current thought (when one can discern it
among all the floating rec rooms at boat shows) seems to be that
faster is better to avoid the rough stuff in the first place,

it is not current thought, but rather current marketing advice, marketing
advice designed to sell bigger boats at higher prices.

At base, the marketing advice states that being on the water is dangerous and
therefore one should spend as little time sailing as possible. The marketing
advice seems to suggest (in a way that is not legally culpable) that a 9 knot
boat will experience no weather at sea, while a 5 knot boat will get pounded
repeatedly. The marketing advice does not *guarantee* 9 knot passages, but
merely suggests that such *might* happen, if you buys a 55 foot, 45,000 pound,
one point five million dollar vessel, rather than a ratty, unsafe, down at the
heel 35 foot boat for one hundred grand.

most people who have actually made long passages report typical daily mileage
is about 120 miles per day, give or take 20 or 30 miles depending on the
weather any particular day.

In other words, the marketing advice is selling boats to that portion of the
markeet that is terrified of the sea and wants to get off the water as quickly
as it can. This is a much larger market than is the market to sailors who find
sailing inherantly interesting.

One of the easiet ways to tell a sailor from a scared to death sailboat buyer
is the winds at which either expresses concern. the death is just around the
corner boat buyer talks of ROUGH seas as those that really are only maybe 4 to
6 feet high (often reported to be 20 footers) with winds of 20 knots (usually
reported not all that far off). the sailor who likes sailing is casual of
rough weather and if pressed merely says something about 50 knot winds and
building that made it hard to heat up the soup.