[Public-List] FW: Racers speed of A30

Fri Jul 23 12:06:53 PDT 2010

Right on Larry,

I steer SURPRISE with the two finger grip... And only pull, never push.  I
leave the coming up, up to her.  The bearing off I do for her, gently with
fingertips.  

Gord #426

PS am just back from doing an interview with the local newspaper editor
about TOUCH WOOD's rescue.  I haven't had any time to really make progress
on her.  He asked me to pose holding tools up to her so it'd look like I was
working; I refused.  That wouldn't be fair to me or to her.

G

On 23/07/10 2:53 PM, "Lawrence Morris" <morris.lc at verizon.net> wrote:

> 
> Gord
> 
> I couldn't agree more with your comments.
> 
> Bruno.
> 
> The only thing I would add to Gords comments is that when you are
> racing your sail selection should be for maximum performance in the
> least wind speed you are expecting during the race tha way you are
> still at full performance in the lulls. In the gusts you work the main
> sheet to keep the rail out of the water and the boat moving. This is
> counter intuititive to the cruising
> Sail selection for a given wind strength.
> 
> When sailing with the big genoa and the boats is overpowered it is an
> effective strategy to feather the main and the genoa. This means
> steering a higher than normal course stalling both the inside and
> outside telltales. The boat will still get plenty of drive off the
> leech of the genoa and the heal angle is reduced cosiderably.  As Gord
> says you need to have the horse power for the lulls and manage the
> puffs.
> 
> Also. A30 are very sensative to weather helm. The class here has
> determined that a completely  neutral helm is the fastest upwind. I
> try to trim the sails so I can steer with just
> a couple of fingers in all conditions.  I don't always succeed but
> that's the goal.
> 
> I hope this helps.
> 
> Larry Morris
> Bosun Yacht Systems
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Jul 22, 2010, at 16:53, Gordon Laco <mainstay at csolve.net> wrote:
> 
>> Hello Bruno and Elyse -
>> 
>> I think that when racing you should not consider shortening sail
>> until the
>> wind is getting up toward 20 knots.  At that point I would leave the
>> 150 on
>> the headstay and take one reef.
>> 
>> If your sails have good flat shapes with the draft forward... When
>> the wind
>> is getting near 30 you can take a second reef and might set a 120 if
>> you
>> have one.
>> 
>> Cruising, it would be uncomfortable to drive the boat that hard, but
>> you
>> won't win races if you don't.
>> 
>> If you are changing to a 120 genoa in wind under 25 knots, you will be
>> creating balance problems that will slow you down.  A basic rule of
>> thumb is
>> that you should shorten sail from aft forward.   So the sequence
>> might be
>> more like this
>> 
>> First step - flatten main
>> Second step - feather main (sail with a 'bubble' in it)
>> Third step - take a reef (wind is over 20 now)
>> Fourth step - remove 150, replace with smaller headsail
>> Fifth step - take a second reef
>> Sixth step - sail double reefed main feathered
>> 
>> At this point you might be in over 30 knots of wind...
>> 
>> Beware of memorizing tables with specific wind speeds and making sail
>> changes based on that.  For example, the temperature will have a
>> huge effect
>> on the power in the wind.  25 knots in October will have a lot more
>> bite
>> than the same wind in August... Cold air is denser...  Piling crew to
>> windward perceptably increases sail carrying power....  And back to
>> the old
>> theme; sails with good shapes will drive your boat forward and
>> upright in
>> the same wind that baggy sails (that still might look 'good') will
>> have her
>> flat on her side in.
>> 
>> Your indicators for when to shorten sail should not be a particular
>> wind
>> speed... But angle of heel and amount of helm.  We raced quite
>> happily last
>> night in about 25 knots of wind with a single reef and our regular
>> genoa.
>> We shook the reef out on the reaches and runs, took it in again for
>> the
>> beats.  We feathered it in the gusts and filled it again in the
>> lulls.  I
>> told the fellow on the mainsheet "you are the man with his foot on
>> the gas
>> pedal... Keep the rail just out of the water".  So he sawed back and
>> forth
>> on the sheet keeping the boat under as much pressure as she could
>> stand.
>> 
>> Cheers -
>> 
>> Gord
