h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If you're a bit skint and still want to sail at silly speeds, with more spills an' thrills than is sensible, may I suggest an International Moth. I've picked up an old one for a few hundred quid, and have had the best six months sailing ever.
Once you've figured out how to keep the thing upright, which takes some doing, sailing it is incredible. In a blow its weiht back to keep the bow out, and wham, you're off.
The new boats are F1 machines for the water, and the web site at www.int-moth.org is well worth checking ot.
Buy one!

May I humbly suggest that if you want to share your experience of moving very fast, very close to the water, you can't do better than a Laser 2. You can find out more at my site www.jard.co.uk/laser2, and see some pictures at my gallery page www.jard.co.uk/james/album.
It's a 2-man trapeze & symmetrical spinnaker boat based on the standard Laser's hull (about 1.5 inches wider and 1ft longer). It may not be quite as fast as the 505, but it is a lot closer to the water giving a much better feeling of speed. It also turns over just as (if not more) easily due to the silly amount of sail area on a small thin hull, with only the one trapeze.
I've never had an experience quite the same as planing down an insanely large wave on a 3-sail-reach with a good strong wind behind you, and the crew out the trapeze screaming his head off!

If you want a good boat for going nice and fast in, you won't go far wrong with a Fireball. It's a 2 man boat, single trapeze symetrical spinnaker, just over 16 feet long. The beauty of it is that it's forgiving enough to learn in and fast enough to have some real fun when you get the hang of it. Sadly I've just had to sell mine, but I sold it to the drummer in my band so hopefully I'll get some use out of it still