The Race to Marathon

Last spring we bought an asymetrical spinnaker. Rick said it would make downwind cruising easy. I said I thought spinnakers were hard to handle. "Not this," Rick insisted. "When you are cruising, you just set the sail and leave it."
So why was I not surprised, upon leaving Rodriguez Key for Marathon, with our buddy boat Sand Castle, to hear Rick barking orders, "Grind in the spinnaker, let it out. Bring it in. How much is the luff curling?"
"Ummm......"
"Okay. Switch places. I'll handle the spinnaker."
So I steered, but the orders continued. "5 degees to the left. What's the wind speed? What's the wind angle? What's your course?" Followed by frantic grinding in and letting out of our sail. "Okay, NOW what's the boat speed? What's the wind angle?What's the wind speed?" Followed by more frantic grinding in and letting out of the sail.
"But I thought you said when we cruised, you just set the sail and left it?" I commented.
Rick looked at me in disbelief. "It's a race," he said. "There are two boats."
And just across the water sailed our buddy boat, Sand Castle, with Luke standing in the cockpit, one eye on his sail, also frantically letting the spinnaker out and bringing it in.
Rick always said that for the man it is the journey, for the woman it is the destination. When we arrived in Marathon, Rick grinned and said, "Helluva day!" I was exhausted.