Après Ski, Let's Dance

In an email to me, Vendée Globe skipper "YR" compares weather routing in the virtual race to playing chess -- it is always important to thnk a few moves ahead.

I agree, as far as that analogy goes.
Here a two more ways to look at it:

• The race is like skiing down a mountain.
  You are starting at the top of the lift.
  You are headed for the lodge.
  There are many trails that will get you to the lodge.
  It is up to you to pick the best one.
  This is your synoptic weather-routing.
  
  But on your way down you encounter details you could not anticipate from the top of the mountain.
  A traverse across a smooth slope might be the equivalent of a beam-reach in a boat.
  A field of moguls requires careful routing [at the wind-cell level].
  Where you exit the mogul field is determined, in large part, by your entry point.
  Selecting that entry point is a crucial decision.
  -- and so is selecting the wind-cell you want to be in at a weather update.
  
  What I like about this analogy is that it reflects the dual-level planning needed for weather-routing.
  Moreover, this dual-level of planning applies in both virtual and real-life ocean passages.
  
• Back at the lodge, a jazz band is playing and it is time to get on the dance floor.
  In this analogy, the wind is the music, and your routing is the choreography you use to dance to the music. 
  
  [A personal note: My Dad was a musician and my Mom was a dancer.  I have played in bands and orchestras.  I have choreographed dances.  It is from this perspective that I offer....]
  
  A jazz band usually plays the first chorus as written in their charts.
  After that, it is time to improvise.
  A big band will stay closer to the original tune than a combo.
  And this is exactly what happens with weather updates.
  The larger the weather system, the less likely that you will be surprised by the way the update has 'improvised' on the prior forecast.
  For light and unsettled winds, however ... well, who knows what those cats will be playing in the next chorus?

Neither analogy is perfect, and the chess analogy still applies.
Taken together, these perspectives help me to wrap my mind around the challenge of weather routing.