I was thinking about what Scott said below, and about the race
director meeting the other night, and have personally come to the
following conclusions.

1) At midwinters, we (longboard & hybird) got to race 10 races, while
Formula only got to race 4 races. I was there to race, so I'm pretty
happy I wasn't in the formula fleet - aside from going out and trying
Friday & Saturday, they only got to actually race mid-day Sunday.
Thus, we got more than our money's worth! However, interesting to
note that in the recent Windsurfing magazine, no reference to the fact
there even was a longboard or hybird fleet. Conclusion: though the
windsurfing world in general seems to ignore non-formula (or non-Kona)
equipment, we get more time on the water going generally faster. I'd
rather be there than on the beach!

2) While I had been of the opinion that formula deserved its own start
as it is a different type of race, I've changed my mind. Open lives
by regional customs in other regions (Tino for example did not even
cater to an open fleet), formula can live with our customs and start
with us in our region. If they don't get their wind, they can sit and
watch. Starts should take place as long as there is any wind. The
only deviation should be if fleet size dictates the prudence of
splitting A fleet.

3) We must be sure to abide by USW NRT Open fleet rules as well as
other fleet rules even if those rules are not followed in other
regions.

4) It is about racing and having fun. More racing, more fun.

--- In mowind@yahoogroups. com, "Scott Haas" <shaas@...> wrote:
>
we only got to race in the light air as did the Kona
> fleet. The few hours the wind was up each day the Formula Fleet
was
> doing or trying to do back to back races so they had the start
> line.