[pelaut]

Sailing accross the Atlantic can be done by small styrene coffee cups. All a boat needs is a handkerchief sized jib up and it will get to the Leeward Islands from Spain. I've crossed different seas in different boats, including the Atlantic, single-handed for decades, and I can tell you the trick is never sailing -- it's leaving harbors, coastal navigation, entering harbors, anchoring, ropework, repairs of all kinds.
The QEII captain had it right -- sailing experience per se prepares you to sit back and coast with the wind. Big effing deal!!
You wouldn't get to rent my boat on the DR coast.