It's an interesting question.

I learnt to sail on monohulls when I was a kid. I did a few 1 week RYA courses. One of the main things I remember about them was always trying to get onto a faster boat: a laser rather than a topper, a laser full-rig rather than radial, or a laser 2 not a laser. After the last of those courses I then didn't sail for around 10 years until a friend took me out on his Dart 18.

The Toppers and Lasers were really good boats to learn on, but what I lacked was any clear idea of where I wanted to get to. I daresay that had I been out for a joy-ride on a cat or a fast wobbly half-boat during those courses there would have been a lot more pressure on the parents to do more sailing when I got back. So I think that a sailing program that concentrat on teaches people to sail in oppies/toppers/lasers is fine, but it needs to be combined with some experience of what they could sail if they stick at it, and there must be plenty of kids out there who have my "the faster the better" attitude and who'd love a ride on a cat.

Paul