i'm also a cat rookie with designs (eventually) of racing.
After some homework I bought a supercat 17...fast, well constructed, user friendly, and still supported by the guys at Aquarius Sail...not much of a fleet that I'm aware of, though.
Contact Tom at Aquariussail.com, they are putting into production a new version of the 17 supercat called the ARC 17; these are the same people that build the ARC & RC big cats.
just my .02

You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning !