Stephan,

I sailed with a crew from Capetown, Steward was his name,..It was about 10 years ago and I had a H-18 magnum,....well, the winds were getting nasty in one particular race,..and I told him we I was going to back down the rig,...he blurted at me in that S. African english,....."if you touch that bloody mainsheet,..I will break your arm!'.......

....well,..we then fell off a large wave and our combined weight broke the wing clear off,...as we scrambled back on the boat and got things clear I said,...'...I never touched the mainsheet Steward...".....called it a day.

So, I know you all are great in big air.

I had a new main made by Ullman. Charlie Olgletree listened to what I needed and made it 6 inches smaller on the leech,...foot to top......I was in some 20+ winds last month and I never touched the mainsheet,...never added more than enough downhaul to get the wrinkles out.....it was all the power I needed,.....upwind and downwind....at one point downwind, the rig achieved a goal I was trying to hit.....sailing at 170 degrees,...main only,...the telltales reversed for about 30-45 seconds(both hulls down),..I looked around...thinking that the wind shifted....but the boat was rocketing over big seas.....the boat was going windspeed...

.you are correct,...downwind,...the faster you go,..the more stable the rig!.....honestly,...with a 1 person rig,...deep is good and increasing CMG is the only concern.

....thanks for the interesting tips...

regards,

Bruce
USVI