We have never won it. We have learned more about trimming a headsail in three regattas than in a decade of charters.
Racing strips the politeness out of sail trim. On a charter you set the boat up once and leave it; on the second beat of a regatta you find out that the traveller has been two inches too far down all season, because the boat next to you is pointing higher on the same wind.
Every skipper on the payroll does at least one race a year. It is the cheapest training we buy, and the guests get the benefit for the rest of the summer.
