Even if no other sailor is around you and rules don't really come up. Sailing the bouy's (more when we had a B mark) teaches you how to trim the boat to get around the course. Yes practice does a lot too. BUT in my 30 years of sailing, most recreational sailors in my area would just reach out and reach back. If they had a wind shift while out a ways, some had a hard time getting back in. Racing is not for everyone, but doing windward-leewards and learning to deal with windshifts, holes and how land effects the wind, in my opinion DOES make you a better sailor.
