Bluewater sailing inevitably means an intimate, sometimes emotional relationship with spars, rigging, and sails - the gear making up a yacht's primary propulsive system.
Sailors tend to have strong opinions about various rig alternatives.
Whether grounded in experience and sound logic, or misunderstanding and prejudice, these opinions are genuinely important, because once you point the bow to sea, you've got to have absolute confidence in all your essential sailing equipment. For most sailors, the best possible confidence builder is the knowledge that numerous other sailors, perhaps entire generations of sailors, have set to sea with similar gear and, with few exceptions, come through fine. No doubt this conservative attitude has slowed the evolution of sailing equipment, but it's entirely understandable given that few amateur sailors would willingly volunteer for the role of nautical test pilot. On the other hand, there are strong indications that the sailing world has reached an important crossroads now that a new generation of rather unconventional rigs is beginning to show its full potential. It's generally true that beefing up a hull to make it stronger and tougher will result in a safer, albeit slightly slower, offshore boat.