Really interesting read, thank you! I'm an artist and love buying new kit - pens, paper, paint - but I suppose that's more about liking variety and choice than thinking it will improve my skill. I mostly do line art, and only started it a couple of years ago, and one of the main lessons I learned is that it doesn't matter which pen you use. When I post pictures of my artwork to instagram, if they include the pen in any way, someone will always ask what pen it is - there's this general assumption that the clean lines come from the pen and not the hand and people think 'if I get that pen, my drawing will be that good'. Which is rubbish, really. Buying an expensive Rotring won't do much for you if you haven't put in hours of practice already.

I suppose with something like sailing, where your life is potentially on the line, it helps to turn everything off and hone your basic skill on occasion - and then compliment that improved skill with the use of tech. :)