Come on... The cost of the boat is related to the game you want to play. You decide if it's worth it!

If you are pursuing an Olympic Campaign...A Tornado would have set you back about that amount.... Is a T worth it?

Take a look at the Melges 20 class... I think those boats are 50 to 60K... They come with an International racing circuit run by the builder. They have more class racing going on then does the F16 which has years of boats out in the fleets at 1/3 the price.

The issue is not the cost of the boat per se... rather... Is there a race or set of races that I simply want to win or own the course records for!

The Seacart 30 that we race against on the Chesapeake is simply gone in any race... Hardly a contest unless it's a reachy kind of day. This owner researched the boat (15 world wide) got a deal, made an offer and decided he wanted to own some records and day sail with his wife!. So, it's worth every penny to him. He has owned LOTs of pricey high tech mono's... and says this is the most fun of them all. (We can't figure out why there are not more deep pocket sailors like him... cause we want a ride like our buddy George snagged)

The problem with the new Nacra boat is that there are no obvious races that you can point the thing at. The good news is that a few owners see it differently...

It's never about the boat... It is always about the game!

And Audi sponsors the Melges 20 class.

In my opinion, stay 1 design. Your Nacra 20's have no equeal. But keep the stock sail dimensions, but allow your choice of sailmakers.

DING DING DING DING!!!! We have a winner!

That's all I want to see happen.

The F20c is not just for distance racing. Its equally good at course racing..I actually thing its an easier boat to sail than an F18. Sheet loads are higher but its more forgiving and the lift from the foils keeps you out of a lot of trouble.

And speaking of distance racing..It seems that in europe they are doing a lot of it. Why not the interest here? I don't mean the extreme events like the Tybee but shorter 2 or 3 day ones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePeoEpEbfd4

I would love to see more 2 days distance racing events that aren't just "straight line" events. There's 1 on the bay, and a few in the Keys (Steeplechase etc.), but Key Largo/Key West is a long, long way to go for many. I would like to see a race in the Tampa Bay area, possibly one in the Charleston area, and maybe another could be done on the North Carolina 100 course but using the ICW instead of the Harlow Canal to eliminate the need to take the mast down.

There used to be two great distance races on Tampa Bay. Macho man. Davis Island to Dunedin. And one of my favorites "Run What You Brung". Dunedin to Anna Marie. Spend the night and Anna Marie to Dunedin the following day. With enough interest maybe they could be resurected.

They held a Macho man here 2 years ago, there was a decent turn out...

It was held this past spring too.

Didn't we sail Macho this year? Or was that the "unofficial" macho?

It's been running for years, as has the Hangover in Tampa Bay. If people are complaining there's not enough distance races, how come attendance has been down at most of the distance events?

Alright, well, if anyone needs crew for these events I will fly in. "Run what you Brung" sounds like a great event that should be resurrected!

My bad.. it was this spring.. seemed longer ago.

This event did not have any NOR or race committee.

This years hangover did not happen. There was a lack of interest and support and the fleet basically couldn't cover it's own insurance costs. Bob Barton pulled all the fleet together for beer and burgers at his pool and they resurrected the fleet and have had some races.

Next Sunday is the Barton Sail for Cancer and will probably be a 25 mile distance race for the big boats (causeway around anclote) if it's like his past races.

I agree with that too.

You weren't very keen on it when I proposed it a few years ago.

You weren't very keen on it when I proposed it a few years ago.