As one of those guys in the pictures, I appreciate the input and you are spot on with tiller time being the most important ingredient. After every herky-jerkey dive down, I was thinking that "man, I should been more prepared for that.....". I did survive the weekend with no capsizes (2 races and a short sail Sunday AM, big whooop).
As far as trapezing under spi... it will benefit some designs more than others, it depends on the skipper's comfort-factor, it depends on the sea state, etc.... I personally have not done it much in racing because I haven't practiced it much. I wouldn't dare sail an upwind leg without the trapeze, so it makes sense to me to use it downwind (especially on this design) when the conditions merit it. Just gotta practice.
