There are many parts to sailing, some quite complex, that come into play making a good or great sailor. As a child prodigy, playing an instrument, there are fewer variables involved, IMHO. Sailboat racing is not so much who is the best at any given time or race but more who makes the least amount of mistakes. The thing involved that contribute to making fewer mistakes are:

Tactics
How to play your competitor tactically is knowledge best gained during competition. It is hard to pretend to be in a tactical situation if you are not competing. Also every time you are racing but not with “your pals” you will have to be on your toes as to what others (strangers) may try to do to you. This is where National and World competition attendance really pays off. You will come back with tricks that locals do not know.

Rules
Knowing how to use all the rules to your advantage. This may be more prevalent in monohulls but should not be ignored here. There are people that go around the course and know where they will get advantage on the nearest 5 or so boats so they can take advantage of the rules. There are many rules to know and interpretations of them. If you are comfortable with your knowledge you will be ready at the next situation.

Boat Speed
Think about the last time you sailed next one of the best sailors in the world. That is a great opportunity to get information about how they sail. Presuming that you are not a hack, you will find that their boat speed is not Ferrari-like. They do not walk away from you they creep away from you. Every time you stall the boat they do not. Each puff they get just a bit higher from it.

I think that pure boat speed is a combination of on-the-water time and messing around with the boat and tuning. This may be the one thing, in sailing, that can be seen in a prodigal son (or daughter). There could be a feel that is just there for some.

Knowing the conditions
The conditions are not just taken for granted by the best sailors who show up to an out of the area regatta. I have talked to a lot of the top sailors (out of their area) before a regatta starts and most of them already know the lay of the land. Whether they got it from local sailors or from tide charts, they know.

Luck
I have heard many times “I’d rather be lucky than good”. This usually refers to the fact that they had a good regatta. They may have gotten a lucky break or two, but without the rest of the knowledge and skill they probably would not be where they are.

This is not a complete list. I was coming up with some more while I was writing but I had to leave it at this. Sailing is a game that we sail miles and win, sometimes, by inches.

“He who makes the least mistakes wins!”

Later,
Dan