505 or F18?

[DeliberateSpeed]

I have been racing 420s, FJs and Lasers (little bit) for a few years now, and the former two a lot in college. I also have an old Tornado that isn't raceworthy.

As I progress, I have been looking at the Vanguard 15, but feel it is just a watered down 420 (no kite or wire). So unless I am convinced otherwise, I would like to graduate to either the 505 or an F18 class catamaran.

A few concerns:

-What is the learning curve on either boat? Will I get blown away in all the regattas the first summer? I am "good" on the dinghys, but I guess only proficient with cats.

-I live in New England and have the capacity to travel the east coast for maybe one regatta per summer, and then as many as I can get to around NE. Then in the fall and spring I could keep the boat at school in Maryland and race a few down there. Are both classes big enough where I could enter a decent number of regattas? Really I am only looking for 2 or more per summer, with work, etc.

-Anything else I should know before committing to either?

Thanks for the replies