I've been watching quite a few videos from long-distance cruisers and I'm starting to wonder why people use marconi sloops for everything. Aren't they originally intended for racing?
If you compare the videos from guys who use conventional sloops to people who use junk rigs, gaff ketches, and so on, it's pretty plain to see that the marconi rig is fucking retarded for cruising. They're pretty much at war with their own sails half the time, especially when they attempt to use the spinnaker (they eventually give up). That's not to mention the how often shit seems to break for them. Meanwhile the boomers in their junks are just like "day 17, dropped a sail panel because the wind picked up a bit much, watch me reef one-handed in 3 seconds lol"
Why even bother with the upwind performance when you're going to motor upwind anyway, and most of your route is downwind? At that stage you might as well use a square rig. Hell, some have tried and they seem to like it.