Hi Jake

Your logic is confusing me... You knew you had a problem sailing your 6.0 and could not fix it by yourself ... and you did not have anyone else to learn from. (How is that a critique of open class racing after all it was your first three years of sailing a cat of any kind period?!)

then you write
"within sight of the other boats on the course, a flood of information followed"
So... now you had other people to talk with and copy. ... (how is that critically adressing the merits of one design racing?)

Sounds to me like its drawing on the collective wisdom and experience of the others who were much better racers then the folks that you talked with before.

On the bay, Greg Scace raced a Tornado (sloop) for 10 years in open class and he was the ONLY Tornado.... somehow he managed to aquire the skills to become one of the top racers in the area (one design or open). He was always the scratch boat and usally way out in front so he could not learn by watching others. He got better by sailing and working on putting theory into practice.

Now, He will be the first to tell you how much he learned subsequently doing a tornado campaign.... However, its not that all the boats were the same that was crucial to learning more (they really aren't... each rig is tweaked for the indivdual sailing style of the team) ... In reality he was now learning how to put theory into practice from the best racers in the country and just like you... he learned from people who really understood how to make a boat go. Then he figured out that coaching was critical to improving one's performance and made that step as well. Oh yeah... he increased his time on the water by about 50 fold.

So... was it the fact that the boats are all the same... OR... that he hung out with a better crowd of racers that was the difference in improving his sailing skills?

Sounds a lot like your circumstance... You now hang out with a more accomplished crowd of racers who know a lot more about sailing. Makes sense to me... but it doesn't speak to why this must (or only) occurs in one design fleets. (If you hung out with hobie 16 fleet while sailing your prindle 16 against them you would probably learn just as much in that open fleet)

Now... if you argued that the difference in your regatta performance was enhanced because you needed LOTS of practice in close mark roundings or crowded starts... I would tend to agree with you on the merits. However, in cat racing, I believe that this is a bit overrated as well. ... Its always a giggle to watch college dinghy hot shots jump into the Tornado class for an olympic campaign because they percieve the competition to be lighter. They are convinced that all that college one design experience will be crucial to doing well... It does not seem to work out that way though.

Anyway... I am off in a few weeks to a one design Tornado event... Not because the boats are all the same ... rather... its a chance to learn from the best. Likewise... I learn a lot from racing the I20's in the area... Its not the boats... its the sailors that are the difference and my ability to do on the water... what I understand on the beach.

Take Care
Mark

(ps Miami at the end of January is not a bad deal either)