I have posted a couple of times about an overnight race I will be doing during April. The prevailing winds are expected to be abaft the beam. The course will largely be in or very near to shipping lanes heading up the coast of California. I have theorized that without the dodger, there will be less windage, better visibility, easier sail handling (asym spinn) and generally will make the Hunter 410 look really cool for when the helicopter flies over to take pictures. However, the "coolness" of the look has some of my crew worried about the cool temperatures during the overnight race. Should I stop being anal and put it back on? On the return trip, we'll be going up hill into a swell and headwinds. It should be a lot cooler. By the way, I'm participating in the race with the idea of doing as well as possible. I've even ordered tee shirts for the crew to wear when we do the podium thing. Please lend me your wisdom, John Richard s/v Jack's Place