Hi Darryl

I will take the unpopular point of view here.

You can call the boat anything you want... The class of sailors can choose any name that it wants... BUT... sailors who participate in events that ISAF has declared illegal by their bylaws will suffer the consequences with regard to participating in other ISAF events/ national events.

I support ISAF on this one... Some organization must be agreed upon and their must be a way to enforce decisions. The structure that has the most buy-in from sailors is our regional sailing authority which is sanctioned by the National Sailing Authority which participates in the International body called ISAF.
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So, if a sailor wants to participate in an unsanctioned event... they just can't play in the sanctioned ones... What's the problem?

Likewise… what would your view point be if a sailor was barred from competition for gross unsportsmanlike conduct by ISAF or your National Sailing Authority? Should your club allow this sailor to compete?… If they choose to ignore the national sanction and let the individual play…Should they be sanctioned in some way by their regional and national authority? The sanction would be that as a member of the X club, you are not permitted to compete in the national YYY events.

Taking another example, Hobie Class Association sanctions a WAVE Class, Rick White chartered the International Wave Class before Hobie figured out that people might want to race Waves and before they created a class. Which one should be recognized by the national and international bodies?

Sailboat racing is a social construct… We have agreed on a set of rules, conduct and organization. If a group decides that they wish to compete and do away with some of the rules… they have every right … but… they can’t expect to be treated with impunity by the mainstream groups.

Take Care
Mark