In investments, everyone should know the benefits of diversification. Owning different stocks, in different sectors and in different countries, can balance out market swings. It is one of the key tenets of investing, of course. On a boat, Captain Rob assured me that a sailboat has diversification as well. As a rookie sailor, I saw a hodge-podge of ropes, winches, buckles, flaps and sails (don’t ask me to name them) that somehow seemed to work together to get us from port to port. Everything I saw seemed vital. But the captain assured me that the boat could lose its motor and most of its sails and still get us home safely. There is some back-up in case there are problems.