One reason for Bobs continued success is the amount of time he spends on the water. I am a member of the same sailing club that Bob belongs to and also live on the water on the Bay that he sails on so I get to watch the sailing activity daily. I cant tell you how many times the last 2 summers Bob would rig his F17 and go out and practice for hours . Never just daysailing to the local beach hangout but out for hours at a time going upwind and back down nailing down his boat handling and tuning to the conditions. Catching up with him on the beach derigging his boat and he would always share what he learned that day and how his latest rigging idea was working out. I have sailed here in town around the likes of Randy Smyth,Brian Lambert,Kirk Newkirk, and the late Carlton Tucker for over 30 years and have never seen any of those guys apply the dedicated training that Bob does (exception being Randy when he was doing T boat campaigns in the 80s).So along with Bobs talent for going fast(er) is the huge committment to do what it takes to get there. My hats off to Bob for just that, he puts in major effort to achieve success.