" wrote:
By racing standards I prioritized just fine.

Apparently not. You seem to not prioritize at all. It's a question of
observing all relevant data, deciding what is going to contribute the
most to your goal (when racing, it is beating the others... what is it
when cruising?) and maximizing those factors.

For example, look at Frank & Julian Bethwaite (rather successful
racers I believe); spent a great deal of time & effort analyzing (and
then explaining in their book) exactly how to tell when wind shifts
are more important to the overall strategy of a particular race than
wind strength. It is a matter of what you prioritize.


I've never head a racer
talk about effort/reward ratios, but if I did it would just make the
racer in me salivate. We eat the weak ones.


Without setting the right priorities, you'd be far astern drooling on
yourself.




And point-to-point racing, whether in the ocean or in sheltered
waters, is essentially the same as cruising except that risk/effort/
reward priorities are different...


No. I think that's just plain wrong within the context of long range
ocean cruising. The passage making is the smallest part of the
cruising for most of us.

Did I say that racing is the same as passagemaking? Does preparation
play any part in racing? It sure does in cruising. Does study of
certain skills? Does getting the boat into the right place at the
right time (or within a reasonable time window)? How about not running
aground.... far more important in racing than cruising! Ditto for
playing the tides.

As for maneuvering in tight quarters, think for a minute. Take two!
If you leave port (or anchorage) at the beginning of every passage,
and enter port (or anchorage) at the end of every passage, that makes
maneuvering your boat around obstacles 2x as important as
passagemaking. The amount of time on passage may be much much greater,
but you maneuver twice as often.

Priorities!

DSK