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 22/07/10 4:39 PM, "elyse.pastor at sympatico.ca" <elyse.pastor at sympatico.ca
>>> 
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> Dear Lawrence, dear Gord, dear Jonathan, dear David,
>>> Thanks again for your detailed explanations about the reasons why
>>> we are
>>> slower then the others. I will certainly take every point and look
>>> into it.
>>> I have spoken again to my mentor of our club (who has been racing
>>> for more
>>> then 30 years on his Alberg 37) and gave him your responses. What
>>> he asked me
>>> again was with what size of sail in what wind are you sailing and
>>> what are the
>>> maximum speeds that you are experience? He knows exactly what sail
>>> to take on
>>> his A37 at any wind speed. And about the waves - we are on a fairly
>>> small lake
>>> where the waves (if they build) are very close together and may-be
>>> max 3-4ft.
>>> 
>>> Am I correct if I list the following (or please correct if you have
>>> better
>>> data and I will go out and try them (with what sails I have)):
>>> 0 - 10kts  150-170 jib with the complete main sail
>>> 10-15kts  120jib with complete main sail
>>> 16-21kts  120 jib with 1st reef on main sail
>>> 22-26kts   120jib with 2nd reef on main sail
>>>> 26kts - we would need a smaller jib that we do not have.
>>> Maximum speed upwind: 5.8-5.9kts
>>> 
>>> In any upwind setting, we have the jib as tight as possible (in
>>> perfect
>>> shape), and try to have the toe-rail about 4" out of the water. If
>>> the wind
>>> increases and we have the same size of jib, we also move the roller
>>> on the
>>> track further backwards in order to spill some air on the top of
>>> the jib
>>> (change the shape of the sail and let some wind drop-out on top).
>>> Another main
>>> adjustment we do on the main sail depending on the wind-strength -
>>> we open it
>>> to the point where we see that the main sail has a slight back-wind
>>> pocket
>>> just after the mast. If possible we close it tight to the centre of
>>> the boat
>>> (we also have a traveler that we use), depending on the wind force.
>>> Always
>>> with the objective of the rail about 4" out of the water.
>>> Again, the maximum speed we are obtaining (close to the wind) is
>>> about 5.8 -
>>> 5.9kts under the above circumstances (we use a GPS to measure boat
>>> speed and
>>> assume that the speed is accurate). Unfortunately, this will still
>>> leave me
>>> towards the end of the race group even if our start is perfect
>>> (closest to the
>>> committee boat within 3 seconds after the start over the line). For
>>> your
>>> information, we race a triangle and then a sausage with the winner
>>> (last week)
>>> in 55 minutes (Grampian 26), us (6th) with 1 hour 4 min and and
>>> last (Tanzer
>>> 22) (8th) 1 hour 9 minute. On the net after correction: 1st 51
>>> minutes, us 59
>>> minutes and last 1 hour 4 minutes.
>>> For those of you who also race against many other sailboats, would
>>> you know
>>> what rating a Grampian 26 "0.929" or a Mirage 24
>>> "0.923" have in your club? I just would like to compare if these
>>> numbers are
>>> similar or even the same (our A30 is "0.929").
>>> So - that is enough. Our next race - next Tuesday.
>>> Thanks again to all of you for your inputs.
>>> Bruno & Elyse; Lady Heron 297
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> These businesses support your Association:
>>> http://www.alberg30.org/store/A30supporters.html
>>> Please support them.
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Public-List mailing list
>>> Public-List at lists.alberg30.org
>>> http://lists.alberg30.org/listinfo.cgi/public-list-alberg30.org
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> These businesses support your Association:
>> http://www.alberg30.org/store/A30supporters.html
>> Please support them.
>> _______________________________________________
>> Public-List mailing list
>> Public-List at lists.alberg30.org
>> http://lists.alberg30.org/listinfo.cgi/public-list-alberg30.org
> _______________________________________________
> These businesses support your Association:
> http://www.alberg30.org/store/A30supporters.html
> Please support them.
> _______________________________________________
> Public-List mailing list
> Public-List at lists.alberg30.org
> http://lists.alberg30.org/listinfo.cgi/public-list-alberg30.org

 1279912013.0