Well, I think I may have found where Matt is...

This week there is a big A cat regatta in the Keys and Vectorworks Marine (Matt) will be brining the new US built JavXA to the regatta, so I'm sure he is there today and not able to get to the internet. I hope he has the time availble to stick around and sail his Blade in the Tradewinds regatta.

Re. the F16's on the same line with everyone else...I personally would NOT want to be starting with a bunch of I-20's, especially in light air. Their mast is about 32' high and they will stop you dead in the water until their entire fleet goes by, then you can start racing. So, what is the point? I think each class should get it's own start, that only takes 3 minutes, 6 more minutes total if the I20's, then the F18's then the F16's.

And you are right, if the F16's start with the F18's, the F18's will correctly cry "foul" if an F16 gets in the way. If I had spent the time away from work and $1,000+ to drive down and sail at Tradewinds, I sure as hell would not want some boat from some other class sitting on me in light air. Unless they are all racing as Portsmouth, you are doing a great injustice to both fleets to start them together. The only one it helps is the Race Committee, not the sailors.

One other thing...do you really want an Inter 20 or F18 to T-bone you at the start? Not me. You are not racing against them so why start with them? You can still talk smack if any F16 starts 3 minutes behind the F18's and then beats them to the finish line.