Not surprisingly, I got lost in the forest and forgot about the tree!
I went with 155% based on what others use in the Southport, NC area but
slightly heavier weight to survive the average higher breeze there vs. the
upper Neuse river.
Charlie
Sent from the all new Aol app for iOS
On Saturday, February 27, 2021, 6:16 AM, Bill Coleman via CnC-List
<cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote:
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You did not tell us what size headsail you went with, that wasthe most
discussed aspect of the whole diatribe!
( I think you mean Nordac?) those are usually pretty robustsails.
Bill Coleman
Entrada, Erie, PA
From: Charlie Nelson viaCnC-List [mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com]
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2021 3:46 PM
To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com
Cc: cenel...@aol.com
Subject: Stus-List Re: New sails, new wind
Just a short note to thanks all who chimed in on my head sailquestion.
The short story is that I decided to go with a 3Di Nordiccomposite sail
(so-called light/medium) that has a maximum AWS wind of ~ 16knots. The light
wind equivalent has a maximum AWS wind of ~ 12 knots and Ialready have a
lightly used light air (maximum AWS of ~ 8 knots) so I opted forthe lt./med
since the light air was covered and the expected coastal winds areabout 2 knots
higher (7 vs. 5.5 knots) than those in the upper Neuse riverwhere I have done
most of my racing to date. I also have an almost new 140%(Hood Vectran) and a
bullet proof 90% from North. Thus I have a reasonable(IMHO) set of upwind sails
for my racer/cruiser for local club racing. I alsohave both a 3/4 oz. masthead
symmetrical kite and a smaller, stronger reachingkite.
I appreciate the comments on changing head sails to meet theconditions,
etc.,--in an ideal world this is the solution. OTOH, in my world,finding enough
KNOWLEDGEABLE crew (6+ depending on wind) to race is almostimpossible for local
regattas and not that easy even for something likeCRW.
So here is how I compromise, to wit:
1). All my head sails are used on a furler. Thus headsail changeson the fly are
not possible even on the rare days that my crew is both numerousand
knowledgeable. All buoy races are done with the headsail that crosses
thestarting line--although it may get changed between races.
2). Most of my racing is now in non-spin. SAFELY handling a masthead kite in
winds > 12 knots with limited crew (number and knowledge) isnot easy and when
the inevitable goes 'awry', people can and do get hurt--oneof my most
experienced crew was slammed to the foredeck by an errant kite guy afew years
ago and was evaluated for a concussion at a local hospital as soon aswe got off
the water. Fortunately he was OK but this is not something I want torepeat.
Note he was my most experienced crew!
3). Since I cannot change head sails on the fly (see 1), I preferto use the
largest headsail I can since I need it for downwind sail area. Ifind it easier
and quicker to reef the main and rarely furl the headsail toreduce sail area
upwind.
4). The bottom is painted yearly and scrubbed/wiped down beforeeach race by a
diver. Currently I use Petit Vivid, a hard ablative and plan totry Odyssey this
year.
5). I usually have 5-6 regular crew, most of whom have been racingwith me for
5-10 years. The only ones that I have lost left for medicalreasons, moved out
of the area or went cruising. Believe me, I know theimportance of good crew as
well as how to keep them on board. Note that this is1-2 shy of the 8
knowledgeable crew I believe are required to race my boat toher potential,
especially in a breeze.
I am sure there are more compromises in my racing efforts but evenwith these
above, I find after ~ 25 years of club racing that I still enjoy thethrill of
the competition, the joy of occasionally passing or even beating acompetitor
and, of course, the agony of analyzing WTF we messed up as we hadback to the
dock for sandwiches and adult beverages!! Even in the latter case,I am
confident that there will always be another race where there is thepotential to
do better! Like a golfer, all it takes is one good shot on thecourse to make
him/her return. For a club racer, all it takes is a well sailed,competitive
race for me to return.
So that's my current racing story and the background of my choicefor the head
sail.
Charlie Nelson
Water Phantom
1995 C&C 36 XL/kcb
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the
costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to
send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the
costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to
send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
