On rereading the O D comments the written word on a partial abbreviated subject in sub context is sometimes misleading due to incompleteness and always seems more harsh than ever intended ,- my appologies to Performance cats ,-the Inter 20 is a great cat that has evolved by trial and error with numerous improvements over its 6 year existance,-Ive sailed it in most all the Atlantic coast 1000 mile and TYBEE 500 mile races and on the NACRA 6/0 PREVIOUS TO THAT --8 now ,-the Inter has at times ,evan in those sometimes extreme conditions and extreme distances of up to 120 N miles ,-HAS BEEN A JOY TO SAIL .
The great advantage of Formula racing as per F-18 example is the potential for a much larger pool of boats and sailing teams to compete on an equal basis, and also the great evolution of boat improvement within the context of fair equal rules as exemplfied per Hobie F-18 TIGER and NACRA F-18 currently.
The sincerest form of flattery is duplication ,--as the saying goes ,--that is the intent of this FORMULA 20 rule ,-to duplicate the basic specifications and design measurements based on the Inter 20 model , and allow all other similar L B W and S A {sail area} boats to modify to that max. specification and optimize their boat for these sometimes very grueling tests of boats and sailing skill on the often unforgiving test track called the Atlantic Ocean and more specifically EASTERN SEABOARD of the continental US .

On the distance race on the GREAT LAKES ,
-We have had 2 day distance races in past years with great success ,-we had Hobie 20s Mysteres ,Inter 20s Tornados etc show and all be very competitive,-In subsequent years we published a NOR for a 4 day event in 03 ,-STAN and ERIC in CRAM were the main volunteers to run the event ,-I hoped to race it ,-only 2 entered and it was cancelled by CRAM.
IT WOULD BE WONDERFULL to get a distance race going on the GREAT LAKES ,-a race sponsor ,-numerous TYBEE 500 teams ,-media coverage ,-perhaps a purse or prize money to help all teams ,--
someday --though perhaps it will be my 3 sons racing in it ----ever the optimist -
Carl