Now that you have mastered the evening sunset, aka cocktail, cruise with 7 of your closest relatives and friends, is it time to give racing a try?  If your competitive juices are urging you on in the least way, you will not regret finding out what the Scot can do around the buoys.

To begin with, though eight of you may have comfortably cruised in that big Scot cockpit, racing is usually done with two or three people aboard.  Get wired with your fleet about the racing schedule.  If you're new to racing, there will be lots of fellow Scotters ready to help you out with tips.

While you will learn that the spinnaker is an easy, and exciting sail to handle, don't feel you have to fly the chute from the beginning.  Several people in your fleet may also race without a chute, but even if you are the only one, just get out there and have fun.

Oh yeah, rules.  Well, it takes quite a while to really know the subtleties of the rules.  So plan to learn them over time, bolstered by experience.  A main reason for the rules is to prevent collisions between boats.  That's a great way to first focus on the rules: learning who has right of way, and what to do to when you are converging with other boats.

What you will find is that camaraderie among racers abounds.  And, it's kicked up a notch when you venture outside your local fleet to the first of your regional, district or national regattas.