Jeff Morris wrote:

The common explanation is simply that in the days of square rigged ships
sailing "close hauled" was a huge effort for little gain. Ships could
spend a day trying to gain a few miles to round a cape, so requiring
them to give way would be a tremendous burden. Now that almost all
sailboats are fore-and-aft rigged, and have auxiliaries, this is no
longer important.

Makes sense to me, thanks.

Cheers
Marty