Maugan, somehow I got the impression from one of your other posts that there are Hobie 17 sailors in your area, so I didn't understand what you meant by driving all over the country. If you are just referring to it being necessary to go to a Hobie 17 Nationals (Continentals) in order to sail against other 17's, that's a once-a-year event, and it is well worth scheduling vacation time and money for. Going to one national event will put your learning curve through the roof because of how much you will learn at an event like that. Finish position is irrelevant.

It sounds like you are saying you WOULD take the time and spend the money if you were guaranteed of winning a trophy but otherwise it just isn't worth it. To me that is sort of like saying you will spend the time and money to go to college if you can be guaranteed that you will graduate phi beta kappa but otherwise it just isn't worth it.