Ok, pardon my what I now understand from all this is that there are three "zones", "high Re" where lift and drag scale well, "low re" where they also do, and "the middle" where drag is much reduced and lift is maximized?
You say the "drop off" is less for a soft sail, but does that not also imply that max Cl is also lower overall?

Another question: is this Reynolds related lift-boost something one could experience on an old cat like my Nacra 5.2? It would account for some experiences I have had when reaching where the boat picks up a gust and after accellerating all of a sudden the boat starts to pitch-up (where it had been rapidly going bow-down) and takes a sprint with apparently less drag and heeling moment. feels like planing in a skiff or dinghy) but I'm sure that is not it.