I told Dave that I thought he was wasting his time. He may have interpreted that to mean, "cool it." I'm not worried about me and Dave.

I think I'm wasting my time, too, but here's something to ponder anyway. The people that have made the event happen, from Gordie to Dave and everyone in between, including our beloved Darline, poured blood, sweat and tears into making it what it became. Each of them walked away frustrated, disillusioned, or fatigued. Each was told what Mike is now being told by US Sailing, and each eagerly took up the task. Mike is aware and he's taking his turn anyway, for which he has my gratitude. The punch line is this - neither Liz Walker nor Steve Wrigley ever lifted a finger for the multihull events, except to write emails. The event was always run by hosts, volunteers and manufacturers, all of whom were ill-treated for their efforts at one point or another. From beam bolts to battens, start lines to buffet lines... there has been a parade of competent, committed enthusiasts involved every year.

The events (both youth and adult) have been sustainable, quality regattas with healthy (if market weary) bank balances. Dave's dismissal boils down to the simple fact that he and his committee were focused on a quality event - they were the boots on the ground - where US Sailing was increasingly focused on the marketing of that event to sponsors to cover operating costs. Not the costs of the event mind you, nor did more than a pittance (less than 10%) of that sponsorship actually benefit the hosts. There was no way to reconcile the conflict between the purpose of the volunteers with the purpose of US Sailing.

Jake has an informed opinion as a past Championship Chair and competitor. Like Jake, my name has been tagged onto the list of people who agree with a number of ideas, including handicapped racing for the title. Like Jake, I think my opinion has been rewritten and distorted.

The Alter Cup was unique in that it was as one-design as you could get - rotated boats, no tuning allowed, absolutely and mathematically proven to be equal equipment. It took racing in a handicap event to qualify for a spot, due in part to the Ted Stevens Sports act. Some may see irony in that relationship, but the handicap racing was the path to the finals - I see this as a clear and logical progression. The trophy was named for Hobie Alter, now a Hall of Famer, for his contributions to one design sailing. I think that if the US Multihull Championship becomes a handicap event, a name change should be considered in respect for the original deed of gift and the large donation from Bill Jolley that has sustained it for so long.

It should be telling that during the last House of Delegates conference call, the new Championships Chair expressed her understanding that the multihull championship events have been very poor in the last few years. Fortunately, Jerry Montgomery (a member of ABYC) was on the call; he corrected her and explained that the event last June was fantastic - full participation, incredible manufacturer support, enthusiastic volunteers that traveled great distances to help run the event, and very happy sailors. History is written by those who are left... ours is being written by people who never once attended an event.

I wish the new cast of characters the best of luck. As I have expressed privately when asked "What do you want in an Alter Cup?"

We had it already.