HJS, the points you made just above about the skippers, as I said much earlier in this train wreck, they are so good they can pick up cew the day before the regatta and still win easily. I give all credit to the sailors, it's not the boat, it's the sailors. Especially in big wind, 5 days and 15 races, the cream rises to the top.

You still have to sail well no matter what type boat you are on. The top guys are at the top for a reason and that reason is -not- the type of boat, or the weight of the boat, or even the sails they use, they simply know how to sail beter than the rest of us. I'm just glad they show up and are willing to share their speed secrets with us.

Let's all agree on that and move on.

What I like most about this sport is the fact that a weekend hack like myself can race in almost every regatta (except the Alter cup where you first must qualify) sail against and talk to the very top sailors in the sport, ask them how, why, what if, etc. and learn directly from them. It is like a once a month golfer going to play with Tiger Woods on a local course, in what other sport can you do that?

Thanks again to everyone who made it happen. It's a lot of work done by many volunteers who get nothing but a free beer out of it.

Thanks to you all and I hope to see you again at Tradewinds!