I was amazed at the number of olympic medalists, european champions, US national champions, alter cup champs etc. who competed in the recent F18 world championships. I'm curious what makes the difference in the top 10 or 20 boats. Our sport relies on basic sailing skill in addition to strength, agility and endurance-especially when the wind is up. If the difference at this upper echelon is a combination of luck, sailing knowledge, and having superb agiltiy, strength and endurance-how important is the physical aspect at this level?

Boat speed.

I say recognizing what the weather is doing is what really separates the good from the mediocre. Just my opinion though.

You'll have to go down the results a ways to find teams that aren't pro or in the "business" which gives them the advantage of time on the water, which in turn gives them everything you mentioned(except maybe luck, but often you make your own luck and it helps there too). The physical aspect is huge, all those guys are in great shape(unlike myself).

At some level, even the physicality evens out (it's really about stamina), and boat speed and mental toughness tend to determine the winner. An Olympian told me this (because I'm not at that level either, LOL).

I have been to (and observed online) a large number of major regattas where at least 10 teams could win / have won prior major events. At some point, luck definitely can't hurt...

Mike

Tactics and a good knowledge of rules also pays off

Practice and race experience in high doses with some consistency would be my guess.

I wonder how many of the top 30 do two or three boat testing?

I'd bet more than half.

A good training partner is almost essential if you want to perform to your own maximum level. At home you can two boat test and tune. Before a race you can meet on the start line each punch a lay line, meet at the top mark and know which corner is favoured (if you have three boats send one up the middle), turn around and do the same down wind. At a regatta you can debreif what happened in the previous race and make sure you both learn as much as possible about what happened in order to do better in the next one.

Some people get very protective and don't like "sharing" with someone else but when push comes to shove there is a guy (or girl) at you club who you race closely with each week and sharing a few tid bits probably won't change that and the odds are when you turn up to a big regatta you'll probably still be close together. If you don't work together you may be battling for 14th and 15th. Pool your resourses and your respective positions might not change but you might be battling for 4th and 5th.

Examples:

49ers at the olympics. Training partners 1st and 2nd.
Moth worlds. Training partners 1st and 2nd.

That is a good list.
Don't leave out the importance of the sailor in the front of the boat, and how the 2 sailors interact with each other.
Also once a handful of teams have all the above items covered and the helmsman has the boat in high gear constantly winning can come down to a battle of will, mental fortitude.
There is also great chance to pass at the mark roundings. Being gifted at that on top of everything else can really help in the winning.

Dedication to the sport and respect for your fellow sailors makes a huge difference in long range success.

Daily/weekly training, with local and regional events serving as pop quizes play a role.

Kinda goes back to what JW says about luck - the harder one works; the luckier one becomes.

Luck = Timing + Preparation