I don't think you can learn much from "racing" against other boats on the way to the course or on the way back to the beach after races. Especially if they don't even know you are trying to race them, since you are on a completely different kind of boat.

P.S. I thought it would have been interesting if the A-Class cats had been on the same course with the Scows and the Melges 17's. Then we could have seen better what the comparative speeds are.