VERY close reaching

[Bill Roosa]

while the diagrams all show a circle and "in irons" at 12:00 and DDW at 6:00 that is just so you can talk about it. Clearly all the winds on this diagram are coming from the same direction and you get the impression it MUST be the true wind. It is not. It is the apparent wind that you set your sails to not the true wind.
Soooo being on a beam reach and being close hauled makes no sense. having the true wind off the beam and being close hauled does however. We had a thread a while back (about 300 posts) where we went round and round..........when you talk pointing ability you are mixing true and apparent wind all the time and you have to think about what you are saying or you will get everybody totally confused.
FWIW

 

[Kings Gambit]

I was taught Beat too, but ASA teaches close hauled.
My dad taught me: beat into the wind, reach across it, run away from it...

Yeah-- I know about ASA. We've gotten off track along the way.

 

[gettinthere]

Yikes!

I noticed something else. When I tightened those rope thingies that wrap around the silver drum thingy, thats when the boat tips over and the needle points to 20 on the wind dial. When I turn the steering wheel the sails start flapping.

 

[shemandr]

I don't know why I would step into this but...a close reach would imply that you can get to your destination without tacking. You would be on a beat if you need to tack to get to your mark. In practice I'm not sure it makes that much difference. Even if I think we can make a mark without tacking, we would sail as close to the wind as possible to "Put money in the bank" since conditions can change on the water.
We have a friend, who we chided about sailing way past the way line. CD 25. He said he was "Setting up a nice reach." We called it overstanding. My point is that terminology is in the eye of the beholder. Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure that Endeavor wasn't sailing at 20 degrees apparent, true or blue. I have sailed on one, maybe the 38, and it is not a weatherly boat. If it was moving at less than 20 degrees, it was with the engine on. Not that there's anything wrong it that.

 

[Kings Gambit]

IMHO, this would be a "beat", tacking or not.

VMG to wind 4.24
True Wind Angle 45 °
Apparent Wind Angle 32.6 °
True Wind Speed 15
Apparent Wind Speed 19.7
Boat Speed 6
Boat speed as % of true wind speed 40
VMG as % of true wind speed 28.3

This would be the beginning of the close reach.

VMG to wind 3.73
True Wind Angle 55 °
Apparent Wind Angle 39.1 °
True Wind Speed 15
Apparent Wind Speed 19.5
Boat Speed 6.5
Boat speed as % of true wind speed 43.3
VMG as % of true wind speed 24.9

A beam reach.

VMG to wind 0
True Wind Angle 90 °
Apparent Wind Angle 65 °
True Wind Speed 15
Apparent Wind Speed 16.6
Boat Speed 7
Boat speed as % of true wind speed 46.7
VMG as % of true wind speed 0

In 20 kt of wind, the beam reach would look like this (on my boat--one that can do 7.5 kt at "waterline").

MG to wind 0
True Wind Angle 90 °
Apparent Wind Angle 69.4 °
True Wind Speed 20
Apparent Wind Speed 21.4
Boat Speed 7.5
Boat speed as % of true wind speed 37.5
VMG as % of true wind speed 0

Although beam reaching in both of the last two examples, the sails would be trimmed differently (if one wished to sail to good trim).