I picked up a new A-Kite (APR 70) last season and it works very well in open winds (like offshore racing). We have run a tack block off the bow to enable us to pull the kite down in tight reaches and let the tack out on runs. It works best when set on the spinnaker pole. In the tight reaches we crank down on the tack and then tighten the back-stay to the limit. It takes a minute or two to hit full speed (hence the need for fresh winds). In offshore longer legs the A-kite performs very well especially when the competitors need to reach offshore to get the right angles for the full kites. I highly recommend this type of configuration when doing these types of races.
