Depends on the race. I do think having a luff foil on a distance race is an advantage.But how much of PHRF racing these days is distance racing? (That's one of the gripes Coyer has with CBYRA, but that's a whole 'nuther discussion)
For W/L, short leg courses, I dont think I've ever done a peel on an upwind leg...ever. The thinking is: suffer through whatever you have up, for the duration of the leg, b/c it's faster than having a crew member forward of the mast, having to deal with getting the new sail up on deck far enough to get the new tack attached, getting a 2nd set of sheets attached, getting the second halyard attached, pre-feeding by hand b/c the prefeeder is already loaded with the sail that's coming down, the new hoist, dumping the first sail, unclipping the halyard, clearing the old sheets, cleaning up the dumped sail, etc...by that time you are usually at the top mark and you've been sailing at 7/8s speed for 5-10 minutes while everyone else in the fleet has been sailing at 100% with whatever they went off with...either furiously luffing their mains or pinching off too much breeze OR, if they went off with a #3 and it got lighter on the way uphill, powering everything up and lving with it and then switching sails once they turn the corner back downhill. Think about the last time you saw anyone swap a headsail on a W/L course on an uphill leg...almost never. Distance race, all bets are off...gimme the luff foil anyday. tf > You are the one that raced the C27 PHRF, but are you seriously saying that > I > could race my POS C27 without the tuff luff foil vs. a boat that had the > equipment to do a peel and say we were equal? Having the luff system > implies > that you will be peeling. Not gonna happen by IC27 rules and bylaws. > > PHRF may not penalize, but our 213 rating does not include anything other > than a hanking system... > > Chris D > toy box > eastport, md > > > > **************It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL Money & > Finance. (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf00030000000001) >
