Jeff
A couple of points..
1) Yes... indeed you are setting the portmsouth number for your Taipan. Since you are the only Taipan on the course.. you will be compared to the top F18, Inter 20 and Hobie 16, etc and you will be part of the next year's number.
2) This assumes that the RC collects times.
3) Your complaint about other boats on the course and "that your race is screwed" is skewed towards monohulls where the differential speeds are quite slow making the problem last longer. BUT... What's the difference if you lap a hobie 16 on the course and have to pass him. That's racing.
4) If you want perfect racing conditions... then only go to regattas with one fleet on the course! Otherwise... slow down to win! The other boats are not invisible!
Mark
Of course,
If each fleet has 10 boats or more who cares it the fleets are mixed or not. I think we are all talking about a few local events without much riding on the end result. Naturally at bigger F18 events I would fully expect that they get their own start in the USA.
Of course I am European born and raised and we just mix our fleets completely 90 % of the time. My local club has a annual race weekend with over 100 boats attending. F18 class can easily be about 30 to 40 boats. F20 about 20 to 30. Do they get their own starts ? Hell no, we have two scoring fleets. "Fast ratings" and "slow ratings" and that is it. Any H16 crew only minding the 8 other H16's will get hammered in the final results by a prindle 15. And that is the way it should be in my opinion. If you are truly good than you'll correct out over F18's if you not than you won't. It doesn't matter if you are the first of 9 H16's when scoring a 40th place in a 50 boat fleet. You are still slow.
I truly think that US sailing will benefit alot from mixing fleets up more often. It will at least be fun to watch. Over here we have guy on a Prindle 15 that is just a ego killer. The instant you start to think you have some good skills he'll pull up next to you in a race and say hi. And believe me a Prindle 15 is a darn slow design; it such a boat snaps at your heels when you are sailing a Tiger of Inter 18 than you'll know that you have ways to go yet.
With all the miniscule boat fleets you have take away the fun of an upset or a surprise in catamaran racing.
Also any comments about getting jammed during the start or rounding is just an implicit admission that you entered the situation the wrong way. Sometimes I don't understand some sailors. You'll need to welcome getting any practice in starting on a crowded startline. How do you think national and world championships start-lines look like. Sure we'll all sail faster when the course if completely clear of "others" but what do we proof by that ? Sailor skill, racing skills ? Don't kid yourself.
A truly capable racer will find holes and correct passages through clogged mark roundings. Also because he had alot of practice at it.
If anybody has any dreams about an Alter cup event than they better start looking for contested start-lines and difficult mark roundings to practice on.
Sometimes I wonder why several clubs overhere get between 50 and 150 boats at their weekend events without any seperate starts.
Any I will shut my trap now. I'm a little hyperactive from something in my eveninh mail I guess.
But great of the F18 crews at Tommy Whiteside to extend their welcome. I think I speak for all of us F16's when I say that we appreciate that.
Wouter
I'm truly sorry to hear that. I know that you've been looking forward to that.
If it were only the snuffer hoop than I would just have picked up the boat anyway and have the snuffer system send after me but indeed things like trampoline are sort of essential. 
Well, lets hope the missing parts arrive soon.
Wouter
Rest assured that we are trying to figure out the possible logistics, one of which would involve Rick having to drive a total of at least 45 hours in order to participate in that regatta.
And before you cast stones at me, let me ask whether any of you guys has a wife or girlfriend who would be willing to drive 26 hours, all alone, over mountains and through tunnels, through rain and fog, trailering three boats (two double-stacked and the third disassembled) on a small, old trailer with very narrow wheelbase? Just so her husband can attend a regatta? Anybody have a spouse like that? 
I really want to know.
Mary, do you have a sister?? 
I have all I can do to get my wife to help step the mast!
Hey, I didn't say that I was going to do all that. I'm just trying to find somebody else to do it for me.
Mark,
Sorry if my post was confusing...you and are on the same page.
Jeff.
A couple of points..
1) Yes... indeed you are setting the portmsouth number for your Taipan. Since you are the only Taipan on the course.. you will be compared to the top F18, Inter 20 and Hobie 16, etc and you will be part of the next year's number.
2) This assumes that the RC collects times.
3) Your complaint about other boats on the course and "that your race is screwed" is skewed towards monohulls where the differential speeds are quite slow making the problem last longer. BUT... What's the difference if you lap a hobie 16 on the course and have to pass him. That's racing.
4) If you want perfect racing conditions... then only go to regattas with one fleet on the course! Otherwise... slow down to win! The other boats are not invisible!
Mark
Mary,
Now that the facts about the logistics required are coming to light, I'm starting to feel like an butt. From Rick's first post, I assumed that it would be a detour on your way back to Florida from the Atlantic 1000. You know what they say about assuming!
Jeff.
Bottom line is we hope Rick will be able to find a way to come.
Even our two committed F-16's sailing with the F-18's would be a great start, Having Rick here as a third would be fantastic for the Class (& my fleet's event), and quite frankly, all us lake sailors are on the edge of our seats hoping to see Rick (who taught so many of us the finer points of catsailing) in action on the racecourse promoting the growing F-16 class.
What we really need in this class is for the boats to be visible at the regattas. For you who got into the class early, that means being the flagships for your class, I'm only interested in the F-16 because I saw it in action. Were it not for Matt, it would jsut be another pretty boat on a webpage. I bet we can grow a whole fleet in the SouthEast, maybe even take away some of the Lighter F-18 crews and F-18 wannabes as they see the versatility and attractiveness of the platform.
AS to Jeff's anxiety about setting the Standard, we all do that until we get the portsmouth numbers on a new class finalized, it's not just the world's best that get to do that, it's ALL of us.
CARY
Cary,
Just to be clear...my anxiety isn't around having my results be used as input for updating Portsmouth numbers...it's about trying to answer the whole F16 vs. F18 bit.
There have been claims that the F16 boat is as fast as the F18 boat. That may or may not be true. However, Jeff Woodard on an F16 vs. Nigel Pitt (and several others) on F18s is not going to get you any closer to answering that question.
Tongue in cheek ---> Unless, I happen to win the thing...then you could be comfortable that the F16 is truly a giant killer...b/c it surely won't be the sailor!
BADABUMP, whats the word on this event? Anything new? Are we starting with the big boys? 
Or are they all skeeerrdd?
I shall be there!
Well, it appears that all our logistical challenges that we were possibly going to meet went out the window.
With the cancelation of the last half of the Atlantic 1000, thereby ending in Tybee Island a week earlier, I would find myself twiddling my thumbs for over a week.., and I have plenty of work to do. I will just have to continue going north at that time and missing the event.
So, I am not able to attend after all.
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Rick