Draft and its Benefits / Limitations

[David1]

Hi All
First post on this forum, here goes.
I'm looking for what will be my 4th boat with the intended use of long distance cruising (Atlantic circuit). Without looking at the 'extremes of design', there seems to be variations in draft from 6 ft to 8ft within the 50 foot LOA range.
First question; will the '8ft' limit my cruising too dramatically on the western side of the Atlantic?
Second question; on a design/technical note, do 'modern designs' of keel/hull allow reduced draft without sacrificing upwind performance? For example; HR's new 64ft model with only a shade over 8 ft draft yet other HRs, also designed by GF (eg HR48) are 14 foot shorter but its draft is only 6 inches less. Will this be seen in lower 'pointing angle' and/or need to reef earlier?
Thanks
Dave