As for gloves, I have had great success in both course racing and distance racing with waterski gloves. The O'Brien ski-skins seem to have the best combination of dexterity, mobility, and padding. The wrist strap comes in handy to keep the gloves on, as well as provide some relief to your wrist when you wrap the line.

The half- finger gloves always seemed to get bundled up at the edges, exaserbating the existing blisters.

My crew has more heavily padded gloves, and I suspect both glove types will wear out about the same time (about 1/2-3/4 racing season - which down in FL is about 9 months of 3-4 events per month).

If you know you will be out there for a while, I suggest duct tape on your hands where you typically get blisters (underneath the gloves). The combination of duct tape and gloves should help minimize the blisters by keeping the skin dry and reducing friction from the lines....