Nicely put, Chris.
On the topic of magazines: I found SAIL so frustrating (even though subscriptions are dirt cheap) that I discontinued it without regrets. For people sailing small boats, the Small Craft Advisor is more interesting, and for people who like to fix things (or just read about how people fix things) around boats you can't beat the British "Practical Boat Owner" or the US "Practical Sailor." Despite the similar titles, they are rather different. The UK is what a general-purpose sailing magazine should be like, except that it doesn't exclude power boats, but sailboats predominate. In a recent issue they ran a very nice test of ratchet blocks. Practical Sailor, on the other hand is more like the Consumer Reports for sailors. It's heavily geared towards in-depth tests of varnishes, anti-fouling, anchors, hardware, etc. Finally, if you love wooden boats (but were wise enough to stick to fiberglass) you might enjoy Wooden Boat magazine. (Reading about gleaming expanses of lustrous wood is always nicer than having to maintain them
).
Depending on who you train, you may prefer a more stable dinghy, and one that isn't overpowered in most conditions. The DS definitely qualifies. Some people like to cruise in boats that have a bit more of a cabin (like a Potter or a Mariner). And for racing, many dinghies are just a bit more lively and faster -- the biggest strength of the DS is that it can do all three reasonably well.