Mary,
Wouter, I have a couple more questions about this single-fleet, open-class racing:
Do all the boats, 14 feet to 20 feet, spinnaker and non-spinnaker, all start together and all race the same course?
That is pretty much the standard format. Certainly for all club races and local events that attract less than 30 boats. At some larger event (I say SOME events) a split is made between a slow and fast fleet BUT often the share the same start and course anyway. The split is then visible only in the final scoring and the seperate price giving. At only a handful of events the individual boats have their own start or course ; often these are their own nationals that they organise as a class themselfs. Only REALLY active classes like F18 and F20 have about 4 or 5 "own start" events. Classes like the Hobie 16 and Nacra 6.0's don't, simply because they are too small or they don't have a class association anymore.
How long is a normal course for this kind of racing, and what type of course is normally used?
Bouy racing => we always aim for 45 minutes. Races that are longer than 60 min and shorter than 30 minutes are regarded as mistakes by the RC. But everybody rather has a 60 min course than a 30 min course. 30 min is regarded as a "race in starting" followed by a run home. To short to make sailing on the course exiting. If a RC tries 20 min courses and they will have a revlt on their hands. Typcially we aim for 2 to 3 laps and often this includes a one triangular round and one sausage round. So you have to pay attention were in the race you are or you'll miss a bouy and get protested out. Pretty much all course have a gate at the bottom and even a pure up and down run has a offset mark after A to get some seperation.
Distance racing ; this is always single start - open class fleet. You may have some individual scoring but that is rare. I think only Texel and the Spring / Autumn and Westlan cups have them in Netherlands and they mostly have a combined finish list as well. Simply put; you start and race together with a total combined scoring and if you have a class (rare) than you CAN get a filtered out scoring as well. So it is up to the sailor what he values most. Good sailors in One -Design classes tend to race on handicap with the other makes over racing their own. They find more skill to compete against in the larger open class than against the sailors in their own class.
Distances races can have any course of coures.
By the way Yes last years we had a Hobie Dragoon (with spi), Hobie 14 and Prindle 15's race against the best F18's and F20's in last years REM race (110 boats - 50 miles) at my club. Because of the larger number of boat this race is split in a fast and slow boat SCORING fleet only, they still start and race together. The H14 won the 40 boat big slow boat fleet. The 70 boat fast fleet was won by an F18 and both came rather close together in the combined listing.
Good sailors arrive at the top of any listing no matter what, even despite ratings systems that have inherent flaws.
In Europe is it only the catamarans that race in this way (one start for all), or do the monohulls do this, too?
Mono fleets are far more organised along the OD route. However at club races they still mix up fleets to get good numbers. However I don't think we have to much active mono hull racing in mainland Europe. I think Uk is a little different. At least in the Netherlands they don't compare at all with catamarans. Only laser 1's make a impression. 49-er class and 420 / 470 classes are rather small and certainly don't have filled big event calender like the cats do.
But can he get back at the Formula 16 issues that need resolving now ?
Wouter
