There's an unfortunate clash of dates here - a major cruise has been organised on the same weekend, and knowing how much effort has gone into the organisation (accomodation for crews and berthing for 14+ RIBs to say the least) it's unrealistic to expect that all the participants will change their weekend. This means that a large number of RIBs and keen supporters won't be able to make it to Cardiff. In a minority sport, this will have a huge impact on the event.
Now, I'm a newcomer to this form of boating/adventuring, and it's certainly not my place to try to influence the organisation of a major (and record-breaking) event... (do you anticipate a huge "but" here?) ...but why not combine the two events? Charles has already invited SoC to "swing by", and I know from experience that Charles' off-the-cuff (and almost glib?) invitations are sincere and generous. This would put an a lot back into the sport and a superb acknowledgement of the supporters, building bridges where frustrations have been voiced.
This way there could be two welcomes? Over to the SoC team....
BTW, anyone thinking about saluting SoC in Ellen Macarthur style would be well advised to look at the following link:
http://www.mcga.gov.uk/news/prosecutions/index.htm (scroll down to third section - Defendant: Harold William Smith)!!!!!
I think they're really cool and a good idea, so that everyone knows who is with RIBnet, and which boat, and online names etc etc.
