Observations

Here are some fresh observations from the race:

• The steering mechanisms that I put in place worked very well. In particular, the tiller lock at the end of the tiller was very handy - easy to reach and lock/unlock as necessary. When locked, the boat is quite stable on an upwind course (if there are no gusts) - at some point I went into the cabin for a few minutes to change wet clothes, I was looking outside to check the course but didn't need to correct it. Under the spinnaker, the boat is less stable, unless you first sail too much downwind and partially hide the spi behind the mainsail (at the risk of accidental gybing). In addition, it was very useful to have the circular steering rope around the boat, allowing to adjust the course even from the bow. It may have been useful to have an autopilot, but it certainly wasn't a must, and given this experience, I probably wouldn't bother installing it.
• It really requires full focus, and holding the tiller, to keep full speed. Each distraction (e.g. looking at the phone to check the weather forecast update, selecting another waypoint on the GPS, grabbing food, changing clothes etc.) had an impact on sail trim or boat heading, affecting the boat speed. To avoid these effects, it's important to have everything at hand (e.g. food and drinks, spare clothing etc.), ready and easy to use (e.g. know how to find and use the weather and application apps, have sandwiches ready to unpack and eat). Also, don't count on being able to study the weather or or navigation choices during the race - the more prepared in advance (e.g. navigation cheat-sheet, forecast and route scenarios), the better.
• Constantly work on boat speed. Look at the speed and VMG, sail trim. Look at similar boats (e.g. Surprises) around you, to look for good wind. Perfecting individual manoeuvres is perhaps less important, as there are not so many of them. And obviously, it's important to avoid major issues that cost a lot of time. A slower spi douce is much better than a fast one but with getting the spi in the water under the boat, or even worse, damaging it!