[C320-list] Dead down wind sailing?

[Rod Boer]

The finish leg of last Friday night's race was dead down wind and that's the
way we sailed it with a whisker pole.  Some folks on this list had
previously recommended that even with a whisker pole the fastest way to get
to a point dead downwind was to sail off at 120.  Maybe I misunderstood what
they said but I was trying to build an argument to my mates regarding the
120 course using the C320 polar diagram and I couldn't really make a good
case.  Sailing 120 doubles the distance and according to the polar diagram I
will not be going anywhere near twice as fast.  There is a weak case for a
150 course in that we would have saved 45 sec on a 1.7 mile finish leg.

 

I must be missing something.  Hopefully someone can shed some light on this.


 

Rod Boer

Odyssey, #688