Wndrfl :
I only cover so much distance because I 'cheat heavily'. I have my boat rigged to heavily take advantage of the tri-power capabilities of my TI (ie... pedal, sail, and auxillary power (via either hybrid/gas or solar/electric (or both))).
Here is a typical GPS track on a light wind day (5-6mph winds)
Here is my track from Isailer for that day:
Typically on a low wind day (which is 90% of the time around here) I go out and fire up my Honda 2.3 motor, adjust the throttle so I'm going 3-4 mph (about 1/4 throttle) then lock the throttle for the day. I then start pedaling, this increases my speed to maybe 5mph, I then open up my wing jib (33 sq ft) and my main sail (90 sq ft), and work the wind to get as much speed as possible (typically 6-8 mph). I just pedal and tour around until I get to around 15 miles, then I go home (it's my exercise program). It costs me between $.50 cents and $1.00 dollar in fuel for the day (depending on the wind).
I also have a huge 135 sq ft spinnaker but seldom get to use it around here because the boat is already faster than the wind in low winds, so I over run the spinnaker on downwind (basically it's pretty useless) and is seldom used anymore if the winds are below 15 mph (which is 98% of the time around here).
I try to go out at least once per week (year round) and if I get a chance I'll go out 2-3 times a week (time/weather permitting). Once in a while I'll do a longer trip if I can count on the weather and steady winds from City Island (Sarasota) up around Egmont Key then back (about 50 miles round trip). I typically carry about 2.3 gallons of fuel on board which should get me around 100-200 miles if needed.
My problem is I'm a distance excursion guy, without a lot of patience, and got bored going 3-4 mph on the low wind days we typically have around here going too slow to generate any wind to cool me down (it's like sitting in a frying pan out there in the summer for me), so I developed the means to cheat by creating my own apparent wind.
Honestly I just have fun out on the water and being a destination type sailer, I like to go places, and enjoy tinkering with my boat once in a while, all part of the hobby. Basically our TI replaced our Sea Ray and we use it as our SUV family boat for just about everything. I guess it's just my thing to do.
Bob