It is common knowledge that cats are fastest on a reach. Because of this, I would imagine that bearing off slightly is best when going for the first mark. My question is, how far should I bear off? Does this depend on wind conditions? I'm frustrated because I can never seem to find the balance between speed and upwind progress that would allow me to win the beat. By the way, I'm sailing a Hobie 14 Turbo. I've also posted this over on the Hobie forums; I'm trying to get some advice for tomorrow's race in a timely manner.

Thanks
Jon