Fritz and I ran the Gold Coast 100 for CRAM a few years ago. We had 21 entries and 18 boats show up. It was storming and cold that Friday, I was suprised we had that many given conditions. Safety requirements are necessary for Lake Michigan.
With that said, I think that several factors affected the Gold Coast 200 that was proposed. My opinons are that the Gold Coast 200 was during the week, not on a weekend. The venue was too far North in MI to draw the sailors, (driving distance). The safety features were somewhat extreem, even for Lake MI.
The biggest pain in organizing any distance race is usually not the sailors but the venue. Organizing any distance race is a very big job, and can be very stressful. I worried a lot prior to and during the regatta. Even with disclamers I felt responsible for the people on the water, This was due to light winds the first day and big wind and waves the second day.

Bash if you must, but until you have run a regatta, I suggest you not respond. Mikes response is useful as he runs a great distance regatta.