Run or Broad reach?

Moderator: GreenLake

Postby ctenidae » Wed Sep 14, 2011 12:43 pm

TIM WEBB wrote:Yeah, I guess - different strokes for different folks ...

we go sailing to get away from the rat race that is life.
could care less about even *having* an A and B.

It's more just about the water time.

Besides, I'd rather enjoy that cold cylinder while underway, rather than back at the dock! :twisted:

C'mon peeps, is anyone else on this forum gonna back me up on this one, or am I the only one who sails a DS just for the simple joy of being on the water and sailing - however fast we get to wherever we're going???


Totally with you. A to B doesn't exist- it's really just A to A. Being on the water requires exactly as much thought as you want to put into it. If I've got a lot on my mind that I want to get away from, then I "work" harder at sailing- pay more attention to trim, fiddle with things, race driftwood, etc. If I have a few things I want to think about, I chill a bit, don't worry about trim so much, and just watch the driftwood float by, hopefully taking my thoughts with it.

Cold brews are an immense help at all times, but in particular when just cruising.
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Now, sadly, powered boating...
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Postby GreenLake » Wed Sep 14, 2011 1:17 pm

TIM WEBB wrote:C'mon peeps, is anyone else on this forum gonna back me up on this one, or am I the only one who sails a DS just for the simple joy of being on the water and sailing - however fast we get to wherever we're going???

Well, I'm happy with both modes of sailing, or I should say, all three of them. There are definitely times when all I want is to be on the water. Heck, I've even run the DS with the trolling motor so I could stay out longer on a night with a beautiful full moon, but no wind. Here, there's indeed no A or B and the journey is the destination.

But - I also get Mike's mindset. I easily switch into that on the nights of our local beer can regatta. Including "racing" to from the dock. I've even been known to occasionally "race" my friends from the dock to the bar by clever use of back roads. Too bad that many of my competitors on the lake don't sail a DS, but faster boats - that makes winning or placing "inconceivable". :( But as long as someone shows up with a compatible boat, a friendly race can be had, and there's definitely an A, B and C (the marks).

But the third mode of sailing, that I enjoy, is long(er) distance daysailing, which has its own challenges and rewards. Get out on a larger lake or bay, do two or three (or six) hours to get from point A to point B (ideally with a dock at the other end so one can grab a bite) and then return. It's fun to be out on the water, but there's a definite destination, and the challenge becomes one of planning the route and making the best of weather and sea conditions. It's no longer just boat speed or sail trim. For example, one time, the only way to round a particular headland in an adverse current, was to go inside the ring of submerged boulders forming a natural breakwater around it and short-tacking with a sharp lookout. :shock:
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Run or Reach

Postby Skippa » Wed Sep 14, 2011 2:00 pm

Not to defend one position or another, I most often will reach when working downwind. I do not own a spinnaker (yet) nor do I have a whisker pole although this site has given me the motovation to build one.
I have only been in one official sanctioned boat race in my 35 years of sailing. I crewed on the Trans Superior in 1995. But almost every time I sail I am looking at ways to make the boat sail as efficiently as possible. There are times when I get very lazy about it though.
I can say that every time there is another boat nearby, bigger, smaller or same type..... it's a race for no other reason than to know if I can point as high or go as fast.
I vote for broad reach just because I like the additional speed it provides.
My $.02
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Postby ChrisB » Wed Sep 14, 2011 2:21 pm

TIM WEBB wrote:

C'mon peeps, is anyone else on this forum gonna back me up on this one, or am I the only one who sails a DS just for the simple joy of being on the water and sailing - however fast we get to wherever we're going???

Tim,

I am totally in agreement with you. The joy of getting away from life for a few hours is the joy of sail for me. I just want to get on the water, point the bow in any direction that interests me and go. If the wind shifts or the waterway traffic gets heavy, I tack and go in a different direction. Its the primary reason I don't race; no predetermined course, no clock, no competition. Just me, the boat, and the wind. It just doesn't get any better than that.
Chris B.
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Postby jdoorly » Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:41 am

I made a boneheaded mistake on my chart and another on my description of use. Sorry, here is the corrected chart..
1053
With this chart you don't need to add DDW speed, just read the break even speed directly.

As for just having fun on the water- I do it all the time! But to me sailing has many layers. I like working on the boat and do it constantly. Although I haven't raced in years I believe it hones your sailing skills, and when your stuck in fog or out at night you'll be glad you brushed up on navigation skills because the GPS never seems to work just when you need it. And, when your guests get discontented with the hot no breeze run it's good to know how to tack downwind. And there is always an "a" and "b" though it might be your ramp, dock, or mooring!
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Postby swiftsail » Thu Sep 15, 2011 11:06 am

That chart assumes perfect jibes with no loss of speed?
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Postby jdoorly » Thu Sep 15, 2011 7:08 pm

My chart represents geometry only. It is meant to be one arrow in the skippers quiver. A skipper can take this data and weigh it against his own knowledge of his boats performance, the wind, wave, and current along the coarse, and tactics and strategy. However, I would expect most boats to exceed breakeven speed between 30 and 40 degrees from DDW.

For a deeper analysis see: http://www.arvelgentry.com/magaz/Downwind_Tacking.pdf
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Postby William » Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:35 am

I'm with Tim. For me, Sailing is about the journey not the destination. One of the things I love about it, is that it takes just enough effort and attention to drain your mind of the drivel but not so much that you can't enjoy the scenery, water, motion and wind that make a perfect day. When I start trying to get to a point fast or fastest it gets to be too much like work.
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