Got first place prize in a 650 boat fleet a couple years back doing 24 hours of continious sailing and navigating, did you ? I also did a night passage of the English Channel in certified windforce 12 winds while helming a 3 masted barge (under sail) during the dog watch (midnight to 4 a.m.), captain got an official hearing afterwards as this really shouldn't have happened. Is that "... out of sight on a dark night ..." enough for you ?

But I don't need huffing and puffing to inflate my stature.

First place in any event still doesn't say squad when it comes down to engineering.

If the tip of your spi pole flexes up by 500-100 mm (as TaipanFC says is common) then the setup on YOUR boat is wrong; it is not that all boats in the rest of the world are wrong.

When I write down actual experience derived from sailing my boat then that is not "analysing when little to no practical experience"

Lets face it here guys, you guys think you know me but you really don't. You have no idea of what I have done and what boats I have sailed or for how many years and under what conditions. I'm no Ashby or Bundock but neither are you guys ! Your own race results aren't that impressive.

Wouter