When they first appeared, reverse bows were sold on the premise that the boat would pierce the waves and the rig would not pitch and stall so much - that made good sense.
The effect did not happen and the boats still seemed to try and sail with their bows high in the water.
A further benefit of reverse bows has been explained to me and I couldn't 'get' it so i have never really been sold on them.

I guess that we should bear in mind that we are dealing with small cats here where the crew positioning is a major effect on the attitude of the bow through the water