"DSK" wrote in message
...
Frank Boettcher wrote:
I was fortunate enough years ago on a delivery to be forced to stop in
Ft. Lauderdale on one of the leg finishes for the Whitbread. One boat
was there when we got there, two came in while we were still there and
we saw one finish when we left to complete our trip.

Awesome to watch those boats sail, isn't it? They are so stripped and
powerful. It's a very different kind of vessel, with a very different
look, than traditional sailboats.

In 2004 there were several of them on display at the St. Francis Yacht Club
in San Francisco over the holiday season. The public was invited to check
them out for a small donation to the club, of course. We spent an hour
looking them over, just before two of them went out for some impromptu match
racing. Watching them scream by on a broad reach at what looked to be
20kts. or so is something you have to see to believe. They are just
incredibly fast. With the wave and sea conditions that day on SF Bay, I
doubt if most powerboats could have stayed with them without tearing
themselves apart. Awesome.

Max