I'll sail in almost any air (up to 20'ish). I've always adjusted traveler/mainsheet and heading in bigger air. I always sail with the jib because my boat goes like crap to weather even with it. Without it, I might as well have a gaff-rig. I would like to try my hand at racing. I've done a little as crew in the past, but never with my boat and me skippering. I know I've got some big hurdles to overcome: Gaining racing experience, finding regular/dedicated crew to practice with, finding a race with people willing to accept a newbie such as myself, and be willing to sail in an open class as surely, there are very few 18.2's out there.

I'm cheap as well. But I do want the ability to easily control the boat when I need to when either racing or pleasure sailing. And certainly when the wind picks up, youre adrenaline starts flowing, and the pucker-factor is increasing - you want to know that you have the ability to control and depower when you need to. Rick seems repeatedly adament that the downhaul is one of the most critical controls on the boat. And it's something I have not been taking advantage of. In fact, I may have been sailing INCORRECTLY for over 20 years as I've been making up for a lack of downhaul control while under sail. And no sailor wants to sail incorrectly. If $200 and some practice makes me that much better, faster and more confident in controling my boat, to me it's worth it.

I haven't sailed with any of the LNYC guys mainly because I could never afford to join the club and I haven't done Catfest. I would like to do the regatta this year though. I know they're a nice group by reputation. I just never knew how open they were to outsiders who wouldn't be paying any club dues. Almost ten years of living in Mooresville and sometimes I still feel like an outsider.