Richard,

I raced in the Cruising Class for years, finishing as high as third BUT
I never had as much fun as when I had a novice female crew. They didn't
give a **** where we finished as long as they where sailing and
relaxing. There were times when the Tender had to wait for us to turn a
mark so that they could pick up the buoy.

My advice, for what's it worth is; ENJOY YOURSELF, train your crew but
be a easy captain to sail with.

Some Downwind tips. In light air, set your Jib & Main wing on wing; set
preventer/downhaul on main and Barber downhaul the Jib.(Whisker pole)
Sail the Jib enough by the lee to get boat speed.(I use to give my crew
cookies and coffee so they'd sit still in the cockpit after they got the
sails set) Keep boat speed up until you're in a position to fetch the
Lee Mark on a decent Broad Reach.

As the wind increases Broad Reaches with a gybe. When you get close to
boat speed set course for mark. Downhaul Sails until you're not
comfortable with the wind strength. Remember that with increase wind
strength you get increase wave size, which can give you a chance to
surf.


Good luck and in the Cruising Class ENJOYMENT should be your goal as
well as low point total.