I can tell you that sailing up the ditch (intercoastal waterway) at night during RTI is exhilerating and very educational. Gone are the crutches of the wind indicator and the tell-tales. No longer visible are the ripples on the water (not to mention the shoreline on some of those moon-less and overcast nights). I learn more in that four to six hours of sailing than I do in two years. I have become 'one' with the boat and can sail by the seat of my pants (hhhuuuummmmmmmm). Seriously though, I've been a lot faster and have been able to feel when the boat "isn't quite right" ever since. We were 40th out of 60 the first year (I think only 43 finished). In our second year we finished 17th overall and 5th in a class of 18.