About those old clips: equipment is now 20 times better than then, and look at the incredible sailing people could do then.

I was shopping for a mast yesterday, and this dork sales guy telling me that for an extra $100, I'd shave .2 of an ounce, therefore perform my moves better and all that. All that from a guy who's sailing is very average on a perfect day (I know him).

What a Tupperware party this sport has become. I look at those Tube and I conclude it's the sailor, that I won't be able to just buy improvement, and that my moves will have to come from me and my 3yo mast - or not at all (the latter being more likely lol).

There is certainly nothing like time on the water to improve your sailing. Absolutely agree.

That -$100 for -0.2 of an ounce (can you mix decimal and imperial?) is actually more likely for the carbon content, I can only guess. I do prefer the response of higher carbon percentages, even a gumby like me can feel the difference. I think there is a compounding effect or something, less swing weight and better response times of mast adding up to more than the sum of their parts. You could include some placebo effect/confidence for good measure.