Wouter: OD racing was one of the arguments, others were increased safety due to easier righting, stronger masts to stop all the breakages (quite a few masts have broken after the increase in sail area in 2000) and added performance due to lower platform weight.

About old masts.. Yes, they are still legal, but you are not allowed to change their tip weight (ask Mike about his lead corrector on the tip) or change their spreaders to the new streamlined ones like the one on the carbon stick.

About the arms race in sails.. The next ballot for the class will decide wether to allow molded sails.. (interestingly enough, even North Sails has toned down their marketing of molded sails lately)

Last, if safety was the big consern it was touted as in the last ballot, why was it not allowed to change standing rigging to syntetic materials instead. Lightweight crews could have righted the boats easier, and they could have been cut with a serrated knife in an emergency..

A quick search on this site, will bring back all the arguments made pro/con before the ballot last year.. The best was when Roland Gabler (German Olympic T Team) strongly advised against the masts, then the class president came out strongly against Rolands arguments.. Chaotic indeed..