Eric, I agree with all of your points regarding protests and the rules, and share a lot of your concerns with respect to spin/non-spin. There can be challenges running slower designs on long distances when there's marginal wind...

All, I think that in the case of distance races organized by others, it would behoove us to work in conjunction with the OA. Appoint a cat sailor to be the class captain, run inspections, work with the competitors to ensure basic expectations (safety plan) are met, etc. This could be the one small step that raises us above the rest, or could even save a life...

Mike