In racing a Wave on a downwind leg, is it faster to head straight down to the mark, or is there some advantage to sailing angles to get there? And if heading straight down is the option, what's a rule of thumb for how far to ease the sail (well before it gets to 90-degrees, it is up against the leeward shroud)?
Are shroud telltales/indicators helpful in downwind sailing?
Thanks for any explanation.
Kevin
It is better to head for the mark. Sailing at wider angles has not proven to be the way to go -- the boat just doesn't that much more speed to make up for the distance.
Many of us do sail off at angles, but that is just to stay in the puffs.
I always keep looking behind me for darker water, and try to get myself in front the of the puff. So, I may not always sail straight for the mark.
In teaching my seminars with Lasers and Sunfish, they either sail by the lee or by the luff, but never statically. They sort of zig zag downwind, but without jibing.
I tried that on the Wave many times, but sailing by the lee doesn't seem to be very effective.
I use 8-track or reel-to-reel tape on the front bridles for upwind and the sidestay telltales for downwind and reaches.
Rick
Roger on heading dead downwind to the mark.
For dead downwind, what's the maxiumum that I should ease the sail? Should the boom/batten touch the shroud? The batten above that? Any benchmark that would let me know when I have the sail at maximum-ease?
I'm digesting (slowly) Cat Racing for the 90s and your DVD...
Thanks,
Kevin
I let the sail go completely out. Some even detach the sheet from the clew. Not much science to sailing a Wave downwind.
Rick
What do you mean by
completely out
? Doesn't that depend on how long your mainsheet is?
I ease until the sail is firmly against the leeward stay. My mainsheet is trimmed to that length.
Right! You don't want the main to invert on the sidestay. In light air it won't anyway.
Rick