The following two ideas might improve the sailing community's cardio:
1. Subsitution of throw out score.
Your throwout score could be substituted with
an OPTIONAL cycling Time Trail finish.
The TT does not have to marathon, say 5 to 20 minutes.
It could be done in mornings or evenings.
(use modified Texel system for rating?)
note: if you TT poorly, you have something to work on.
2. Biathalons.
sailing and cycling (or mountain biking).
side note: don't they sail and ski in one regatta in Tahoe, CA?
For those sailors over 40 or 50, you know the importance of maintaining
your cardio... etc. If you cannot ride a bike should you be on a cat?
Obviously, some regatta site's would better suited for this than others.
Cycling is better than running because it is easier on the joints, for the
running impaired. Cycling is a lot more fun than running. (obviously bias)
Cheers,
Chris