I'll take a stab at the poor turnout for the US Championship

It's not as high profile as the North American Championship
It's at a bad time of the year (holidays)
A lot of the sailors are burned out, tried, sick or they have been gone so much their family is asking "who are you again?"


As far as the Tornado at a club level, it is a delightful boat to sail. The pain of a 10ft beam on land is more than balanced by the joy of it on the water. When a puff hits you accelerate instead of heeling, you can steer it with your fingertips, when a control annoys you, you can just change it, etc. I have just accepted that I need a tilt trailer, which adds 5-10 minutes to the setup.

Carl Bohannon
US782