I think you are spot on with 99% training Gareth. Jake is of course right that not everybody can be a child prodigy viola player at age 12 or similar, or perheps even better, a grand piano concert player. If you have too small hands, you can never play the really hard pieces so there is no use even aiming for that carer. But I dont think sailing is like that. With normal concentration and the will/motivation to work with yourself, you dont need a special talent to do well. And that goes a far way with a lot of sports. Tiger Woods was a prodigy, but that dont neccesarily mean that the rest of the top golf players also have a special talent. I think the same goes for sailing. Some small percentage might have a special talent, but not all the sailors described as "talented" these days. A lot of training will bring you to the top.