I tried posting this a couple of days ago, but don't see it posted yet. The forum ends this week, so I'm trying again. When racing Jib (155% genoa)
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Bob: I'm not sure of you question as it appears to be incomplete so I'll just "wing it" and ramble on. There is very little written about downwind sailing. Out here is SO Ca most mates (cruiser & racers) just head dead down wind and that is it. Unfortuneately, that is the slowest point of sail unless the wind is blowing like stink. When racing, that point of sail is my favorite because for most racers out here, and this goes for the middle of the pack and even some of the leaders, that leg is when they break out the sandwiches and beer and head for the mark. For me, that leg is when I go to work and generally we can pick off two or three boats before they know what hit them. Whether we can hold the lead after the next mark is another matter but I treat every leg as a single race anyway. So what's the secret to downwind? Well, when the sail trim forum was running, there was a place where you could down load an article I wrote on the subject. It was not easy gathering all the info because, as I said, there is not a lot written but I knew I had it all when the stuff I was researching started repeating itself. I was amazed at how simple the concepts were. They really never dawned on me until I started looking into it. See if the following is familiar to you or maybe you have thought it yourself. Something that I run into all the time on boats I go on is the skipper, near the end of the windward leg, always asks "I wonder what side we should pole out on". When you read my article you'll see that there is only one way to pole out and the guess work is eliminated. Also, I hear skippers say "lets see which side the folks in front use". My answer to that is who gives a rats poop!! You have to KNOW which side before you get there. The couple of guys in front of you may not know what they are doing and you are going to copy them thus compounding the mistake, instead of taking advantage of it. The downwind article is not only for racers. Cruisers will find it valuable also. If they are out for a leisurely sail they may not want to bother, but supose their buddy comes up on them on the way to a destination - wouldn't they want to give him a GO!! Hopefully, Phil or Rick will be reading this message and can come up with a way to make the article available to anyone who wants it. If not, contact me at yankee3223@juno.com and I'll tell you where you can get it.
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