"Sailing downwind is one of the fastest points of sail, secondly only to the broad reach. The speed of the boat downwind is quite deceptive especially when you are onboard. However, when you are following in a rib or if you find yourself in front of an oncoming yacht under spinnaker the speed is very real as the boat bears down on you extremely quickly. In this photograph Mariquita has just passed St. Catherine's, the southern most point of the Isle of Wight and is heading up towards Ventnor. The spinnaker is set and the crew are beginning to take down the headsails. You can almost feel the wind in the spinnaker. Imagine being the mast man up in the rigging as the yacht hurtles forward at top speed."