I agree with Mary, good thing for the sport, not sure about the class though. I suppose the class rules are open enough for the name, it is after all F18HT (High-tech) No mention of one-design, just a box-rule.
Good for the sport : One-design classes like Hobie 16 & Dart 18 etc insist on enforcing rules which were drawn up 20-30 years ago, when things were different - at the time dacron was much cheaper than "high-tech" materials such as mylar, so they were protecting their members from high costs. Now the cost difference is small enough to warrant the extra expense, as the mylar sails will outlast & outperform the dacron (my opinion). This only came about because other forward-thinking classes allowed the use of higher-tech materials, increasing the demand for them, which in turn reduced the manufacturing cost. On this premise, if enough demand is created, maybe one day carbon beams & masts will only cost a fraction more than aluminium. This will only happen if these ideas are tried, tested & proven to be better than the current norm.
Regarding boats for "ordinary folk" these are clearly not, but suit sailors with large funds, who indirectly will help the future development of cats and other yachts. It`s good we have them, they aren`t always the best sailors, but have a lot of cash, and will help develop the sport. Maybe that`s why we tend to dislike them, we envy their ability to spend heaps of cash on boats !
For the rest of us, there are 3 formula classes that allow for all types of crew weights, configurations, budgets and levels of bravery.
Me, even if I had the money, I`d have no interest in doing the Little America`s Cup, don`t want millions of tv viewers saying " who`s that guy who keeps holding up the start of the next race ?"

Cheers
Steve