Mark
To go point by point

“Are you REALLY saying that competition trumps years of experience sailing high performance boats!!! “

This I have explained above

”Randy Smyth and Robbie Daniels were successful coming through the cat sailing ranks and did not seem to miss all of that tactical training in college.”

I’m not saying that you can not come through the cat sailing ranks just that you need to come from some highly competitive background.

”Fact is... it took Johnny and Charlie 12 years of training on a high performance boat to get to the top.”

Everyone needs to spend years of training in the specific Olympic class that they are competing in, Even Randy Smyth http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/SailingMedallist/vol4/page2.htm


”Lots of US All American types have tried and failed to jump into world class status in a high performance boat despite those years of competition in slow dinghies.”

It is a highly competitive arena successful people fail there all the time.
As one counter point look at Tim Wadlow and Pete Spaulding in the 49er damn close to a medal after growing up in competitive slow boats.


”Moreover, It doesn't seem that the rest of the world is following the US lead of trying to compete by starting the sailors off at the age of 22 on the high performance skiffs and tornados after a rigorous 15 years in slow dinghy's.”

The country that has been trying to “pigeon hole” their sailors into a specific Olympic position for the longest are the French. They have kids growing up as 420 crews to be 470 crews as one example. They have also had about as much money in their Olympic program as the British but for much longer. However look at their record in terms of Olympic medals. It’s not that great.

”I can't believe that this is a winning strategy. “

All I’m saying is that this Olympic path argument is a non factor, not that there is some strategy behind it.