Wouter,
The HT class has already banned the use of wing sails, mainly due to cost and practicality issues.

I don't think this event is strictly about the sailors or strictly about the boats. I think the HT offered a good compromise for the trustees, able to attract talent and still open for development. The F18 development rules are too limited, especially with the high minimum weight. Aside from the hard wing restriction, the HT rule is almost as wide open as the C class rule. Since there is a hard wing restriction, the cost of development will be greatly reduced. Additionally, much of the development will be able to trickle down to the common sailor, unlike the C class development. If the trustees stick with the HT, we'll see a lot of interesting, useful development and a lot of talent sailing the boats. What could be better?