Speed

[runner]

I became interested in sailboats for the same reason I am interested in kayaks. Low cost quiet outdoor play. The bass boat with the big engine costs a fortune to run all day. The big pontoon is about as bad. Besides that, if I want speed, I will go get on a bike and find a curvy country road.
So now after a month or so of study, chattting, and reading, the sailing world seems to be about one thing for a lot of folks. Speed!
This seems about as logical as showing up at the Indy 500 in your toddlers peddle car! The bassboat will do an honest 65 miles an hour on the water loaded for a day of fishing. The hull speed on my dinghy is 5.9 knots. This seems very much like racing turtles to me.
A half sized jib and two roadrunners bumping the bottom about 100 feet behind the boat while the sun is recharging the trolling battery in case I need it is my intended purpose. Comfort and relaxation without a 100$ fuel bill for the weekend. I have seen people try to explain this here when asking about different boats. It almost seems that some folks can't even begin to understand anything but speed when it comes to sailing.
Why is sailing so wrapped up in one aspect of the activity? Why is it that slow comfortable boats made for sitting comfortably sipping a fresh cup of coffee get laughed at so much? How come you don't hear about fishing and modifications for that purpose? Not meaning to stir the pot too much, but the speed bias is confusing!

[sailaway21]

The natural inclination, at least in America, is to try to go faster no matter what you're astride. Around about the time the second bicycle was produced the first bicycle race took place. Sailors just operate in the technologically handicapped division. You either get it, or you don't.

[zz4gta]

I used to race cars doing over 120mph in a 1/4 mile. There's nothing like it. It takes reflexes like you wouldn't believe, knowing your car, a lot of skill, stamina, and a bunch of money to be competetive.

Racing boats takes a lot of the same qualities, its just a slower form of racing. In high school I joined the crew team and raced a men's lightweight 4. If I ever get tired of boating, I'm sure I'll race motorcycles, or carts, or something else. Point is, I enjoy the competition. Racing forces you to know as much as you can about your sport, no matter what the speed. And I really enjoy that aspect of it.

[Delirious]

It goes back to our primordial drives and urges. The stragglers get picked off by the predators if prey, or else miss the choice tidbits if predator so no one wants to be the last in the herd or pack.

And you can always sail a sleek boat slow. ;-)

We've got a little 17 foot Mud Hen that is a cat rigged sharpie with a gaff sail with a boom gallows even so the sail & yards can be lashed down and out of the way for fishing. Even has sweeps to row with if the motor isn't wanted. Not too far removed from what the dory-men used when hand-lining cod or market hunters used to cover with rushes and ambush geese and ducks.

You assume everyone races because the racers are the noisyest. Lots of us just like to be out on the water.

[tommays]

Well the race crew on Zzzoom is between 20 and 90 (yes uncle joe is really 90 and still races every week)

I have never done anything else were a group of such diverse people can get toghter with no generation gap

[NOLAsailing]

Sailing is also about mastering a complicated set of skills. To sail fast, you have to sail well. Sail trim and boat handling are skills any boat owner should strive for; it's not about racing turtles.

Besides, going "fast" on a sailboat is fun and, at times, terrifying.

[SteveCox]

It also depends on what you're doing. If I want to get to the San Juan Islands which are roughly 100 miles from me 5 knts will take 20hrs of sailing while 6 is 16hrs. That is not an insignificant difference if you're trying to maximize your vacation time. For me it's just a matter of efficiency.

[ckgreenman]

Sailing is what you make of it. I think a lot of people like to race because they like to find ways to squeeze every ounce of efficiency out of the sails. Someone above already said it. In order to sail fast you have to sail well. Racing teaches you how to manipulate the sails to make them work for you. Of course if your desire is to spend the day messing around on the water, then that's fine too. I think it's a difference in mentality of whether sailing is recreation or transportation.

[Faster]

To some extent how you feel about this issue will determine the type of boat that appeals to you.

Except in the recent developments in sport boats and multihulls, "fast" is still a pretty relative term. Racing at 6 knots seems on the face of it to be a bit of a joke. But if you're able to tweak and steer better than the other guy and get a few lengths ahead, in the right environment there's a lot of satisfaction to that.

As Steve above alluded to, that extra partial knot all day long can make the difference between getting that last mooring buoy, the last free space on the dock, or last decent anchoring location at the end of your day.

And then there's the heart-pounding exhilaration of blasting downwind on the plane, hoping to keep it together and avoiding that great big crash... and pulling it off!! Nothing like it!

One of the great aspects of Sailing is the wide variety of objectives and activities one can enjoy - or choose to pass on.. as you please.

[runner]

I understand about racing. The 80's ands early 90's bracket racing 400 Chrysler engine that was so popular is one of my accidental designs. I broke the 383 in the Superbee bad and the only block I had was a 400 passenger car block. The parts I had dictated the design. In all truth, it was just a get by until I can do it right effort that accidentally stumbled on a very good combination.
Primordial urges would tend to tell me that the lake is too crowded when there is a regatta going on and I need to find a quieter area. The quieter part being one of the attractions of sailing I think. I am not much of a social animal I guess.
I used to compete in what is now called UFC fighting when I was young. I fully understand the learning and practicing each move down to where your hands can do it without you. That is what I see when I watch the video's of two folks tacking a dinghy back and forth trying to perfect each motion in all conditions. Some crews make it look like a nascar pit team with everything in it's place. I can see, feel, and understand those things. I can understand where taking the time to perfect skills to the level where you can win against people using the exact same equipment could be interesting.
Guess I am just getting old. I am a, "point it that way and lets see what is over there", kind of guy. Not much fond of finish lines and such. The whole thing is about the journey, not the destination.
Where are those folks in sailing?
I fully understand the idea about not wanting to spend 2 days out and 2 days back out of a 9 vacation if you are wanting to play at a certain spot. As a beginner still, I might spend two getting there, two coming back, and then do it again in the nine days. Faster does work better in this instance for sure!
What prompted the question is the obvious bias toward fast boats I see here. If you are into racing, I could understand that. What confuses me is the obvious contempt shown by many for boats not designed for racing, but instead for family comfort. Almost all of sailing seems to judged on this one criteria.