Considering the vote next week whether to allow laminated mainsails, I return to
this idea from the point of view of promoting one-design sailing by refocusing attention on the fleets.
The key to creating and sustaining one-design racing is 'critical mass'. It relies on having a fleet of boats at one or several clubs or marinas nearby. Fleet leaders encourage those who sail these boats to race. Time and cost constraints mean that traveling more than a couple hours, much less days, to race is likely to be limited to one or a few regattas per year.
In recent history there have been J/30 one-design events in Annapolis, Cedar Point, Marblehead, New Orleans, and Rhode Island. In each case the majority of those sailing have been located nearby. Boats scattered about large bays, lakes, or geographic regions do little to help reach critical mass.
There are currently several established fleets:
Chesapeake --> Annapolis
Long Island Sound --> Cedar Point
Northern New England --> Marblehead
Gulf Coast --> New Orleans
Southern New England --> Rhode Island
Western Great Lakes --> Chicago
There may be enough boats for fleets in Hampton/Norfolk (VA), Halifax, Miami, Michigan, Ontario, Pamlico Sound (NC), Raritan Bay (NJ), East Texas, Vancouver or other locations, however I cannot identify them without additional boat and membership detail than provided by the Class directory.
Currently the Class votes by geographic region. I propose that in the future we vote by fleet with consideration given to the number of members in each fleet and only organize by region.