[C320-list] C320 or C34 - Which is faster?

[Ken Danko]

I don't race my boat but I generally subscribe to the concept that when two sailboats are on the same point of sail, and in sight of each other, it's a race. I went out on Sunday just a few minutes behind a C34 three dock spaces down from me and, as it turns out, we were headed in the same general direction. Those of you in the bay area will get these place references but the rest of you will get the general drift. I had my main reefed and my 100% jib up in anticipation of serious wind later in the morning. The C34 had a 140% jib and a full main. In the light wind in the lee of Angel Island I passed him pretty easily which was surprising since I had so little sail up. Then we both tacked back and forth in 19 knots of wind up Racoon Straight (fighting a current) and it was clear that my 320 was again faster than his 34. I had a bunch of amateurs on board and we weren't doing a great job of tacking. We were just a bunch of people out for a fun day of sailing. I assumed that the 34 was overpowered in the heavy wind while I was underpowered in the light wind, yet I was faster in both situations. Anyone else have experiences sailing along side a C34?Ken Danko"Grace" #802San Francisco
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