Quote Originally Posted by Jason View Post
The problem I can see here, is that the game was designed to be played on small mat, and sailing out of it amounts to surrender. We all know that it is totally contradictory to historical reality, but it requires the rules to allow free movement down and up the wind so the game doesn't end in players struggling to not be pushed out of the ring by The Game

So what I've proposed here certainly has sense only if you allow the game to be moved along with playing surface, and deeply messes with original rules.
Lately, we have been playing on a larger surface, using blue felt for the playing boundaries. It opens up more possibilities than the smaller mats. With the exception of writing scenarios for the solo campaign, I will probably continue to play on larger surfaces; like you pointed out, I don't like the automatic surrender due to crossing the edge.