Not pretending to have the answers here, but I agree with a few of the items above. There are parents out there in the Opti program that are buying $20,000 plus inflatables, paying coaches, buying new Optis at over $3000 each, etc. The program is what matters (meaning, regattas with 90 boats, sailing schools to get them started, etc.).

Certainly, we're not going to get there overnight. Going the elite route is a good idea, but again, we need to be careful about where we're getting our sailors. If we're "stealing" kids from mono programs, that will lead to getting uninvited in a big hurry. How elite can we be without a multihull in the Olympics, or is that not really a factor?

I think the sponsorship idea is great, but this takes a lot of time for a dedicated person (or group) to make sure it continues beyond a one-time occurance.

Mike