And another thing...

I'm still sailing my 18HT portsmouth in the midwest. A couple of things surprised me about the boat. That really tall rig actually adds to the stability from a helmsmans point of view. As a taller boat everything happens slower. The hull comes out of the water and back into the water more gently. It's easier to hold the hull out of the water at a steady height than on a boat with a shorter rig, regardless of windspeed. The only analogy I can give is think about balancing a pencil on the end of your finger (pretty hard to do). Then try balancing a broomstick on one finger. Much easier. The longer lever arm is more stable.

The other thing I have noticed is that, at least with the stock main, the boat is not nearly as good in light air, and is much better in heavy air than I would have expected. My performance in a Portsmouth fleet tends to improve significantly as the wind builds. The same cannot be said of the water conditions. The boat is at it's best in relatively flat water.

The final comment I have is about the rudders. I'm not fond of the mechanism but the lack of kick up is a preference of mine. I modified all of my Nacra 6.0s so that the rudders wouldn't kick up. I prefer rudders that go down when I put them down, and don't come up until I bring them up. Period. I don't want a beach, a shoal, a reef, or a jellyfish deciding when my rudders need to come up.