I'd like to have $1.00 for each time the following questions comes up at sail trim seminars I conduct. Some times it's asked differently but it comes down to this question "my boat won't point high enough". I tell them "so what!!" and then go on with a short explanation because I don't have the time to go into a lot of detail during a Q&A - I want to get in as many questions as I can in the limited time they provide me.
When you are pointing your sailing closer to your destination but slower than if you fall off a bit where your sailing faster but farther to your destination. Over a decent distant, with two EVENLY MATCHED boats, the boat that foots off a bit will beat the boat that is pointing as high as he can. Addittionally, when you point as high as you can you are dangerously close to PINCHING (sailing very close to the eye of the wind) and within an inch of stalling both the main and jib.
Lift, which powers your boat, is generated from 3 sources - the sails, the rudder and the keel. When you're pointing as high as you can and heeled over, where your neighbor can see the bottom of your keel and rudder you're losing lift from both those sources. It might look trick to see folks hanging off the rail but the boat with about 15 - 20 degrees of heel and footing off slightly is going to woop on the other boat every time.
Pinching is exactly what happened in a race I was in at Long Beach, Ca. The skipper was a back of the pack racer who had invited me on board in hopes of improving his position. We were moving up to the back of the middle of the pack. He insisted on pointing higher and higher. I warned him that if he goes any higher he's going to pinch the sails and that's exactly what happened and we ended up right were we started. He looked at me and I just shrugged my shoulders.
When I was in the insurance buisness, on the company side, agents would invite me to their office to help solve their sales and marketing problems. Then they'd TELL ME how to do it. I would wonder to myself, why am I here? Same with some of the sail boats I go on!!