I voted "No" to this one on behalf of Rick, because he would never let me handle the mainsheet. I don't blame him, because if I were on the helm, I wouldn't let him handle it, either. It's like I don't trust him with the TV remote, and he doesn't trust me with it.

It's hard to hand over the mainsheet to anybody that you do not trust completely, especially in buoy racing. For most people, tiller and mainsheet are the most important controls, and those two controls have to work in concert when you are on closed courses with lots of other boats around. It is a lot easier to have the crew handle the mainsheet in distance races.

Highly skilled teams that have been together a while, like the teams campaigning for the Olympics, have no problem with the crew handling the mainsheet in buoys racing. Most of us normal people don't have the luxury of having the same crew all the time and developing the skills and the mutual trust.

If I had to choose between letting a relatively inexperienced crew handle the mainsheet or the tiller, I would put him or her on the tiller, and I would keep the mainsheet.

P.S. I guess I should point out that the mainsail is a lot bigger than the rudders. The mainsail is the primary engine for the boat, and it is also the most important steering mechanism. You don't hand that over to just anyone. If the guy on the tiller needs to bear off to avoid another boat and the guy holding the mainsheet doesn't let it out, there is no way the rudders are going to win.