DOLCE is a C&C 99. Like the rest of you, I have been disappointed and annoyed about how difficult it is to get a regular crew. When I first started racing, if someone showed up with a cool boat in the local fleet, I wanted on it. Short of murder or school problems (that would get me murdered) I was available. Now I own that cool boat at our club. But no one seems to have the passion for racing today except in the few racing centers. Sad, but it also says that whatever US Sailing has been doing all these years, it isn't working and they need a new strategy. My wife is the doyeene of cruising. She has a bunch of laundry baskets of cruising gear that we keep in the loft of my shop and move back and forth between racing series. At first I was stripping the sprit and mounting the anchor roller every changeover. And I wanted all the pots and pans off, the roller furling gone, etc when we were racing. But realistically in club racing none of that stuff is significant so I made compromises. Realism has also been good for my bank account. I'm not replacing my mylar genoa this year, a few repairs with tape and its good for at least another season. If I had a dedicated crew and we were headed to Charleston Race Week, it'd be a different story - we would be pure racing. But instead my wife and I will be headed down the coast crusing in April. Not all bad. So my perspective is - given the state of the sport, unless you are in one of the few really competitive racing series and driven to be at the top of the game - screw it. Have a good time on your boat and don't sweat the racing stuff. Alan Beaufort, SC
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