2. Schedule was too full and expensive this year, with the F18 Worlds on the other side of the country.
We knew this might be a lower-attended event and the F16 was chosen, and these dates chosen, with the expectation that boats would be nearby and available for charter. We did not expect a large carry-over from the F16 sailors, but did hope their boats would be available (which would help offset the costs of attending their own championship).
US Sailing is adamant that all charters are a private concern, and our hands were somewhat tied with managing this. In the future, I would like to see us take a more direct role in ensuring that anyone who needs a boat, gets one.
There may be something to the format change, but nothing other than time will fix that. Without a miraculous infusion of major cash, the old format will not be coming back. While I came into this as a diehard, thinking there might be a way to make this work; new provided boats simply cost way too much.
