from Sailing Anarchy "Rumors and Lies:"

Banned Again?

Looks like a bit of a witch hunt for the R 33 cat. Now we hear that Long Beach Yacht Club's BOD (the club sponsoring the races that the
R33's capsized in recently), met in private session last week and voted to exclude the R33s from Wet Wednesdays immediately, but allow them to finish the remaining races in the 2006 Channel Island Series. For 2007 they are instituting a new rule excluding all boats that cannot self-right.

Yes, that would be all multihulls, assuming they are clear on the
distinction between self-right and self-rescue. The Long Beach Yacht Club is a big money club heavily involved with top level mono racing. A sailing insider says "LBYC is a major force in SoCal racing and other clubs may look to them as leaders."

There are all sorts of rumors of personal agendas, personal grievances, political maneuvering, and influence from influential people. On the other hand it may simply have been a "ban them all and let God sort them out" type of decision. "It's the only way to be sure". LBYC did not respond to ORCA inquiries before their decision, nor has a statement been issued. All reports are verbal until a copy of the minutes becomes available for public review.

Will there be a domino effect?

07/11/06