My answer to this question is: forget about the serious racers and make the event fun for everyone. Mix it up! Sitting and waiting for the next start is boring, what could we be doing between? Maybe hull flying distance comps, trapeze 360s, flip and right speed trails, drop apples in the water that must be picked up by the crew with their teeth.
Windy drives the point home about how different these two groups are, and trying to satisfy both at the same time may not be a solution that is workable. Different events for the different groups on different weekends. We host two significant regattas with our local club, Hargar the Horrible and the Kelly Park River Regatta. Both regattas are very fun but fun for very different reasons. Hagar the Horrible is an event like Windy describes and KPRR is a full on race regatta. Very different vibe and mindset between the two events.
"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda "Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent" - Two sista's I overheard in the hall "You don't have to be a brain surgeon to be a complete idiot, but it helps"
