Great thread. Agree with all of the posts here from Matt and Eric.

One quick thing about Rule 17 that is interesting (and don't think it doesn't apply in OD or formula racing):

Rule 17 says: SHE shall not sail above HER proper course. This means the leeward boat is not restricted by the windward boat's proper course. In an extreme example, this means that an A Cat can head up a Hobie 16 all the way up to the A Cat's proper course (NOT the H16's). I mention this because this is commonly misunderstood, and Jake's response on the water is a typical reaction by windward boats that don't appreciate this nuance (not saying that was the case here, just making a point).

Two one-design boats can absolutely have different proper courses (think wide crew weight deltas and resultant pointing abilities here).

BTW, Matt, how did that work out for Peter?

Mike