Uh oh... time for more controversy!
Got done with my sea trial on the new cat today. All went well. In fact, the cat did nearly as well to weather as an average cruising mono. Yup... sailed just fine. We did have heavy winds, but she pointed right up, much to my suprise.
So, I have to say that in decent winds (10-15kts), comparing a crusing cat with a cruising mono (with full keel or modified fin), they're about the same.
Of course, a fin keel would make a huge difference, but comparing these apples and oranges from the middle performance range, they're just about equal.
A very surprising result, based on what I read here.
The cats aren't so bad to windward after all. Just depends on the type of mono you are comparing them to.