Hi John



No... I am not suggesting a talent tax at all.



The Corinthian ideal of yacht racing is the bedrock of many yacht clubs. These clubs DO NOT allow advertising on the boats for their events. Their logic is that they want to preserve a level playing field in a gentleman's game. Advertising... eg logo's and sponsorship are not the road they wish to travel.



At the last Low Rent Regatta in Va Beach (aprox 5 years ago). They had a seperate class for boats with sponsorship and these boats payed a significantly higher entry fee then the majority of the huge fleet. The purpose of the differential fee was to make sure that the joe six pack sailor (thank you tami) felt that they had a chance to compete and win.



If sailors beleive the playing field is not level... then they will not come and play. For example, note the uproar that Tiger sailors raised over the perception that Nacra F18's would have an unfair weight advantage. This thread started with the notion that Pro's with sponsorship create an uneven playing field and so why would the weekend racer bother. In fact, some debated wether such sailors should be prohibitied from these events in much the same manner as many monohull classes prohibit or limit pros. US Sailing and ISAF set forth very specific criteria for what constitutes a professional so that classes can choose to limit or allow these racers depending on the nature of the event.



I see two advantages to tapping sailors with sponsors on their sails for a premium. The first is that the sponsoring club will get a bit more cash and this cash comes from the sponsor. Most importantly, is the official acknowledgment by the yacht club that these sailors are indeed Pro's.... Yes, they are scored in your class... BUT... you can also meausre your weekend's unofficial performance against the non pro's as well. (similar to the low rent event above) Of course, these sailors could also just use a suit of sails without all the signage.



I proposed a compromise. Many sailors want to compete against the best racers while others feel that they are behind the eightball if the game can be won by well heeled sponsored racers.. My suggestion was that the sailors with decals of sponsors pay a premium. The premium goes to the sponsoring fleet and they could use the cash for better parties... deeper trophies or seperate class trophies... whatever.



I am interested in this debate because CRAC will be looking for a beach cat start next year in the CBYRA Race to Oxford and this event does not allow sponsorship on the sails (so I have been told)



Hopefully I have explained the issue a bit more thoroughly.



Take Care

Mark