The current set of handicaps are designed for an equal amount of upwind and downwind sailing. If you bias one over, as undoubtedly will happen on every single day of distance racing, the handicap reliability goes in the pooper and the results are a crapshoot. I'm not in favor of the handicaps as I feel it cheapens the experience as my skill and preparation have less to do with my finish position than the angle and strength the wind happened to be that day.

I think it should be scored by fleet but, as I've heard before and agree with, provide a perpetual trophy/award for the overall handicap winner.

One could derive a distance racing handicap system that would rate boats based on angle of sail - but that would be nearly impossible to manage and apply as the wind is rarely consistent over a 100 mile leg.

The other thing I keep hearing as that a "first to the beach" is important to some of the top sailors...first of all, I don't know who those people are but if they're in F18's, let them start at 9am and the 20's start at 10. I'm not concerned with first to the beach - my race is with the 20's.