The NOR sets the expectations for the regatta ... When they are not even stated.. much less met... upsets occur. It's a little late to resolve this at the skippers meeting after you have traveled and set your boat up.... at this point you are going to be upset before you get wet.
It's a good bet that the OA wanted as many boats to attend as possible since it was an annual fund raiser for a charity. The OA is interested in generating a good regatta for ALL of the participants... not just the biggest class... so the OA's goal is that ALL racers will return next year and hopefully bring more boats.
From the OA's point of view... marginalizing boats that don't make class at the skippers meeting probably means they won't be back next year.
Sounds like you need some ground rules beyond a proper NOR. EG if you want a OD fleet... best have 10?? boats registered one week in advanced and have it published... otherwise the OA will group like boats and score you on handicap (no matter how many class members show). This process would let the odd Portsmouth boat make up their mind if it's a race they want to compete in before the registration deadline. Likewise, the OD class can only grumble about their fleet members who did not register in time or also choose to not show if it's not a OD race of their standards.
Set and meet expecations = no upsets!
This is exactly right. In the case of the Santa Barbara regatta a last minute decision was made by the RC to move Mike from the mixed class TheMightyHobie18/Portsmouth start to the F-18 start so that he could race longer courses since only the F-18 fleet would be sailing to the more distant weather mark. [His preference may or may not have been solicited... I don't remember who brought the question up.] It was a bad decision by the RC.
