I grew up around boating but was never around anything more than you're typical fishing boat. I fished a few times on Lake Erie with my father and towards the latter 70's you'd see an Excalibur or Scarab out running. Maybe once a summer.
It was the spring of my senior year of high school. I had a dentist's appointment one afternoon. While sitting in the waiting room, leafing through an issue of Sports Illustrated, I came across a story about Betty Cook and offshore racing in general. I was so intrigued that I set out to find out all I could. I typically reduce the whole story to "...Betty Cook got me into the sport in the 70's".
Here's the article-