One thing no one has brought up, but which Mark's reply reminds me...he and I are within 30 miles of each other but the sailing conditions could not be more different. I'm inside the San Francisco bay, so 5kt currents and 35kt headwinds aren't that unusual. He's got some current, generally more favorable winds, but he's also on a lee shore whereas I'm surrounded by mud. He sails home with the wind (usually) - I'm against. He's got large swells (tough to keep an on-deck generator dry) - I've got square-faced chop (and freighters...)
I have run into situations where the rig wasn't enough (he may very well be a better sailor than I) - I've learned from that, I've tempered my desire to push the limits and I'm now a better sailor. And for the last year or so (of almost 3 total) - I've been delighted.
But where you do this is pretty important, and so I go back to this statement - think of all the trips you've been on and now imagine you left port with 1 or 2 gallons of fuel. If you would have gotten in trouble on any, you need to think through the why and how of avoiding it when that really is all you have (in electrons)
-Keith
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