These are personal opinions. Arguably most of experiences are doublehanded. So I hope some others will jump in fill in the singlehanded area.
For me sailing with a spinnaker is an end to the boring slow downwind legs where the picking order is often along crew weight lines. I sailed Prindle 16's and Hobie 16's for years and eventually we found that sailing deep with the main boomed out was often the fastest way to sail downwind on these boats. Heating it up was arguably more fun but was detrimental to your final standings against other P16's/H16's as well as other boats under Handicap rating racing.
I must add to this I sail heavy; meaning between 150 and 170 kg's and arguable I need a F18 or F20 to be competitive at my weight. This is important in my appreciation of the kite.
-1- The kite shifts the focus a long way towards skill and handling over boat-crew weight combinations
Simply put ; to sail with a kite is easy to learn and to do. Sailing really well with a kite is a whole lot of work. You have much added handling on board that makes doing everything without errors more difficult. It is like the difference between juggling with 3 balls or with 4. As a result the end result in more determined by skill, practice hours and tackics than by the old design-crewweight combo. It must also be realized that the hotter angles that are sailed with a kite allow boats to venture out more to each side and thus differences in windpatterns have a greater influence (tactics). On the P16's/H16's sailing deep and almost straight down the middle was limiting this strongly.
-2- The downwind leg went from the biggest timeslice in a race to the shortest one.
This makes my advantage as a heavy weight less important in the overall result once again as my extra righting moment corrects out over some of the drag disadvantage I have upwind. The whole race has become much more fast paced. Right now the downwind legs are best described by "hectic" Especially when the winds are picking up.
-3- Power is abundant in anything over 8 knots
This makes for spectacular sailing on downwind courses especially when neck to neck with your competition. Gibing duels are extremely demanding of skills and stamina. Every single error like a flog or a slow gibe will cost you boatlengths of distance. Everything must be executed perfectly or else the other will motor away. Nearing the C-mark while duelling and do a game of chicken is great fun. Douce to soon and you are out of the game. Douce to late and you'll greatly overstep the mark and loose meters that you need to win back on the upwind. Timing at this bouy is ENORMOUSLY important. With practice you sail right up to the mark, drop the kite and round the mark in one manouvre. Believe me; this takes hours of practise. Not because it is difficult but because you need to have perfect timing under changing conditions. The kick it gives when you master this is enormous in my perception.
-4- With a kite you'll reduce non-kite sailors to tears or rage.
Simply put, at first you'll be slower with a kite. Than after getting used to it and when climbing the learning curve you will out sail everything that does not fly a kite. The speed is just so much higher. Have you ever worked your way through a field of say H16's under a kite in say 10 knots ? You won't feel slow anymore.
-5- Team work that is required
I really enjoy the team work and coordination that the kite requires. In the past the skipper could sail the boat and tell any unexperienced crew when to pull on the jib sheet or not. With the spinnaker the crew is 60 % of the final result. If you don't connect with him or her then you will not get the maximum out of the boat and your placings will show this. However when you start working together like skiffies you can propel the boat to great performance. I like this alot.
-6- When solo sailing the feel for speed and handling is even greater. (accelleration)
It is challenge and victory over oneself to sail cleanly and fast. And you can trapeze downwind now in almost any windstrength. Trapezing is fun. Hunting down A-cats on a downwind is fun. Distance racing in 8-10 knots singlehanded on a spi boat is heaven. Elevated above the water surface, hanging from the trapeze. Spray far away, waves rushing past underneath you. Wind in your hear and silent running. Compare that to hugging the mast and boom while doing the wildthing getting sprayed.
Humm, have to go to bed now.
Maybe more later
Wouter
