3apc

Yes, both owned by Canadian Tire. CT has an obvious fit with Helly's workwear and lower-end offerings, but has no strategic interest in anything high end or related to sailing so I don't have much faith for medium-term quality in either Helly or Musto.

Musto D30 They aren't really "soft" so may not be perfect if you're looking for that. But, they also aren't really absorbent so don't stink (as much). I've found they stay in place pretty well and like how they don't have any velcro to fiddle with or come undone.

While some of the Whidden book is definitely an advertisement (though <50%), the rest is pretty cool. Even the North advertisement parts are pretty cool, honestly.

Helly Aegir Ocean gear has fully rubberized ass and knees for that reason, I believe.

Cold front brought a scary looking thunderstorm with it Saturday afternoon, we only saw about 30 knots but pretty much instantaneously. Sounds like it varied quite a bit across the fleet - this is what flipped Flight Simulator. Wind shut of and heat turned on in classic LO300 form right as most of the fleet approached Niagara. The faster boats had better timing getting there. Flies weren't quite as bad as anticipated given the high water, but they were there.

My instrument shows the wind is softening

I think you are overlooking that the Farr 40 rig is designed for non-overlapping headsails in contrast to a Bene 40.7. Also, you'd want to lose the fixed backstay and add masthead runners in order to fit the fathead main. I don't think this is a good idea at all. Inshore you're generally changing on downwinds or between races anyway, and offshore if it's a pain (and I know it is because of the single jib tracks and relatively small foredeck) you can barehead if you need to.