>>>If you sail the course in ten minutes and I sail it in eleven, clearly you sailed better.<<<

Or, the wind was better for me, or the wind shifted for me, or, or, or.

On the "...it's just a blur" thing, I agree. A long time ago I read a racing article that said you should get a notebook and spend a few minutes after each day racing, to write down what went right, what went wrong, and how you intend to fix it. That way, at the end of the weekend, you'll have a notebook full of ideas that would otherwise be lost in the blur. Easier to say than do, but once you start making a habbit of it, it becomes much easier.

Prior to the next regatta, you open that notebook up and review, remember what you F'd up, and tell yourself, "I'm NOT doing THAT again!" In addition to my mistakes, I write down which direction the fast guys were going, ie. "Robie and JW went left to the beach and kicked my butt..." or "There was no starboard layline up in the hole." or "Stay out of the mooring field going upwind." or "Watch out for that shallow spot out west by the channel" etc. also what the wind and weather and tide was for the day. To learn you have to do your homework, not just out on the water, but after the racing too.