. I don't think that's a be-all-end-all answer, but it is the current reality.

Mark, what is your data source for those EU numbers? 60 boats in any one class at weekend regattas surely would be impressive.

EDIT: I still think the X-Games (NOT the Olympics) are more of the target audience for cats, and you might as well throw in boards and kites too.

Mike